GADIS: A genetic algorithm for database index selection

Creating an optimal amount of indexes, taking into account query performance and database size remains a challenge. In theory, one can speed up query response by creating indexes on the most used columns, although causing slower data insertion and deletion, and requiring a much larger amount of memory for storing the indexing data, but in practice, it is very important to balance such a trade-off. This is not a trivial task that often requires action from the Database Administrator. We address this problem by introducing GADIS, A Genetic Algorithm for Database Index Selection, designed to automatically select the best configuration of indexes adaptable for any database schema. This method aims to find the fittest individuals for optimizing both query response time, and disk required for the indexed data. We evaluate the effectiveness of GADISthrough several experiments we developed based on a standard database benchmark, compare it to three baseline indexing strategies, and show that our approach consistently leads to a better resulting index configuration.