Quick Way to Help Optimize Mysql Databases

The Analyse procedure built into MySql can give you a wealth of information about your database tables, making it easy to find tables that can be tightened up. If you query:

SELECT * FROM table_name PROCEDURE ANALYSE()
You’ll get a result back with the minimum/maximum value, minimum/maximum length, number of empty or zero strings, number of nulls, the average value/length, the standard deviation, and a suggested optimal fieldtype for every row in the table. Should be noted this isn’t very helpful unless you have active tables with a fair amount of data in them already.