MIN() vs. ORDER BY LIMIT: Which is Faster and More Maintainable for Finding Minimum or Maximum Values?

Database minimum/maximum query: Performance and maintainability comparison of MIN/MAX and ORDER BY LIMIT

When looking for the minimum or maximum value in a database table, developers usually consider two methods: using the MIN/MAX aggregate function or using ORDER BY and LIMIT. This article explores the efficiency, maintainability, and clarity of both approaches.

Query performance analysis

Without an index, MIN() requires a full table scan, while ORDER BY and LIMIT require file sorting. For large tables, the performance difference will become noticeable. In a real-world scenario, MIN() is faster than ORDER BY and LIMIT on a table with 106,000 rows (0.36 seconds vs. 0.84 seconds).

When using indexed queries, the performance of both methods is similar. However, analysis shows that MIN() obtains the minimum value directly from the index, while ORDER BY and LIMIT still require ordered traversal.

Maintainability and Clarity

MIN() is defined in the SQL standard and explicitly represents minimum value retrieval. ORDER BY and LIMIT can be less intuitive and add complexity when dealing with multiple columns or custom sorting logic.

Based on these considerations, MIN() is preferred due to its efficiency in indexed and non-indexed scenarios, standard SQL compatibility, and clarity of expression. ORDER BY and LIMIT are suitable for special cases where you need to get the first N or last N values ​​from multiple columns without specific optimization.

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