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There are a fair number of myths about indexes in popular circulation, some of which include:

- Over time, indexes tend to become "unbalanced", requiring that they be rebuilt on a regular basis for optimal performance

- Indexes supporting monotonically-ascending data values (i.e. sequences and timestamps) tend to deteriorate over time, requiring that they be rebuilt on a regular basis for optimal performance

- One of the reasons for separating tables and indexes to separate tablespaces is to permit I/O to each to be processed in parallel

In particular, there is altogether too much rebuilding of indexes going on, fed partly by the fact that Oracle has made enhancements that make it easy to do this, but also fed by the belief that it is necessary.

This paper will debunk each of these myths in turn, during the course of explanation. But, more than mere critique, the intent of this paper is to provide well-rounded understanding, so that one can not only put knowledge into application, but also diagnose adverse results.

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