Get Number of Documents in MongoDB Index - mongodb

As per the title, I would like to know if there is a way to get the number of documents in a MongoDB index.
To be clear, I am not looking for either of the following:
How to get the number of documents in a collection -- .count().
How to get the size of an index -- .stats().

An index references all of the documents in its collection unless the index is a sparse index or a partial index. From the docs:
Sparse indexes only contain entries for documents that have the indexed field, even if the index field contains a null value. The index skips over any document that is missing the indexed field. The index is “sparse” because it does not include all documents of a collection. By contrast, non-sparse indexes contain all documents in a collection, storing null values for those documents that do not contain the indexed field.
Partial indexes only index the documents in a collection that meet a specified filter expression
So ...
The answer for non sparse and non partial indexes is db.collection.count()
The answer for sparse and partial indexes could be inferred by running a query with no criteria, hinting on that index and then counting the results. For example:
db.collection.find().hint('index_name_here').count()

Related

Can a query still use an index to sort a field if the index was not the one chosen in the winning plan?

I have a compound index and an index on a single field A. If in a find query, the compound index was chosen as the winning plan, and the results are sorted by the field A, will field A's index be used to sort it?
Unfortunately, no.
MongoDB cannot use different indexes for sorting and document selection.
See https://www.mongodb.com/docs/manual/tutorial/sort-results-with-indexes/#use-indexes-to-sort-query-results
Note that it can use a compound index for sorting, i.e. if the compound index were on {a:1, otherfield:1}, that index can be used for selection by multiple fields, and sorting by a.

Does using a partial index over a regular field index affect overall insert performance for mongo collections?

I want to implement a partial index that indexes a subset of documents in my collection where documents in this subset contain a shared field not used in other documents outside the subset. Call this shared field "subset_field".
I know that using a partial index reduces the size of the index in memory, but when I want to insert new documents that do not have the shared "subset_field", will the partial index slow down the insert operation as much as a regular field index would?
The documentation on partial indexes only mentions insertation in regards of unique fields:
A partial index with a unique constraint does not prevent the insertion of documents that do not meet the unique constraint if the documents do not meet the filter criteria.
But the doc on Write Op Performance does have a big note saying
MongoDB only updates a sparse or partial index if the documents involved in a write operation are included in the index.
So, the partial index is being used to check if it applies to the document but if it doesn't apply then the index update is skipped hence your performance improves.

Mongodb indexing optional fields

I have some fields in my mongodb collection that are optional parts of a search. How can I index this query consistently (i.e. every query, regardless of parameters will use an index) if I don't know what fields the user might be querying?
You can use a Sparse Index
Sparse indexes only contain entries for documents that have the
indexed field, even if the index field contains a null value. The
index skips over any document that is missing the indexed field. The
index is “sparse” because it does not include all documents of a
collection. By contrast, non-sparse indexes contain all documents in a
collection, storing null values for those documents that do not
contain the indexed field.
db.addresses.createIndex( { "xmpp_id": 1 }, { sparse: true } )

How does mongodb index lists

For example: If I had a db collection called Stores, and each store document has a list of the items they sell, and stores generally share items, then how would mongodb build an index on that?
Would it build a btree index on all possible items and then on each leaf of that tree (each item) will reference the documents which contain it?
Background:
I'm trying to perform queries like this using an index:
db.store.find({merchandise:{$exists:true}}) // where 'merchandise' is a list
db.store.find()[merchandise].count()
would an index on 'merchandise' help me?
If not, is my only option creating a separate meta field on 'merchandise' size, and index that?
Schema:
{ _id: 123456,
name: Macys
merchandise: [ 248651234564, 54862101248, 12450184, 1256001456 ]
}
From your document sample if you build your index on merchandise it will be multikey index and that index will be on every item on the array. See Multikey Indexes section in here.
If merchandise is an array of subdocuments, indexing over merchandise will put the index on all field of subdocument in the array. With index you can make queries like
db.store.find("merchandise":248651234564) and it will retrieve all document having merchandise 248651234564
For getting count of merchandise, you can get only get the size of merchandise field of one document like db.store.find()[index].merchandise.length. So creating a seperate field on merchandise size and indexing is a feasible option, if you want to run queries based on merchandise size.
Hope this helps
If you index a field that contains an array, MongoDB indexes each value in the array separately, in a multikey index. When you have 4 documents inside an array, each will act as a key in the index and point to the mentioned document(s).
You can use multikey indexes to index fields within objects embedded in arrays. That means, in your array, you can index a specific field in each document. For example: stuffs.thing : 1.
Read more about Multikey Indexes
Whether you need these indexes would depend on:
How many queries rely on that specific field?
How many updates, inserts hit that specific field (array)?
How many items will that array contain?
...
Remember that indexes slow writes as they need to be updated as well. I'd consider an explain on my queries to measure performance.

MongoDB indexes issue

MongoDB can store documents with different fields in one collection.
How then indexes will work? If I create index on field that presents not in all documents, the documents which don't have that will not be indexed?
Documents without the field in an index will be indexed as having no value for that field. You probably want to review this: http://docs.mongodb.org/manual/core/indexes/
If you want to not include documents that don't have the key in the index, you can use a sparse index: http://docs.mongodb.org/manual/administration/indexes/#sparse-indexes