In database writing, is it usually faster to drop an index, write the data, and then recreate the index?

In database writing, is it usually faster to drop an index, write the data, and then recreate the index?

• A. False
• B. Not sure
• C. True
• D. It depends

Answer: (C)

Yes. Indexes speed lookups but add overhead to writes because each insert or update must also update the index structure. Dropping the index removes that maintenance work during the bulk load, and recreating (rebuilding) the index afterward lets the database build it efficiently from the entire dataset. This rebuild often uses optimized, parallelized operations and sequential I/O, which is typically much faster than updating the index for each inserted row. This approach is especially beneficial for large bulk writes. There are caveats—if the index is required during the load or constraints must be enforced continuously, or if the database has different bulk-loading options—but overall, this is usually faster.

Yes. Indexes speed lookups but add overhead to writes because each insert or update must also update the index structure. Dropping the index removes that maintenance work during the bulk load, and recreating (rebuilding) the index afterward lets the database build it efficiently from the entire dataset. This rebuild often uses optimized, parallelized operations and sequential I/O, which is typically much faster than updating the index for each inserted row. This approach is especially beneficial for large bulk writes. There are caveats—if the index is required during the load or constraints must be enforced continuously, or if the database has different bulk-loading options—but overall, this is usually faster.