Encoded vector index icon

Encoded Vector Index

The Encoded Vector Index icon indicates that an encoded vector index was used to process this query. The encoded vector index represents the key values in the index by assigning codes to distinct key values, and then representing these values in an array or vector. The size of the vector will match the number or rows in the underlying table and each elements of the vector can be 1, 2, or 4 bytes in length, depending on the number of distinct values that must be represented.

Even though an encoded vector index is used to represent the values stored in a table, the index itself cannot be used to directly gain access to the table. Instead the encoded vector index can only be used to generate either a temporary row number list or a temporary row number bitmap. These temporary objects in turn can be used to specify what rows in the table are to be processed by the query.

See Tips for encoded vector index for more details.