[hennell]

Simply understanding how to read explain output can be quite a task in itself though, databases are a whole other thing, especially if you barely do any SQL yourself.

Tools like https://explainmysql.com that make it clearer what you actually need to optimise are an easier system for Devs with enough database knowledge to set stuff up, but not enough to understand how it's used.

I assume someone's already working on an AI system that takes schema and logs and returns the SQL needed to magically improve things. Not sure I'd trust that, but I'd bet many companies would rather use that then get a full DBA.

[Too]

Understanding explain output is usually very simple. 1 Look for any occurrence of “table scan”. 2. Add index on those queried fields or limit the query by filtering on another already indexed field.

This should unclog the most low hanging fruit. Then there is of course more advanced scenarios, especially with joins.

That’s not to say that the UX for explaining (hah) this doesn’t have a lot of room for improvement.