When should I use a composite index?

Question

When should I use a composite index in a database?
What are the performance ramification by using a composite index)?
Why should I use use a composite index?

For example, I have a homes table:

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `homes` (
  `home_id` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment,
  `sqft` smallint(5) unsigned NOT NULL,
  `year_built` smallint(5) unsigned NOT NULL,
  `geolat` decimal(10,6) default NULL,
  `geolng` decimal(10,6) default NULL,
  PRIMARY KEY  (`home_id`),
  KEY `geolat` (`geolat`),
  KEY `geolng` (`geolng`),
) ENGINE=InnoDB  ;

Does it make sense for me to use a composite index for both geolat and geolng, such that:

I replace:

  KEY `geolat` (`geolat`),
  KEY `geolng` (`geolng`),

with:

KEY `geolat_geolng` (`geolat`, `geolng`)

If so:

Why?
What is the performance ramification by using a composite index)?

UPDATE:

Since many people have stated it entirely dependent upon the queries I perform, below is the most common query performed:

SELECT * FROM homes
WHERE geolat BETWEEN ??? AND ???
AND geolng BETWEEN ??? AND ???

UPDATE 2:

With the following database schema:

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `homes` (
  `home_id` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment,
  `primary_photo_group_id` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
  `customer_id` bigint(20) unsigned NOT NULL,
  `account_type_id` int(11) NOT NULL,
  `address` varchar(128) collate utf8_unicode_ci NOT NULL,
  `city` varchar(64) collate utf8_unicode_ci NOT NULL,
  `state` varchar(2) collate utf8_unicode_ci NOT NULL,
  `zip` mediumint(8) unsigned NOT NULL,
  `price` mediumint(8) unsigned NOT NULL,
  `sqft` smallint(5) unsigned NOT NULL,
  `year_built` smallint(5) unsigned NOT NULL,
  `num_of_beds` tinyint(3) unsigned NOT NULL,
  `num_of_baths` decimal(3,1) unsigned NOT NULL,
  `num_of_floors` tinyint(3) unsigned NOT NULL,
  `description` text collate utf8_unicode_ci,
  `geolat` decimal(10,6) default NULL,
  `geolng` decimal(10,6) default NULL,
  `display_status` tinyint(1) NOT NULL,
  `date_listed` timestamp NOT NULL default CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
  `contact_email` varchar(100) collate utf8_unicode_ci NOT NULL,
  `contact_phone_number` varchar(15) collate utf8_unicode_ci NOT NULL,
  PRIMARY KEY  (`home_id`),
  KEY `customer_id` (`customer_id`),
  KEY `city` (`city`),
  KEY `num_of_beds` (`num_of_beds`),
  KEY `num_of_baths` (`num_of_baths`),
  KEY `geolat` (`geolat`),
  KEY `geolng` (`geolng`),
  KEY `account_type_id` (`account_type_id`),
  KEY `display_status` (`display_status`),
  KEY `sqft` (`sqft`),
  KEY `price` (`price`),
  KEY `primary_photo_group_id` (`primary_photo_group_id`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB  DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 COLLATE=utf8_unicode_ci AUTO_INCREMENT=8 ;

Using the following SQL:

EXPLAIN SELECT  homes.home_id,
                    address,
                    city,
                    state,
                    zip,
                    price,
                    sqft,
                    year_built,
                    account_type_id,
                    num_of_beds,
                    num_of_baths,
                    geolat,
                    geolng,
                    photo_id,
                    photo_url_dir
            FROM homes
            LEFT OUTER JOIN home_photos ON homes.home_id = home_photos.home_id
                AND homes.primary_photo_group_id = home_photos.home_photo_group_id
                AND home_photos.home_photo_type_id = 2
            WHERE homes.display_status = true
            AND homes.geolat BETWEEN -100 AND 100
            AND homes.geolng BETWEEN -100 AND 100

EXPLAIN returns:

id  select_type  table        type  possible_keys                                    key                  key_len  ref     rows  Extra
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1   SIMPLE       homes        ref   geolat,geolng,display_status                     display_status       1        const   2     Using where
1  SIMPLE        home_photos  ref   home_id,home_photo_type_id,home_photo_group_id   home_photo_group_id  4        homes.primary_photo_group_id   4

I don't quite understand how to read the EXPLAIN command. Does this look good or bad. Right now, I am NOT using a composite index for geolat and geolng. Should I be?

When should I use a composite index?

9 Answers