MAPPING TABLE 的作用

Oracle supports bitmap indexes on partitioned and nonpartitioned index-organized tables. A mapping table is required for creating bitmap indexes on an index-organized table.

Mapping TableThe mapping table is a heap-organized table that stores logical rowids of the index-organized table. Specifically, each mapping table row stores one logical rowid for the corresponding index-organized table row. Thus, the mapping table provides one-to-one mapping between logical rowids of the index-organized table rows and physical rowids of the mapping table rows.

A bitmap index on an index-organized table is similar to that on a heap-organized table except that the rowids used in the bitmap index on an index-organized table are those of the mapping table as opposed to the base table. There is one mapping table for each index-organized table and it is used by all the bitmap indexes created on that index-organized table.

In both heap-organized and index-organized base tables, a bitmap index is accessed using a search key. If the key is found, the bitmap entry is converted to a physical rowid. In the case of heap-organized tables, this physical rowid is then used to access the base table. However, in the case of index-organized tables, the physical rowid is then used to access the mapping table. The access to the mapping table yields a logical rowid. This logical rowid is used to access the index-organized table.

Though a bitmap index on an index-organized table does not store logical rowids, it is still logical in nature.