Both the primary key and the Unique Index ensure data uniqueness, but there are the following differences: 1. The primary key is used to uniquely identify each row of data, and cannot be empty and there can only be one in a table; 2. The primary key automatically creates a clustered index, affecting the order of data storage; 3. The unique index can be empty and allows multiple NULL values, and a table can have multiple; 4. The unique index is a non-clustered index by default, and does not change the physical storage order; 5. The primary key is suitable for non-empty unique identifiers, such as self-incremental ID; 6. The unique index is suitable for field unique restrictions of business logic, such as username, mailbox, etc.
In MySQL, the two concepts of Unique Index and Primary Key are often confused. In fact, they are all used to ensure data uniqueness, but their usage and limitation are completely different. Understanding the difference between the two can help you design the table structure more reasonably.

Primary Key is the core constraint of the table
The core function of the primary key is to uniquely identify each row of data, and cannot be repeated or empty (NOT NULL). A table can only have one primary key, but it can be composed of one field or multiple fields. For example, user_id is usually used as the primary key in the user table, so that each record can be accurately distinguished.
Another feature of primary key is that it automatically creates a clustered index, that is, the data storage order in the table is sorted by primary key. This is more efficient when querying and also affects the physical storage structure of the entire table.
Common practices:

- Generally, self-increment integer (AUTO_INCREMENT) is used as the primary key
- If there are natural and unique non-empty fields on the business (such as ID number), it can also be used as the primary key directly
- The composite primary key should be used with caution. Although it can ensure that the combination is unique, the maintenance cost is high.
Unique Index is used to prevent duplicate values
The only index is to ensure that the values of one or more columns are not duplicated, but allow NULL values (depending on the database implementation, multiple NULL values are allowed to exist in MySQL). It can be added to any field you want to avoid duplicates, such as username, email, mobile phone number, etc.
Unlike primary keys, a table can have multiple unique indexes. For example, you can add a unique index to the email field and add one to the phone field, which will not affect each other. And the only index is a non-clustered index by default, and will not change the physical storage order of the data.
A few notes:

- Unique index allows NULL values (multiple NULLs in MySQL are not considered duplicate)
- You can create a joint unique index for multiple fields, such as "name date of birth" combination unique
- If uniqueness is violated during insertion or update, an error will be reported and the operation will be blocked.
Key differences in usage scenarios
The primary key is more like the structural basis of a table, while the only index is to meet the needs of business logic. For example, in an order system, order_id is definitely the primary key; but if the same user is required to not submit the exact same order content, you can add a joint unique index to user_id and product_id.
Comparison of applicable situations:
- To ensure that a column is absolutely unique and not empty → Priority to primary keys
- Already have a primary key, and want to make sure that some fields are unique → use unique index
- Requires multiple unique fields or combined fields → Unique indexing is more flexible
Basically that's it. Both have their own uses, primary keys are necessary, and the only index is optionally added according to business needs. Just don't confuse it when designing.
The above is the detailed content of mysql unique index vs primary key. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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