So, how does one gather statistics on indexes? With InnoDB it's one thing, with MyISAM it's another thing. This post however, will focus on MyISAM. There are various ways, each having their own drawbacks and positive sides.What about "ANALYZE TABLE"? It's great -- very fast in InnoDB. But with MyISAM a lock occurs while scanning the table. "OPTIMIZE TABLE"? Still relatively quick with MyISAM, unless the table in question is huge. InnoDB requires an "ALTER TABLE" -- it might take forever, depending on the server configuration, as "OPTIMIZE TABLE" for InnoDB maps to a "ALTER TABLE tableName ENGINE=InnoDB"We all know how "ANALYZE TABLE", "REPAIR TABLE", and "OPTIMIZE TABLE" work with MyISAM. However, there's a less explored way, for MyISAM -- the "myisam_stats_method".