Correct Answer: A,D,F
Indexes are structures that can improve the retrieval time of data from a database table and have certain characteristics:
* A. A SELECT statement can access one or more indices without accessing any tables: If the index contains all the columns needed for the query, Oracle can retrieve the data from the index alone without accessing the table. This is known as an index-only scan.
* D. A UNIQUE index can be altered to be non-unique: It is possible to alter a unique index to become non-unique by using the ALTER INDEX command.
* F. An update to a table can result in updates to any or all of the table's indexes: If the updated column is part of one or more indexes, those indexes will need to be updated to reflect the change. If the updated column is not part of an index, then no index update is required.
References:
* Oracle Database SQL Language Reference 12c, especially sections on index management and the behavior of DML operations with respect to indexes.