SELECT statement from 11 tables. Is this inefficient?

[acidbox]

I am trying to build one massive SELECT statement that pulls data from 11 seperate tables and returns values. The query is taking almost a second to complete on my dual xeon. I feel as though this is becoming inefficient due to the amount of tables I am comparing. The sad part is that there is almost no data in any of these tables (as of yet) and I fear that the 1 second could turn into a lot more down the road. What alternatives should I consider?

What is the best practices for having to pull data from such a large number of tables?

[Sxooter]

Generally speaking, MySQL has some issues with large numbers of tables being joined together. PostgreSQL's query planner is a little better at this.

Can you post your schema and an example query?

[nemonoman]

It is very likely that your query is a little flabby if it is taking as long as you say. An eleven table join in mysql can be very fast, and with indexing extremely fast. The actual query and data structure would help if you really intend to ask for advice. Also you can get helpful info from the results of "EXPLAIN ". Look up the command in the MySQL Manual, run the EXPLAIN query and post the results even if you don't understand them...others do and can help you out.