# Tuning databases and applications

The previous section provided some quick tips for improving performance. This section, while covering some of the same ground, provides more background on the basic design issues for improving performance.

This section also explains how to work with RunTimeStatistics.

- Application and database design issues
  Things that you can do to improve the performance of Derby applications fall into three categories.
- Analyzing statement execution
  After you create indexes, make sure that Derby is using them. In addition, you might also want to find out the join order that Derby is choosing.
- Working with RunTimeStatistics
  Derby provides a language-level tool for evaluating the performance and the execution plans of statements, the RUNTIMESTATISTICS attribute.