mysql> explain select actor_id, (select @foo := coalesce(@foo, 0) + 1 from sakila.actor) as foo from sakila.actor; +----+----------------------+-------+-------+---------------+---------+---------+------+------+-------------+ | id | select_type | table | type | possible_keys | key | key_len | ref | rows | Extra | +----+----------------------+-------+-------+---------------+---------+---------+------+------+-------------+ | 1 | PRIMARY | actor | index | NULL | PRIMARY | 2 | NULL | 200 | Using index | | 2 | UNCACHEABLE SUBQUERY | actor | index | NULL | PRIMARY | 2 | NULL | 200 | Using index | +----+----------------------+-------+-------+---------------+---------+---------+------+------+-------------+ 2 rows in set (0.00 sec) mysql> notee