Describe the sequence of applying index filters when executing SQL queries.

When executing SQL queries with index filters, the sequence is usually as follows:

1. The database first analyzes the WHERE conditions and determines which indexes can be used to filter data.
2. Then, index filters are applied — narrowing down the data set using indexes, which allows quickly selecting only relevant rows without a full table scan.
3. If multiple indexes are used, the DBMS may combine the results (for example, using AND/OR operations) to further narrow the selection.
4. After applying index filters, a minimal set of rows remains, which is then processed further (for example, sorted, aggregated).

Thus, index filters serve to efficiently reduce the volume of data processed by the query, speeding up execution.