我认为这是为进行排序和其他需要硬盘空间的事情分配的临时表最大大小。因为在其他情况下也会出现同样的情况
mysql> show global variables like '%tmp%';
+----------------+-----------------------+
| Variable_name | Value |
+----------------+-----------------------+
| bdb_tmpdir | /usr/local/mysql/tmp/ |
| max_tmp_tables | 32 |
| tmp_table_size | 8388608 |
| tmpdir | /usr/local/mysql/tmp |
+----------------+-----------------------+
mysql> show global variables like '%myisam%';
+---------------------------------+---------------+
| Variable_name | Value |
+---------------------------------+---------------+
| myisam_data_pointer_size | 4 |
| myisam_max_extra_sort_file_size | 2147483648 |
| myisam_max_sort_file_size | 2147483647 |
| myisam_recover_options | OFF |
| myisam_repair_threads | 1 |
| myisam_sort_buffer_size | 4194304 |
| myisam_stats_method | nulls_unequal |
+---------------------------------+---------------