Re: count(*) slow on large tables

Well I can think of many more case where it would be usefull:

SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT x) FROM ...
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM ... WHERE x = ?

Also having transaction number (visibility) would tip the balance more
toward index_scan than seq_scan because you do not have to look up
visibility in the data file. We all know this has been an issue many
times.
Having a different index file structure when the index is not UNIQUE
would help too.
The last page of a non unique index could hold more stats.

Christopher Browne wrote:
>
> jllachan(at)nsd(dot)ca (Jean-Luc Lachance) writes:
> > That's one of the draw back of MVCC.
> > I once suggested that the transaction number and other house keeping
> > info be included in the index, but was told to forget it...
> > It would solve once and for all the issue of seq_scan vs index_scan.
> > It would simplify the aggregate problem.
>
> It would only simplify _one_ case, namely the case where someone cares
> about the cardinality of a relation, and it would do that at
> _considerable_ cost.
>
> A while back I outlined how this would have to be done, and for it to
> be done efficiently, it would be anything BUT simple.
>
> It would be very hairy to implement it correctly, and all this would
> cover is the single case of "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM SOME_TABLE;"
>
> If you had a single WHERE clause attached, you would have to revert to
> walking through the tuples looking for the ones that are live and
> committed, which is true for any DBMS.
>
> And it still begs the same question, of why the result of this query
> would be particularly meaningful to anyone. I don't see the
> usefulness; I don't see the value of going to the considerable effort
> of "fixing" this purported problem.
> --
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> Christopher Browne
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