Tuning Techniques To Avoid?

Here's a scheme for query optimization that probably needs to be
avoided in that it would run afoul of a patent held by Oracle...

<http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5761654.WKU.&OS=PN/5761654&RS=PN/5761654>

It looks like what they have patented is pretty much a "greedy search"
heuristic, starting by finding the table in a join that has the
greatest selectivity (e.g. - where the number of entries selected is
cut the most by the selection criteria), and then describes how to
search for the "best" approach to joining in the other tables.
--
output = reverse("gro.mca" "@" "enworbbc")
http://www.ntlug.org/~cbbrowne/nonrdbms.html
"If I could find a way to get [Saddam Hussein] out of there, even
putting a contract out on him, if the CIA still did that sort of a
thing, assuming it ever did, I would be for it." -- Richard M. Nixon