Re: 8.x index insert performance

From: Greg Stark <gsstark(at)mit(dot)edu>
To: "Merlin Moncure" <merlin(dot)moncure(at)rcsonline(dot)com>
Cc: "Scott Marlowe" <smarlowe(at)g2switchworks(dot)com>, <pgsql-performance(at)postgresql(dot)org>
Subject: Re: 8.x index insert performance
Date: 2005-11-02 17:26:25
Message-ID: 87oe53hsfy.fsf@stark.xeocode.com
Views: Raw Message | Whole Thread | Download mbox | Resend email
Thread:
Lists: pgsql-performance

"Merlin Moncure" <merlin(dot)moncure(at)rcsonline(dot)com> writes:

> > select * from sometable where somefield IS NULL won't work because IS
> is
> > not a nomally indexible operator.
>
> Ah, I didn't know that. So there is no real reason not to exclude null
> values from all your indexes :). Reading Tom's recent comments
> everything is clear now.

There are other reasons. If you want a query like

SELECT * FROM tab ORDER BY col LIMIT 10

to use an index on col then it can't exclude NULLs or else it wouldn't be
useful. (Oracle actually has this problem, you frequently have to add WHERE
col IS NOT NULL" in order to let it use an index.)

--
greg

In response to

Browse pgsql-performance by date

  From Date Subject
Next Message Ralph Mason 2005-11-02 23:34:14 Trigger Rowsets
Previous Message Merlin Moncure 2005-11-02 17:04:35 Re: improvise callbacks in plpgsql