[ANNOUNCE] BISCUIT 2.0 - Now a full Index Access Method with multi-column indexing

Hi all,

I’m happy to share a major update to BISCUIT (Bitmap Indexed Searching
with Comprehensive Union and Intersection Techniques), which has now
evolved from a standalone extension into a full Index Access Method
(IAM) for PostgreSQL.

Since the initial release, BISCUIT has gained a mature architecture,
significant performance improvements, and broad feature support -
making it a practical alternative for deterministic pattern matching
workloads.

🔹 What’s new

1) Full Index Access Method implementation: BISCUIT now plugs directly
into PostgreSQL’s indexing framework, bringing custom index-build,
search, scan, and vacuum logic.

2) Multi-column indexing support: You can now index multiple columns
in a single BISCUIT index, enabling richer pattern-matching queries
and improved performance on composite text workloads.

3) Highly optimized storage layout: Reduced index size, faster scans,
and improved cache behavior through compact bitmap storage and logical
operation based pruning.

4) Deterministic pattern search (no verification overhead): The core
advantage remains: BISCUIT guarantees correctness without rechecking
rows, unlike trigram-based approaches.

5) Seamless integration with PostgreSQL: WAL-safe, VACUUM-aware, and
extension-managed via CREATE EXTENSION biscuit.

🔹 Where to get it

PGXN: https://pgxn.org/dist/biscuit/
GitHub: https://github.com/crystallinecore/biscuit

🔹 Call for feedback

BISCUIT is growing quickly, and real-world feedback is
invaluable-whether on performance, operator design, or additional
indexing strategies.

Thanks for the continued support and testing!

Best regards,
Sivaprasad Murali
Author, BISCUIT-IAM