Re: Rename max_parallel_degree? - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

From Bruce Momjian
Subject Re: Rename max_parallel_degree?
Date
Msg-id 20160425140357.GB19860@momjian.us
Whole thread Raw
In response to Re: Rename max_parallel_degree?  (Magnus Hagander <magnus@hagander.net>)
List pgsql-hackers
On Mon, Apr 25, 2016 at 12:17:56PM +0200, Magnus Hagander wrote:
> 
> 
> On Mon, Apr 25, 2016 at 5:01 AM, Robert Haas <robertmhaas@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>     On Sun, Apr 24, 2016 at 2:42 PM, Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:
>     > Magnus Hagander <magnus@hagander.net> writes:
>     >> On Sun, Apr 24, 2016 at 8:23 PM, Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:
>     >>> FWIW, I agree with Bruce that using "degree" here is a poor choice.
>     >>> It's an unnecessary dependence on technical terminology that many
>     people
>     >>> will not be familiar with.
>     >
>     >> FWIW, SQL Server calls it "degree of parallelism" as well (
>     >> https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms188611(v=sql.105).aspx).
>     And
>     >> their configuration option is "max degree of parallelism":
>     >> https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms181007(v=sql.105).aspx.
>     >
>     > Yes, but both they and Oracle appear to consider "degree" to mean the
>     > total number of processors used, not the number of secondary jobs in
>     > addition to the main one.  The only thing worse than employing obscure
>     > technical terminology is employing it incorrectly: that way, you get to
>     > confuse both the users who know what it means and those who don't.
> 
>     This is not so clear-cut as you are making it out to be.  For example,
>     see http://www.akadia.com/services/ora_parallel_processing.html - viz
>     "The number of parallel slave processes associated with an operation
>     is called its degree of parallelism", which is pretty close to what
>     the parameter currently called max_parallel_degree actually does.
> 
> 
> 
> So maybe something like  session_parallel_degree, to add another color to the
> bikeshed?

I think Robert said it is per-executor node, not per session, similar to
work_mem.

--  Bruce Momjian  <bruce@momjian.us>        http://momjian.us EnterpriseDB
http://enterprisedb.com

+ As you are, so once was I. As I am, so you will be. +
+                     Ancient Roman grave inscription +



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