Re: query optimization question - Mailing list pgsql-performance

From Tom Lane
Subject Re: query optimization question
Date
Msg-id 26581.1075404671@sss.pgh.pa.us
Whole thread Raw
In response to Re: query optimization question  (Jack Coates <jack@lyris.com>)
Responses Re: query optimization question
Re: query optimization question
List pgsql-performance
Jack Coates <jack@lyris.com> writes:
> jackdb=# explain SELECT DISTINCT members_.memberid_
> jackdb-# FROM members_
> jackdb-# WHERE ( members_.List_='list1'
> jackdb(# AND members_.MemberType_='normal'
> jackdb(# AND members_.SubType_='mail'
> jackdb(# AND members_.emailaddr_ IS NOT NULL )
> jackdb-# GROUP BY memberid_ HAVING (

Um, that's not what I had in mind at all.  Does GROUP BY actually do
anything at all here?  (You didn't answer me as to whether memberid_
is a unique identifier or not, but if it is, this GROUP BY is just an
expensive no-op.)

What I was envisioning was pulling the sub-selects up to the top level
and using grouping to calculate the count(*) values for all memberids
in parallel.  Roughly speaking it would look like (again assuming
memberid_ is unique)

SELECT memberid_ FROM
(
  SELECT memberid_ FROM lyrActiveRecips, members_, outmail
  WHERE (all the conditions for this case)
  UNION ALL
  SELECT memberid_ FROM lyrCompletedRecips, members_, outmail
  WHERE (all the conditions for this case)
)
GROUP BY memberid_ HAVING count(*) = 3;

However, if you can't change the boilerplate part of your query then
this is all blue-sky speculation anyway.  What I'm actually more
interested in is your statement that MSSQL can do the original query
quickly.  I find that a bit hard to believe because I don't see any
relevant optimization techniques.  Do they have any equivalent to
EXPLAIN that would give some hint how they're doing it?

            regards, tom lane

pgsql-performance by date:

Previous
From:
Date:
Subject: Explain plan for 2 column index
Next
From: Jack Coates
Date:
Subject: Re: query optimization question