Mario Weilguni wrote:
> I tested that on a similar configuration (P-III 450) and got the same
> results. When the addition is removed from the loop and replaced with a
> simple assignment, the total execution time goes down to ~6.5 seconds. That
> means that the modified numeric is nearly twice as fast, sure worth
> considering that.
I am embarrassed to admit I had an undeleted overloaded function that caused
me to time the wrong function. The correct numbers should be:
Postgres PL/PGSQL original numeric: 14.8 seconds
Postgres PL/PGSQL modified numeric: 14.0 seconds
Postgres PL/PGSQL float8: 10.7 seconds
GNU AWK: 2.5 seconds
Oracle PL/SQL number: 2.0 seconds
This means that Tom Lane was absolutely right - for the current numeric type
implementation, palloc() overhead is not a dominant concern. A serious
solution needs to change the internal format to use a larger base, as Tom
suggested.
- Mark Butler
