Re: missing optimization - column <> column - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

From Pantelis Theodosiou
Subject Re: missing optimization - column <> column
Date
Msg-id CAE3TBxyjpAXLpgLkZTVFt+95J7_e4TjXEKRYfXv1o-8daW+3uQ@mail.gmail.com
Whole thread Raw
In response to Re: missing optimization - column <> column  (Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>)
Responses Re: missing optimization - column <> column
List pgsql-hackers


On Mon, Dec 5, 2016 at 3:24 PM, Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:
Pavel Stehule <pavel.stehule@gmail.com> writes:
> I found some crazy queries in one customer application. These queries are
> stupid, but it was surprise for me so there are not some simple optimization

> create table foo(a int);
> insert into foo select generate_series(1,100000);
> analyze foo;
> explain select * from foo where a <> a;

> It does full scan of foo, although it should be replaced by false in
> planner time.

> Same issue is a expression a = a .. can be replaced by true

Wrong; those expressions yield NULL for NULL input.  You could perhaps
optimize them slightly into some form of is-null test, but it hardly
seems worth the planner cycles to check for.

If you write something like "1 <> 1", it will be folded.

                        regards, tom lane




Would it be worth replacing the condition with the equivalent?
I mean would that help optimizing better some queries when it knows that a is (not) nullable or when "a" is more complicated expression?

a <> a    :   (a IS NULL) AND NULL
a = a     :   (a IS NOT NULL) OR NULL

Pantelis Theodosiou
 

pgsql-hackers by date:

Previous
From: Robert Haas
Date:
Subject: Re: [COMMITTERS] pgsql: Add max_parallel_workers GUC.
Next
From: Tom Lane
Date:
Subject: Re: Time to retire Windows XP buildfarm host?