> That seems like a very good location for this advice. But the current > set of bullet points are all directed towards "... a general procedure > for determining which indexes to create". I propose that a new paragrph, > not a bullet point, be added towards the end of that section which > addresses the options of steps to take before dropping an index. > Something like the following:
> Thoughts?
This new feature provides the ability to experiment with indexes to create ( or drop ), so I don't think it deviates from the purpose of this paragraphs.
This patch will provide the ability for the user to create an index as initially invisible and a GUC, use_invisible_index if set to TRUE to experiment with the new index to see if it improves performance. So, I think providing this pattern to experiment with a new index will fit nicely as a new bulletpoint.
Thank you for the feedback and pointers Sami and Gurjeet. Good call on [0] being a good place for operational advice. I have gone ahead and removed the advice about "pg_stat_user_indexes.idx_scan" from doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_index.sgml and updated doc/src/sgml/indices.sgml to include a new bullet point with also a reference to use_invisible_index. Let me know how it sounds and if there is any feedback.
