Thread: pgsql: Try again to fix the way the scanjoin_target is used with partia

pgsql: Try again to fix the way the scanjoin_target is used with partia

From
Robert Haas
Date:
Try again to fix the way the scanjoin_target is used with partial paths.

Commit 04ae11f62e643e07c411c4935ea6af46cb112aa9 removed some broken
code to apply the scan/join target to partial paths, but its theory
that this processing step is totally unnecessary turns out to be wrong.
Put similar code back again, but this time, check for parallel-safety
and avoid in-place modifications to paths that may already have been
used as part of some other path.

(This is not an entirely elegant solution to this problem; it might
be better, for example, to postpone generate_gather_paths for the
topmost scan/join rel until after the scan/join target has been
applied.  But this is not the time for such redesign work.)

Amit Kapila and Robert Haas

Branch
------
master

Details
-------
http://git.postgresql.org/pg/commitdiff/54f5c5150fa05d7ad15f8406debd5a2b394885b5

Modified Files
--------------
src/backend/optimizer/plan/planagg.c          |  3 +-
src/backend/optimizer/plan/planner.c          | 81 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
src/backend/optimizer/prep/prepunion.c        |  6 +-
src/backend/optimizer/util/pathnode.c         |  7 ++-
src/include/optimizer/pathnode.h              |  3 +-
src/test/regress/expected/select_parallel.out | 32 +++++++++++
src/test/regress/sql/select_parallel.sql      | 11 ++++
7 files changed, 133 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)


Robert Haas <rhaas@postgresql.org> writes:
> Try again to fix the way the scanjoin_target is used with partial paths.

Was this supposed to fix the "ORDER/GROUP BY expression not found in
targetlist" problem?  If so, it hasn't ...

            regards, tom lane


On Sat, Jun 18, 2016 at 6:11 AM, Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:
>
> Robert Haas <rhaas@postgresql.org> writes:
> > Try again to fix the way the scanjoin_target is used with partial paths.
>
> Was this supposed to fix the "ORDER/GROUP BY expression not found in
> targetlist" problem?

Yes.
 
>
>   If so, it hasn't ...
>

Can you please share why you think so?

With Regards,
Amit Kapila.
EnterpriseDB: http://www.enterprisedb.com
Amit Kapila <amit.kapila16@gmail.com> writes:
> On Sat, Jun 18, 2016 at 6:11 AM, Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:
>> Was this supposed to fix the "ORDER/GROUP BY expression not found in
>> targetlist" problem?
>> If so, it hasn't ...

> Can you please share why you think so?

Run the regression tests with the settings mentioned in
https://www.postgresql.org/message-id/22782.1466100870@sss.pgh.pa.us

You'll get a lot of cosmetic diffs (parallelized plans in EXPLAIN
and/or varying output row orders), but also half a dozen of the
aforesaid failure.

            regards, tom lane


On Sat, Jun 18, 2016 at 7:06 AM, Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:
>
> Amit Kapila <amit.kapila16@gmail.com> writes:
> > On Sat, Jun 18, 2016 at 6:11 AM, Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:
> >> Was this supposed to fix the "ORDER/GROUP BY expression not found in
> >> targetlist" problem?
> >> If so, it hasn't ...
>
> > Can you please share why you think so?
>
> Run the regression tests with the settings mentioned in
> https://www.postgresql.org/message-id/22782.1466100870@sss.pgh.pa.us
>
> You'll get a lot of cosmetic diffs (parallelized plans in EXPLAIN
> and/or varying output row orders), but also half a dozen of the
> aforesaid failure.
>

I think I got the reason of those failures.

+               /*
+                * We can't use apply_projection_to_path() here, because there
+                * could already be pointers to these paths, and therefore we
+                * cannot modify them in place.  Instead, we must use
+                * create_projection_path().  The good news is this won't
+                * actually insert a Result node into the final plan unless
+                * it's needed, but the bad news is that it will charge for
+                * the node whether it's needed or not.  Therefore, if the
+                * target list is already what we need it to be, just leave
+                * this partial path alone.
+                */
+               if (equal(scanjoin_target->exprs, subpath->pathtarget->exprs))
+                   continue;

This condition is incomplete with respect to PathTarget.  What if target exprs are same, but sortgrouprefs doesn't tally?  I will try with by modifying above condition to include sortgrouprefs as well.

With Regards,
Amit Kapila.
EnterpriseDB: http://www.enterprisedb.com
On Sat, Jun 18, 2016 at 7:44 AM, Amit Kapila <amit.kapila16@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Sat, Jun 18, 2016 at 7:06 AM, Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:
> >
> > Amit Kapila <amit.kapila16@gmail.com> writes:
> > > On Sat, Jun 18, 2016 at 6:11 AM, Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:
> > >> Was this supposed to fix the "ORDER/GROUP BY expression not found in
> > >> targetlist" problem?
> > >> If so, it hasn't ...
> >
> > > Can you please share why you think so?
> >
> > Run the regression tests with the settings mentioned in
> > https://www.postgresql.org/message-id/22782.1466100870@sss.pgh.pa.us
> >
> > You'll get a lot of cosmetic diffs (parallelized plans in EXPLAIN
> > and/or varying output row orders), but also half a dozen of the
> > aforesaid failure.
> >
>
> I think I got the reason of those failures.

Patch fixing the failures along with a new test case is attached with this mail


With Regards,
Amit Kapila.
EnterpriseDB: http://www.enterprisedb.com
Attachment
Amit Kapila <amit.kapila16@gmail.com> writes:
> Patch fixing the failures along with a new test case is attached with this
> mail

That can't possibly be right, because the PathTarget.sortgrouprefs field
is not a pointer to a Node.

I think the two lines in question are just a poorly-thought-through case
of premature optimization.  If removing them makes the failures go away
for me, that's what I plan to do.

            regards, tom lane


On Sat, Jun 18, 2016 at 8:56 AM, Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:
>
> Amit Kapila <amit.kapila16@gmail.com> writes:
> > Patch fixing the failures along with a new test case is attached with this
> > mail
>
> That can't possibly be right, because the PathTarget.sortgrouprefs field
> is not a pointer to a Node.
>

Right.
 
>
> I think the two lines in question are just a poorly-thought-through case
> of premature optimization.  If removing them makes the failures go away
> for me, that's what I plan to do.
>

That should make the failure go-away.


With Regards,
Amit Kapila.
EnterpriseDB: http://www.enterprisedb.com
Amit Kapila <amit.kapila16@gmail.com> writes:
> On Sat, Jun 18, 2016 at 8:56 AM, Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:
>> I think the two lines in question are just a poorly-thought-through case
>> of premature optimization.  If removing them makes the failures go away
>> for me, that's what I plan to do.

> That should make the failure go-away.

Well, it did make the errors go away, but it also made the first test
case in select_parallel.sql change plan, because the parallel plan is
only a whisker cheaper than non-parallel, and the extra charge for the
nonexistent Result node changed the decision.  I'm not exactly convinced
that that test case represents behavior we need to preserve, but for
the moment I rejiggered the cost adjustment so the test case stays the
same.

If we keep it like this, we definitely ought to refactor things so that
fewer places are aware of the possibility of the Result getting omitted.
Maybe push that logic into create_projection_path?  If we did, we might
not need a separate apply_projection_to_path function at all?  Too tired
to decide about it right now.

            regards, tom lane


On Sat, Jun 18, 2016 at 10:06 AM, Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:
>
> Amit Kapila <amit.kapila16@gmail.com> writes:
> > On Sat, Jun 18, 2016 at 8:56 AM, Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:
> >> I think the two lines in question are just a poorly-thought-through case
> >> of premature optimization.  If removing them makes the failures go away
> >> for me, that's what I plan to do.
>
> > That should make the failure go-away.
>
> Well, it did make the errors go away, but it also made the first test
> case in select_parallel.sql change plan, because the parallel plan is
> only a whisker cheaper than non-parallel, and the extra charge for the
> nonexistent Result node changed the decision.  I'm not exactly convinced
> that that test case represents behavior we need to preserve,

True. I have initially proposed not to change code for adjusting the cost, rather change test [1].  We can easily change that test.
 
>
> but for
> the moment I rejiggered the cost adjustment so the test case stays the
> same.
>
> If we keep it like this, we definitely ought to refactor things so that
> fewer places are aware of the possibility of the Result getting omitted.
> Maybe push that logic into create_projection_path?
>

Sounds sensible.  I have noticed that for the cases when there are many rows to be projected, the projection cost makes reasonable difference which is quite obvious.

I wrote:
> If we keep it like this, we definitely ought to refactor things so that
> fewer places are aware of the possibility of the Result getting omitted.
> Maybe push that logic into create_projection_path?  If we did, we might
> not need a separate apply_projection_to_path function at all?  Too tired
> to decide about it right now.

After some contemplation, it seems to me that the right thing is to make
ProjectionPath explicitly aware of the possibility that it's just a
placeholder used for the purpose of not modifying the input Path node,
and have create_projection_path calculate the correct costing either way.
In this design, the principal difference between create_projection_path
and apply_projection_to_path is that the latter assumes it can scribble
directly on the given Path while the former doesn't modify that Path.

There is one other difference: I did not do anything about making
create_projection_path push the target below a Gather.  In principle,
it could do that by cloning the given GatherPath, but right now I think
that'd be unreachable code so I did not bother.

I had hoped that this would result in simplifying create_projection_plan
so that it just makes a Result or not according to what
create_projection_path decided, but there's one regression test case that
fails (in the sense of showing a Result in the plan that isn't really
needed).  That happens because create_merge_append_plan adds sort columns
to the tlist and so a tlist match is possible after that happens when it
didn't match before.  For the moment I kluged create_projection_plan so
that that keeps working, but I wonder if it'd be better to just accept an
extra Result in that case.

Also, I got rid of the target_parallel argument to
apply_projection_to_path, as I thought that that was just way too much
interconnection between apply_projection_to_path and its callers than
is justified for what it saves (namely one call of has_parallel_hazard
when planning a Gather).  In general, having that argument could *add*
extra calls of has_parallel_hazard, since callers might have to do
that computation whether or not a Gather is present.

Any objections?

            regards, tom lane

diff --git a/src/backend/nodes/outfuncs.c b/src/backend/nodes/outfuncs.c
index b675447..b0a28f5 100644
*** a/src/backend/nodes/outfuncs.c
--- b/src/backend/nodes/outfuncs.c
*************** _outProjectionPath(StringInfo str, const
*** 1809,1814 ****
--- 1809,1815 ----
      _outPathInfo(str, (const Path *) node);

      WRITE_NODE_FIELD(subpath);
+     WRITE_BOOL_FIELD(dummypp);
  }

  static void
diff --git a/src/backend/optimizer/plan/createplan.c b/src/backend/optimizer/plan/createplan.c
index ab8df76..1050e5e 100644
*** a/src/backend/optimizer/plan/createplan.c
--- b/src/backend/optimizer/plan/createplan.c
*************** create_gather_plan(PlannerInfo *root, Ga
*** 1409,1416 ****
  /*
   * create_projection_plan
   *
!  *      Create a Result node to do a projection step and (recursively) plans
!  *      for its subpaths.
   */
  static Plan *
  create_projection_plan(PlannerInfo *root, ProjectionPath *best_path)
--- 1409,1417 ----
  /*
   * create_projection_plan
   *
!  *      Create a plan tree to do a projection step and (recursively) plans
!  *      for its subpaths.  We may need a Result node for the projection,
!  *      but sometimes we can just let the subplan do the work.
   */
  static Plan *
  create_projection_plan(PlannerInfo *root, ProjectionPath *best_path)
*************** create_projection_plan(PlannerInfo *root
*** 1425,1460 ****
      tlist = build_path_tlist(root, &best_path->path);

      /*
!      * We might not really need a Result node here.  There are several ways
!      * that this can happen.  For example, MergeAppend doesn't project, so we
!      * would have thought that we needed a projection to attach resjunk sort
!      * columns to its output ... but create_merge_append_plan might have added
!      * those same resjunk sort columns to both MergeAppend and its children.
!      * Alternatively, apply_projection_to_path might have created a projection
!      * path as the subpath of a Gather node even though the subpath was
!      * projection-capable.  So, if the subpath is capable of projection or the
!      * desired tlist is the same expression-wise as the subplan's, just jam it
!      * in there.  We'll have charged for a Result that doesn't actually appear
!      * in the plan, but that's better than having a Result we don't need.
       */
!     if (is_projection_capable_path(best_path->subpath) ||
!         tlist_same_exprs(tlist, subplan->targetlist))
      {
          plan = subplan;
          plan->targetlist = tlist;
!
!         /* Adjust cost to match what we thought during planning */
!         plan->startup_cost = best_path->path.startup_cost;
!         plan->total_cost = best_path->path.total_cost;
!         /* ... but be careful not to munge subplan's parallel-aware flag */
      }
      else
      {
          plan = (Plan *) make_result(tlist, NULL, subplan);
-
-         copy_generic_path_info(plan, (Path *) best_path);
      }

      return plan;
  }

--- 1426,1461 ----
      tlist = build_path_tlist(root, &best_path->path);

      /*
!      * We might not really need a Result node here.  Usually,
!      * create_projection_path will have detected that and set dummypp if we
!      * don't need one, but there is one exception.  MergeAppend doesn't
!      * project, so we would have thought that we needed a projection to attach
!      * resjunk sort columns to its output ... but create_merge_append_plan
!      * might have added those same resjunk sort columns to both MergeAppend
!      * and its children.  So, if dummypp is true or the desired tlist is the
!      * same expression-wise as the subplan's, just jam it in there.  In the
!      * MergeAppend special case, we'll have charged for a Result that doesn't
!      * actually appear in the plan, but that's better than having a Result we
!      * don't need.  (XXX this could be cleaned up if we moved more of the
!      * sortcolumn setup logic into Path creation, but that would add expense
!      * to creating Paths we might end up not using.)
       */
!     if (best_path->dummypp ||
!         (IsA(subplan, MergeAppend) &&
!          tlist_same_exprs(tlist, subplan->targetlist)))
      {
+         /* Don't need a separate Result, just assign tlist to subplan */
          plan = subplan;
          plan->targetlist = tlist;
!         /* We'll change the costs below too, to account for the new tlist */
      }
      else
      {
          plan = (Plan *) make_result(tlist, NULL, subplan);
      }

+     copy_generic_path_info(plan, (Path *) best_path);
+
      return plan;
  }

diff --git a/src/backend/optimizer/plan/planagg.c b/src/backend/optimizer/plan/planagg.c
index 0434a5a..cefec7b 100644
*** a/src/backend/optimizer/plan/planagg.c
--- b/src/backend/optimizer/plan/planagg.c
*************** build_minmax_path(PlannerInfo *root, Min
*** 465,472 ****
       * cheapest path.)
       */
      sorted_path = apply_projection_to_path(subroot, final_rel, sorted_path,
!                                            create_pathtarget(subroot, tlist),
!                                            false);

      /*
       * Determine cost to get just the first row of the presorted path.
--- 465,471 ----
       * cheapest path.)
       */
      sorted_path = apply_projection_to_path(subroot, final_rel, sorted_path,
!                                            create_pathtarget(subroot, tlist));

      /*
       * Determine cost to get just the first row of the presorted path.
diff --git a/src/backend/optimizer/plan/planner.c b/src/backend/optimizer/plan/planner.c
index 094c708..2372311 100644
*** a/src/backend/optimizer/plan/planner.c
--- b/src/backend/optimizer/plan/planner.c
*************** grouping_planner(PlannerInfo *root, bool
*** 1500,1506 ****
          PathTarget *grouping_target;
          PathTarget *scanjoin_target;
          bool        have_grouping;
-         bool        scanjoin_target_parallel_safe = false;
          WindowFuncLists *wflists = NULL;
          List       *activeWindows = NIL;
          List       *rollup_lists = NIL;
--- 1500,1505 ----
*************** grouping_planner(PlannerInfo *root, bool
*** 1731,1744 ****
              scanjoin_target = grouping_target;

          /*
-          * Check whether scan/join target is parallel safe ... unless there
-          * are no partial paths, in which case we don't care.
-          */
-         if (current_rel->partial_pathlist &&
-             !has_parallel_hazard((Node *) scanjoin_target->exprs, false))
-             scanjoin_target_parallel_safe = true;
-
-         /*
           * Forcibly apply scan/join target to all the Paths for the scan/join
           * rel.
           *
--- 1730,1735 ----
*************** grouping_planner(PlannerInfo *root, bool
*** 1756,1763 ****

              Assert(subpath->param_info == NULL);
              path = apply_projection_to_path(root, current_rel,
!                                             subpath, scanjoin_target,
!                                             scanjoin_target_parallel_safe);
              /* If we had to add a Result, path is different from subpath */
              if (path != subpath)
              {
--- 1747,1753 ----

              Assert(subpath->param_info == NULL);
              path = apply_projection_to_path(root, current_rel,
!                                             subpath, scanjoin_target);
              /* If we had to add a Result, path is different from subpath */
              if (path != subpath)
              {
*************** grouping_planner(PlannerInfo *root, bool
*** 1774,1788 ****
           * partial pathlist will expect partial paths for that rel to produce
           * the same output as complete paths ... and we just changed the
           * output for the complete paths, so we'll need to do the same thing
!          * for partial paths.
           */
!         if (scanjoin_target_parallel_safe)
          {
!             /*
!              * Apply the scan/join target to each partial path.  Otherwise,
!              * anything that attempts to use the partial paths for further
!              * upper planning may go wrong.
!              */
              foreach(lc, current_rel->partial_pathlist)
              {
                  Path       *subpath = (Path *) lfirst(lc);
--- 1764,1776 ----
           * partial pathlist will expect partial paths for that rel to produce
           * the same output as complete paths ... and we just changed the
           * output for the complete paths, so we'll need to do the same thing
!          * for partial paths.  But only parallel-safe expressions can be
!          * computed by partial paths.
           */
!         if (current_rel->partial_pathlist &&
!             !has_parallel_hazard((Node *) scanjoin_target->exprs, false))
          {
!             /* Apply the scan/join target to each partial path */
              foreach(lc, current_rel->partial_pathlist)
              {
                  Path       *subpath = (Path *) lfirst(lc);
*************** grouping_planner(PlannerInfo *root, bool
*** 1792,1827 ****
                  Assert(subpath->param_info == NULL);

                  /*
!                  * We can't use apply_projection_to_path() here, because there
!                  * could already be pointers to these paths, and therefore we
!                  * dare not modify them in place.  Instead, we must use
!                  * create_projection_path() unconditionally.
                   */
                  newpath = (Path *) create_projection_path(root,
                                                            current_rel,
                                                            subpath,
                                                            scanjoin_target);
-
-                 /*
-                  * Although create_projection_path() inserts a ProjectionPath
-                  * unconditionally, create_projection_plan() will only insert
-                  * a Result node if the subpath is not projection-capable, so
-                  * we should discount the cost of that node if it will not
-                  * actually get inserted.  (This is pretty grotty but we can
-                  * improve it later if it seems important.)
-                  */
-                 if (equal(scanjoin_target->exprs, subpath->pathtarget->exprs))
-                 {
-                     /* at most we need a relabeling of the subpath */
-                     newpath->startup_cost = subpath->startup_cost;
-                     newpath->total_cost = subpath->total_cost;
-                 }
-                 else if (is_projection_capable_path(subpath))
-                 {
-                     /* need to project, but we don't need a Result */
-                     newpath->total_cost -= cpu_tuple_cost * subpath->rows;
-                 }
-
                  lfirst(lc) = newpath;
              }
          }
--- 1780,1793 ----
                  Assert(subpath->param_info == NULL);

                  /*
!                  * Don't use apply_projection_to_path() here, because there
!                  * could be other pointers to these paths, and therefore we
!                  * mustn't modify them in place.
                   */
                  newpath = (Path *) create_projection_path(root,
                                                            current_rel,
                                                            subpath,
                                                            scanjoin_target);
                  lfirst(lc) = newpath;
              }
          }
*************** create_ordered_paths(PlannerInfo *root,
*** 4231,4237 ****
              /* Add projection step if needed */
              if (path->pathtarget != target)
                  path = apply_projection_to_path(root, ordered_rel,
!                                                 path, target, false);

              add_path(ordered_rel, path);
          }
--- 4197,4203 ----
              /* Add projection step if needed */
              if (path->pathtarget != target)
                  path = apply_projection_to_path(root, ordered_rel,
!                                                 path, target);

              add_path(ordered_rel, path);
          }
diff --git a/src/backend/optimizer/prep/prepunion.c b/src/backend/optimizer/prep/prepunion.c
index 30975e0..552b756 100644
*** a/src/backend/optimizer/prep/prepunion.c
--- b/src/backend/optimizer/prep/prepunion.c
*************** recurse_set_operations(Node *setOp, Plan
*** 325,332 ****
                                       refnames_tlist);

          path = apply_projection_to_path(root, rel, path,
!                                         create_pathtarget(root, tlist),
!                                         false);

          /* Return the fully-fledged tlist to caller, too */
          *pTargetList = tlist;
--- 325,331 ----
                                       refnames_tlist);

          path = apply_projection_to_path(root, rel, path,
!                                         create_pathtarget(root, tlist));

          /* Return the fully-fledged tlist to caller, too */
          *pTargetList = tlist;
*************** recurse_set_operations(Node *setOp, Plan
*** 395,402 ****
                                              path->parent,
                                              path,
                                              create_pathtarget(root,
!                                                               *pTargetList),
!                                             false);
          }
          return path;
      }
--- 394,400 ----
                                              path->parent,
                                              path,
                                              create_pathtarget(root,
!                                                               *pTargetList));
          }
          return path;
      }
diff --git a/src/backend/optimizer/util/pathnode.c b/src/backend/optimizer/util/pathnode.c
index 0ff353f..13d28ab 100644
*** a/src/backend/optimizer/util/pathnode.c
--- b/src/backend/optimizer/util/pathnode.c
*************** create_projection_path(PlannerInfo *root
*** 2168,2173 ****
--- 2168,2174 ----
                         PathTarget *target)
  {
      ProjectionPath *pathnode = makeNode(ProjectionPath);
+     PathTarget *oldtarget = subpath->pathtarget;

      pathnode->path.pathtype = T_Result;
      pathnode->path.parent = rel;
*************** create_projection_path(PlannerInfo *root
*** 2184,2196 ****
      pathnode->subpath = subpath;

      /*
!      * The Result node's cost is cpu_tuple_cost per row, plus the cost of
!      * evaluating the tlist.  There is no qual to worry about.
       */
!     pathnode->path.rows = subpath->rows;
!     pathnode->path.startup_cost = subpath->startup_cost + target->cost.startup;
!     pathnode->path.total_cost = subpath->total_cost + target->cost.startup +
!         (cpu_tuple_cost + target->cost.per_tuple) * subpath->rows;

      return pathnode;
  }
--- 2185,2231 ----
      pathnode->subpath = subpath;

      /*
!      * We might not need a separate Result node.  If the input plan node type
!      * can project, we can just tell it to project something else.  Or, if it
!      * can't project but the desired target has the same expression list as
!      * what the input will produce anyway, we can still give it the desired
!      * tlist (possibly changing its ressortgroupref labels, but nothing else).
       */
!     if (is_projection_capable_path(subpath) ||
!         equal(oldtarget->exprs, target->exprs))
!     {
!         /* No separate Result node needed */
!         pathnode->dummypp = true;
!
!         /*
!          * Set cost of plan as subpath's cost, adjusted for tlist replacement.
!          */
!         pathnode->path.rows = subpath->rows;
!         pathnode->path.startup_cost = subpath->startup_cost +
!             (target->cost.startup - oldtarget->cost.startup);
!         pathnode->path.total_cost = subpath->total_cost +
!             (target->cost.startup - oldtarget->cost.startup) +
!             (target->cost.per_tuple - oldtarget->cost.per_tuple) * subpath->rows;
!
!         /* Make sure create_projection_plan doesn't clobber parallel_aware */
!         pathnode->path.parallel_aware = subpath->parallel_aware;
!     }
!     else
!     {
!         /* We really do need the Result node */
!         pathnode->dummypp = false;
!
!         /*
!          * The Result node's cost is cpu_tuple_cost per row, plus the cost of
!          * evaluating the tlist.  There is no qual to worry about.
!          */
!         pathnode->path.rows = subpath->rows;
!         pathnode->path.startup_cost = subpath->startup_cost +
!             target->cost.startup;
!         pathnode->path.total_cost = subpath->total_cost +
!             target->cost.startup +
!             (cpu_tuple_cost + target->cost.per_tuple) * subpath->rows;
!     }

      return pathnode;
  }
*************** create_projection_path(PlannerInfo *root
*** 2199,2234 ****
   * apply_projection_to_path
   *      Add a projection step, or just apply the target directly to given path.
   *
!  * Most plan types include ExecProject, so we can implement a new projection
!  * without an extra plan node: just replace the given path's pathtarget with
!  * the desired one.  If the given path can't project, add a ProjectionPath.
   *
!  * We can also short-circuit cases where the targetlist expressions are
!  * actually equal; this is not an uncommon case, since it may arise from
!  * trying to apply a PathTarget with sortgroupref labeling to a derived
!  * path without such labeling.
   *
!  * This requires knowing that the source path won't be referenced for other
!  * purposes (e.g., other possible paths), since we modify it in-place.  Note
!  * also that we mustn't change the source path's parent link; so when it is
   * add_path'd to "rel" things will be a bit inconsistent.  So far that has
   * not caused any trouble.
   *
   * 'rel' is the parent relation associated with the result
   * 'path' is the path representing the source of data
   * 'target' is the PathTarget to be computed
-  * 'target_parallel' indicates that target expressions are all parallel-safe
   */
  Path *
  apply_projection_to_path(PlannerInfo *root,
                           RelOptInfo *rel,
                           Path *path,
!                          PathTarget *target,
!                          bool target_parallel)
  {
      QualCost    oldcost;

!     /* Make a separate ProjectionPath if needed */
      if (!is_projection_capable_path(path) &&
          !equal(path->pathtarget->exprs, target->exprs))
          return (Path *) create_projection_path(root, rel, path, target);
--- 2234,2269 ----
   * apply_projection_to_path
   *      Add a projection step, or just apply the target directly to given path.
   *
!  * This has the same net effect as create_projection_path(), except that if
!  * a separate Result plan node isn't needed, we just replace the given path's
!  * pathtarget with the desired one.  This must be used only when the caller
!  * knows that the given path isn't referenced elsewhere and so can be modified
!  * in-place.
   *
!  * If the input path is a GatherPath, we try to push the new target down to
!  * its input as well; this is a yet more invasive modification of the input
!  * path, which create_projection_path() can't do.
   *
!  * Note that we mustn't change the source path's parent link; so when it is
   * add_path'd to "rel" things will be a bit inconsistent.  So far that has
   * not caused any trouble.
   *
   * 'rel' is the parent relation associated with the result
   * 'path' is the path representing the source of data
   * 'target' is the PathTarget to be computed
   */
  Path *
  apply_projection_to_path(PlannerInfo *root,
                           RelOptInfo *rel,
                           Path *path,
!                          PathTarget *target)
  {
      QualCost    oldcost;

!     /*
!      * Make a separate ProjectionPath if a Result node is needed (see comments
!      * in create_projection_path).
!      */
      if (!is_projection_capable_path(path) &&
          !equal(path->pathtarget->exprs, target->exprs))
          return (Path *) create_projection_path(root, rel, path, target);
*************** apply_projection_to_path(PlannerInfo *ro
*** 2247,2256 ****
      /*
       * If the path happens to be a Gather path, we'd like to arrange for the
       * subpath to return the required target list so that workers can help
!      * project. But if there is something that is not parallel-safe in the
       * target expressions, then we can't.
       */
!     if (IsA(path, GatherPath) &&target_parallel)
      {
          GatherPath *gpath = (GatherPath *) path;

--- 2282,2292 ----
      /*
       * If the path happens to be a Gather path, we'd like to arrange for the
       * subpath to return the required target list so that workers can help
!      * project.  But if there is something that is not parallel-safe in the
       * target expressions, then we can't.
       */
!     if (IsA(path, GatherPath) &&
!         !has_parallel_hazard((Node *) target->exprs, false))
      {
          GatherPath *gpath = (GatherPath *) path;

*************** apply_projection_to_path(PlannerInfo *ro
*** 2258,2271 ****
           * We always use create_projection_path here, even if the subpath is
           * projection-capable, so as to avoid modifying the subpath in place.
           * It seems unlikely at present that there could be any other
!          * references to the subpath anyway, but better safe than sorry.
!          * (create_projection_plan will only insert a Result node if the
!          * subpath is not projection-capable, so we only include the cost of
!          * that node if it will actually be inserted.  This is a bit grotty
!          * but we can improve it later if it seems important.)
           */
-         if (!is_projection_capable_path(gpath->subpath))
-             gpath->path.total_cost += cpu_tuple_cost * gpath->subpath->rows;
          gpath->subpath = (Path *)
              create_projection_path(root,
                                     gpath->subpath->parent,
--- 2294,2305 ----
           * We always use create_projection_path here, even if the subpath is
           * projection-capable, so as to avoid modifying the subpath in place.
           * It seems unlikely at present that there could be any other
!          * references to the subpath, but better safe than sorry.
!          *
!          * Note that we don't change the GatherPath's cost estimates; it might
!          * be appropriate to do so, to reflect the fact that the bulk of the
!          * target evaluation will happen in workers.
           */
          gpath->subpath = (Path *)
              create_projection_path(root,
                                     gpath->subpath->parent,
diff --git a/src/include/nodes/relation.h b/src/include/nodes/relation.h
index 57747fc..9470df6 100644
*** a/src/include/nodes/relation.h
--- b/src/include/nodes/relation.h
*************** typedef struct HashPath
*** 1274,1288 ****
  /*
   * ProjectionPath represents a projection (that is, targetlist computation)
   *
!  * This path node represents using a Result plan node to do a projection.
!  * It's only needed atop a node that doesn't support projection (such as
!  * Sort); otherwise we just jam the new desired PathTarget into the lower
!  * path node, and adjust that node's estimated cost accordingly.
   */
  typedef struct ProjectionPath
  {
      Path        path;
      Path       *subpath;        /* path representing input source */
  } ProjectionPath;

  /*
--- 1274,1295 ----
  /*
   * ProjectionPath represents a projection (that is, targetlist computation)
   *
!  * Nominally, this path node represents using a Result plan node to do a
!  * projection step.  However, if the input plan node supports projection,
!  * we can just modify its output targetlist to do the required calculations
!  * directly, and not need a Result.  In some places in the planner we can just
!  * jam the desired PathTarget into the input path node (and adjust its cost
!  * accordingly), so we don't need a ProjectionPath.  But in other places
!  * it's necessary to not modify the input path node, so we need a separate
!  * ProjectionPath node, which is marked dummy to indicate that we intend to
!  * assign the work to the input plan node.  The estimated cost for the
!  * ProjectionPath node will account for whether a Result will be used or not.
   */
  typedef struct ProjectionPath
  {
      Path        path;
      Path       *subpath;        /* path representing input source */
+     bool        dummypp;        /* true if no separate Result is needed */
  } ProjectionPath;

  /*
diff --git a/src/include/optimizer/pathnode.h b/src/include/optimizer/pathnode.h
index 586ecdd..5de4c34 100644
*** a/src/include/optimizer/pathnode.h
--- b/src/include/optimizer/pathnode.h
*************** extern ProjectionPath *create_projection
*** 143,150 ****
  extern Path *apply_projection_to_path(PlannerInfo *root,
                           RelOptInfo *rel,
                           Path *path,
!                          PathTarget *target,
!                          bool target_parallel);
  extern SortPath *create_sort_path(PlannerInfo *root,
                   RelOptInfo *rel,
                   Path *subpath,
--- 143,149 ----
  extern Path *apply_projection_to_path(PlannerInfo *root,
                           RelOptInfo *rel,
                           Path *path,
!                          PathTarget *target);
  extern SortPath *create_sort_path(PlannerInfo *root,
                   RelOptInfo *rel,
                   Path *subpath,

I wrote:
> I had hoped that this would result in simplifying create_projection_plan
> so that it just makes a Result or not according to what
> create_projection_path decided, but there's one regression test case that
> fails (in the sense of showing a Result in the plan that isn't really
> needed).  That happens because create_merge_append_plan adds sort columns
> to the tlist and so a tlist match is possible after that happens when it
> didn't match before.  For the moment I kluged create_projection_plan so
> that that keeps working, but I wonder if it'd be better to just accept an
> extra Result in that case.

After further thought about that, I realized the issue is bigger than just
MergeAppend nodes: in general, if createplan.c alters the tlist of a node
by adding resjunk columns, that could break the earlier decision about
whether the tlist expressions are equal, *in either direction*.  So we
have to consider that create_projection_path's decision is just tentative
anytime we are dealing with a non-projection-capable subpath.  I think
this means that apply_projection_to_path is actually broken right now,
because it supposes that any tlist equality that it sees can't change
later.  (It might be that we don't use it in a way that would cause that
to manifest, but I don't have a lot of faith in that, since this code is
all pretty new.)  Revised patch attached.

            regards, tom lane

diff --git a/src/backend/nodes/outfuncs.c b/src/backend/nodes/outfuncs.c
index b675447..b0a28f5 100644
*** a/src/backend/nodes/outfuncs.c
--- b/src/backend/nodes/outfuncs.c
*************** _outProjectionPath(StringInfo str, const
*** 1809,1814 ****
--- 1809,1815 ----
      _outPathInfo(str, (const Path *) node);

      WRITE_NODE_FIELD(subpath);
+     WRITE_BOOL_FIELD(dummypp);
  }

  static void
diff --git a/src/backend/optimizer/plan/createplan.c b/src/backend/optimizer/plan/createplan.c
index ab8df76..b2db6e8 100644
*** a/src/backend/optimizer/plan/createplan.c
--- b/src/backend/optimizer/plan/createplan.c
*************** create_gather_plan(PlannerInfo *root, Ga
*** 1409,1416 ****
  /*
   * create_projection_plan
   *
!  *      Create a Result node to do a projection step and (recursively) plans
!  *      for its subpaths.
   */
  static Plan *
  create_projection_plan(PlannerInfo *root, ProjectionPath *best_path)
--- 1409,1417 ----
  /*
   * create_projection_plan
   *
!  *      Create a plan tree to do a projection step and (recursively) plans
!  *      for its subpaths.  We may need a Result node for the projection,
!  *      but sometimes we can just let the subplan do the work.
   */
  static Plan *
  create_projection_plan(PlannerInfo *root, ProjectionPath *best_path)
*************** create_projection_plan(PlannerInfo *root
*** 1425,1455 ****
      tlist = build_path_tlist(root, &best_path->path);

      /*
!      * We might not really need a Result node here.  There are several ways
!      * that this can happen.  For example, MergeAppend doesn't project, so we
!      * would have thought that we needed a projection to attach resjunk sort
!      * columns to its output ... but create_merge_append_plan might have added
!      * those same resjunk sort columns to both MergeAppend and its children.
!      * Alternatively, apply_projection_to_path might have created a projection
!      * path as the subpath of a Gather node even though the subpath was
!      * projection-capable.  So, if the subpath is capable of projection or the
!      * desired tlist is the same expression-wise as the subplan's, just jam it
!      * in there.  We'll have charged for a Result that doesn't actually appear
!      * in the plan, but that's better than having a Result we don't need.
       */
      if (is_projection_capable_path(best_path->subpath) ||
          tlist_same_exprs(tlist, subplan->targetlist))
      {
          plan = subplan;
          plan->targetlist = tlist;

!         /* Adjust cost to match what we thought during planning */
          plan->startup_cost = best_path->path.startup_cost;
          plan->total_cost = best_path->path.total_cost;
          /* ... but be careful not to munge subplan's parallel-aware flag */
      }
      else
      {
          plan = (Plan *) make_result(tlist, NULL, subplan);

          copy_generic_path_info(plan, (Path *) best_path);
--- 1426,1462 ----
      tlist = build_path_tlist(root, &best_path->path);

      /*
!      * We might not really need a Result node here, either because the subplan
!      * can project or because it's returning the right list of expressions
!      * anyway.  Usually create_projection_path will have detected that and set
!      * dummypp if we don't need a Result; but its decision can't be final,
!      * because some createplan.c routines change the tlists of their nodes.
!      * (An example is that create_merge_append_plan might add resjunk sort
!      * columns to a MergeAppend.)  So we have to recheck here.  If we do
!      * arrive at a different answer than create_projection_path did, we'll
!      * have made slightly wrong cost estimates; but label the plan with the
!      * cost estimates we actually used, not "corrected" ones.  (XXX this could
!      * be cleaned up if we moved more of the sortcolumn setup logic into Path
!      * creation, but that would add expense to creating Paths we might end up
!      * not using.)
       */
      if (is_projection_capable_path(best_path->subpath) ||
          tlist_same_exprs(tlist, subplan->targetlist))
      {
+         /* Don't need a separate Result, just assign tlist to subplan */
          plan = subplan;
          plan->targetlist = tlist;

!         /* Label plan with the estimated costs we actually used */
          plan->startup_cost = best_path->path.startup_cost;
          plan->total_cost = best_path->path.total_cost;
+         plan->plan_rows = best_path->path.rows;
+         plan->plan_width = best_path->path.pathtarget->width;
          /* ... but be careful not to munge subplan's parallel-aware flag */
      }
      else
      {
+         /* We need a Result node */
          plan = (Plan *) make_result(tlist, NULL, subplan);

          copy_generic_path_info(plan, (Path *) best_path);
diff --git a/src/backend/optimizer/plan/planagg.c b/src/backend/optimizer/plan/planagg.c
index 0434a5a..cefec7b 100644
*** a/src/backend/optimizer/plan/planagg.c
--- b/src/backend/optimizer/plan/planagg.c
*************** build_minmax_path(PlannerInfo *root, Min
*** 465,472 ****
       * cheapest path.)
       */
      sorted_path = apply_projection_to_path(subroot, final_rel, sorted_path,
!                                            create_pathtarget(subroot, tlist),
!                                            false);

      /*
       * Determine cost to get just the first row of the presorted path.
--- 465,471 ----
       * cheapest path.)
       */
      sorted_path = apply_projection_to_path(subroot, final_rel, sorted_path,
!                                            create_pathtarget(subroot, tlist));

      /*
       * Determine cost to get just the first row of the presorted path.
diff --git a/src/backend/optimizer/plan/planner.c b/src/backend/optimizer/plan/planner.c
index 094c708..2372311 100644
*** a/src/backend/optimizer/plan/planner.c
--- b/src/backend/optimizer/plan/planner.c
*************** grouping_planner(PlannerInfo *root, bool
*** 1500,1506 ****
          PathTarget *grouping_target;
          PathTarget *scanjoin_target;
          bool        have_grouping;
-         bool        scanjoin_target_parallel_safe = false;
          WindowFuncLists *wflists = NULL;
          List       *activeWindows = NIL;
          List       *rollup_lists = NIL;
--- 1500,1505 ----
*************** grouping_planner(PlannerInfo *root, bool
*** 1731,1744 ****
              scanjoin_target = grouping_target;

          /*
-          * Check whether scan/join target is parallel safe ... unless there
-          * are no partial paths, in which case we don't care.
-          */
-         if (current_rel->partial_pathlist &&
-             !has_parallel_hazard((Node *) scanjoin_target->exprs, false))
-             scanjoin_target_parallel_safe = true;
-
-         /*
           * Forcibly apply scan/join target to all the Paths for the scan/join
           * rel.
           *
--- 1730,1735 ----
*************** grouping_planner(PlannerInfo *root, bool
*** 1756,1763 ****

              Assert(subpath->param_info == NULL);
              path = apply_projection_to_path(root, current_rel,
!                                             subpath, scanjoin_target,
!                                             scanjoin_target_parallel_safe);
              /* If we had to add a Result, path is different from subpath */
              if (path != subpath)
              {
--- 1747,1753 ----

              Assert(subpath->param_info == NULL);
              path = apply_projection_to_path(root, current_rel,
!                                             subpath, scanjoin_target);
              /* If we had to add a Result, path is different from subpath */
              if (path != subpath)
              {
*************** grouping_planner(PlannerInfo *root, bool
*** 1774,1788 ****
           * partial pathlist will expect partial paths for that rel to produce
           * the same output as complete paths ... and we just changed the
           * output for the complete paths, so we'll need to do the same thing
!          * for partial paths.
           */
!         if (scanjoin_target_parallel_safe)
          {
!             /*
!              * Apply the scan/join target to each partial path.  Otherwise,
!              * anything that attempts to use the partial paths for further
!              * upper planning may go wrong.
!              */
              foreach(lc, current_rel->partial_pathlist)
              {
                  Path       *subpath = (Path *) lfirst(lc);
--- 1764,1776 ----
           * partial pathlist will expect partial paths for that rel to produce
           * the same output as complete paths ... and we just changed the
           * output for the complete paths, so we'll need to do the same thing
!          * for partial paths.  But only parallel-safe expressions can be
!          * computed by partial paths.
           */
!         if (current_rel->partial_pathlist &&
!             !has_parallel_hazard((Node *) scanjoin_target->exprs, false))
          {
!             /* Apply the scan/join target to each partial path */
              foreach(lc, current_rel->partial_pathlist)
              {
                  Path       *subpath = (Path *) lfirst(lc);
*************** grouping_planner(PlannerInfo *root, bool
*** 1792,1827 ****
                  Assert(subpath->param_info == NULL);

                  /*
!                  * We can't use apply_projection_to_path() here, because there
!                  * could already be pointers to these paths, and therefore we
!                  * dare not modify them in place.  Instead, we must use
!                  * create_projection_path() unconditionally.
                   */
                  newpath = (Path *) create_projection_path(root,
                                                            current_rel,
                                                            subpath,
                                                            scanjoin_target);
-
-                 /*
-                  * Although create_projection_path() inserts a ProjectionPath
-                  * unconditionally, create_projection_plan() will only insert
-                  * a Result node if the subpath is not projection-capable, so
-                  * we should discount the cost of that node if it will not
-                  * actually get inserted.  (This is pretty grotty but we can
-                  * improve it later if it seems important.)
-                  */
-                 if (equal(scanjoin_target->exprs, subpath->pathtarget->exprs))
-                 {
-                     /* at most we need a relabeling of the subpath */
-                     newpath->startup_cost = subpath->startup_cost;
-                     newpath->total_cost = subpath->total_cost;
-                 }
-                 else if (is_projection_capable_path(subpath))
-                 {
-                     /* need to project, but we don't need a Result */
-                     newpath->total_cost -= cpu_tuple_cost * subpath->rows;
-                 }
-
                  lfirst(lc) = newpath;
              }
          }
--- 1780,1793 ----
                  Assert(subpath->param_info == NULL);

                  /*
!                  * Don't use apply_projection_to_path() here, because there
!                  * could be other pointers to these paths, and therefore we
!                  * mustn't modify them in place.
                   */
                  newpath = (Path *) create_projection_path(root,
                                                            current_rel,
                                                            subpath,
                                                            scanjoin_target);
                  lfirst(lc) = newpath;
              }
          }
*************** create_ordered_paths(PlannerInfo *root,
*** 4231,4237 ****
              /* Add projection step if needed */
              if (path->pathtarget != target)
                  path = apply_projection_to_path(root, ordered_rel,
!                                                 path, target, false);

              add_path(ordered_rel, path);
          }
--- 4197,4203 ----
              /* Add projection step if needed */
              if (path->pathtarget != target)
                  path = apply_projection_to_path(root, ordered_rel,
!                                                 path, target);

              add_path(ordered_rel, path);
          }
diff --git a/src/backend/optimizer/prep/prepunion.c b/src/backend/optimizer/prep/prepunion.c
index 30975e0..552b756 100644
*** a/src/backend/optimizer/prep/prepunion.c
--- b/src/backend/optimizer/prep/prepunion.c
*************** recurse_set_operations(Node *setOp, Plan
*** 325,332 ****
                                       refnames_tlist);

          path = apply_projection_to_path(root, rel, path,
!                                         create_pathtarget(root, tlist),
!                                         false);

          /* Return the fully-fledged tlist to caller, too */
          *pTargetList = tlist;
--- 325,331 ----
                                       refnames_tlist);

          path = apply_projection_to_path(root, rel, path,
!                                         create_pathtarget(root, tlist));

          /* Return the fully-fledged tlist to caller, too */
          *pTargetList = tlist;
*************** recurse_set_operations(Node *setOp, Plan
*** 395,402 ****
                                              path->parent,
                                              path,
                                              create_pathtarget(root,
!                                                               *pTargetList),
!                                             false);
          }
          return path;
      }
--- 394,400 ----
                                              path->parent,
                                              path,
                                              create_pathtarget(root,
!                                                               *pTargetList));
          }
          return path;
      }
diff --git a/src/backend/optimizer/util/pathnode.c b/src/backend/optimizer/util/pathnode.c
index 0ff353f..8fd933f 100644
*** a/src/backend/optimizer/util/pathnode.c
--- b/src/backend/optimizer/util/pathnode.c
*************** create_projection_path(PlannerInfo *root
*** 2168,2173 ****
--- 2168,2174 ----
                         PathTarget *target)
  {
      ProjectionPath *pathnode = makeNode(ProjectionPath);
+     PathTarget *oldtarget = subpath->pathtarget;

      pathnode->path.pathtype = T_Result;
      pathnode->path.parent = rel;
*************** create_projection_path(PlannerInfo *root
*** 2184,2196 ****
      pathnode->subpath = subpath;

      /*
!      * The Result node's cost is cpu_tuple_cost per row, plus the cost of
!      * evaluating the tlist.  There is no qual to worry about.
       */
!     pathnode->path.rows = subpath->rows;
!     pathnode->path.startup_cost = subpath->startup_cost + target->cost.startup;
!     pathnode->path.total_cost = subpath->total_cost + target->cost.startup +
!         (cpu_tuple_cost + target->cost.per_tuple) * subpath->rows;

      return pathnode;
  }
--- 2185,2230 ----
      pathnode->subpath = subpath;

      /*
!      * We might not need a separate Result node.  If the input plan node type
!      * can project, we can just tell it to project something else.  Or, if it
!      * can't project but the desired target has the same expression list as
!      * what the input will produce anyway, we can still give it the desired
!      * tlist (possibly changing its ressortgroupref labels, but nothing else).
!      * Note: in the latter case, create_projection_plan has to recheck our
!      * conclusion; see comments therein.
       */
!     if (is_projection_capable_path(subpath) ||
!         equal(oldtarget->exprs, target->exprs))
!     {
!         /* No separate Result node needed */
!         pathnode->dummypp = true;
!
!         /*
!          * Set cost of plan as subpath's cost, adjusted for tlist replacement.
!          */
!         pathnode->path.rows = subpath->rows;
!         pathnode->path.startup_cost = subpath->startup_cost +
!             (target->cost.startup - oldtarget->cost.startup);
!         pathnode->path.total_cost = subpath->total_cost +
!             (target->cost.startup - oldtarget->cost.startup) +
!             (target->cost.per_tuple - oldtarget->cost.per_tuple) * subpath->rows;
!     }
!     else
!     {
!         /* We really do need the Result node */
!         pathnode->dummypp = false;
!
!         /*
!          * The Result node's cost is cpu_tuple_cost per row, plus the cost of
!          * evaluating the tlist.  There is no qual to worry about.
!          */
!         pathnode->path.rows = subpath->rows;
!         pathnode->path.startup_cost = subpath->startup_cost +
!             target->cost.startup;
!         pathnode->path.total_cost = subpath->total_cost +
!             target->cost.startup +
!             (cpu_tuple_cost + target->cost.per_tuple) * subpath->rows;
!     }

      return pathnode;
  }
*************** create_projection_path(PlannerInfo *root
*** 2199,2236 ****
   * apply_projection_to_path
   *      Add a projection step, or just apply the target directly to given path.
   *
!  * Most plan types include ExecProject, so we can implement a new projection
!  * without an extra plan node: just replace the given path's pathtarget with
!  * the desired one.  If the given path can't project, add a ProjectionPath.
   *
!  * We can also short-circuit cases where the targetlist expressions are
!  * actually equal; this is not an uncommon case, since it may arise from
!  * trying to apply a PathTarget with sortgroupref labeling to a derived
!  * path without such labeling.
   *
!  * This requires knowing that the source path won't be referenced for other
!  * purposes (e.g., other possible paths), since we modify it in-place.  Note
!  * also that we mustn't change the source path's parent link; so when it is
   * add_path'd to "rel" things will be a bit inconsistent.  So far that has
   * not caused any trouble.
   *
   * 'rel' is the parent relation associated with the result
   * 'path' is the path representing the source of data
   * 'target' is the PathTarget to be computed
-  * 'target_parallel' indicates that target expressions are all parallel-safe
   */
  Path *
  apply_projection_to_path(PlannerInfo *root,
                           RelOptInfo *rel,
                           Path *path,
!                          PathTarget *target,
!                          bool target_parallel)
  {
      QualCost    oldcost;

!     /* Make a separate ProjectionPath if needed */
!     if (!is_projection_capable_path(path) &&
!         !equal(path->pathtarget->exprs, target->exprs))
          return (Path *) create_projection_path(root, rel, path, target);

      /*
--- 2233,2269 ----
   * apply_projection_to_path
   *      Add a projection step, or just apply the target directly to given path.
   *
!  * This has the same net effect as create_projection_path(), except that if
!  * a separate Result plan node isn't needed, we just replace the given path's
!  * pathtarget with the desired one.  This must be used only when the caller
!  * knows that the given path isn't referenced elsewhere and so can be modified
!  * in-place.
   *
!  * If the input path is a GatherPath, we try to push the new target down to
!  * its input as well; this is a yet more invasive modification of the input
!  * path, which create_projection_path() can't do.
   *
!  * Note that we mustn't change the source path's parent link; so when it is
   * add_path'd to "rel" things will be a bit inconsistent.  So far that has
   * not caused any trouble.
   *
   * 'rel' is the parent relation associated with the result
   * 'path' is the path representing the source of data
   * 'target' is the PathTarget to be computed
   */
  Path *
  apply_projection_to_path(PlannerInfo *root,
                           RelOptInfo *rel,
                           Path *path,
!                          PathTarget *target)
  {
      QualCost    oldcost;

!     /*
!      * If given path can't project, we might need a Result node, so make a
!      * separate ProjectionPath.
!      */
!     if (!is_projection_capable_path(path))
          return (Path *) create_projection_path(root, rel, path, target);

      /*
*************** apply_projection_to_path(PlannerInfo *ro
*** 2247,2256 ****
      /*
       * If the path happens to be a Gather path, we'd like to arrange for the
       * subpath to return the required target list so that workers can help
!      * project. But if there is something that is not parallel-safe in the
       * target expressions, then we can't.
       */
!     if (IsA(path, GatherPath) &&target_parallel)
      {
          GatherPath *gpath = (GatherPath *) path;

--- 2280,2290 ----
      /*
       * If the path happens to be a Gather path, we'd like to arrange for the
       * subpath to return the required target list so that workers can help
!      * project.  But if there is something that is not parallel-safe in the
       * target expressions, then we can't.
       */
!     if (IsA(path, GatherPath) &&
!         !has_parallel_hazard((Node *) target->exprs, false))
      {
          GatherPath *gpath = (GatherPath *) path;

*************** apply_projection_to_path(PlannerInfo *ro
*** 2258,2271 ****
           * We always use create_projection_path here, even if the subpath is
           * projection-capable, so as to avoid modifying the subpath in place.
           * It seems unlikely at present that there could be any other
!          * references to the subpath anyway, but better safe than sorry.
!          * (create_projection_plan will only insert a Result node if the
!          * subpath is not projection-capable, so we only include the cost of
!          * that node if it will actually be inserted.  This is a bit grotty
!          * but we can improve it later if it seems important.)
           */
-         if (!is_projection_capable_path(gpath->subpath))
-             gpath->path.total_cost += cpu_tuple_cost * gpath->subpath->rows;
          gpath->subpath = (Path *)
              create_projection_path(root,
                                     gpath->subpath->parent,
--- 2292,2303 ----
           * We always use create_projection_path here, even if the subpath is
           * projection-capable, so as to avoid modifying the subpath in place.
           * It seems unlikely at present that there could be any other
!          * references to the subpath, but better safe than sorry.
!          *
!          * Note that we don't change the GatherPath's cost estimates; it might
!          * be appropriate to do so, to reflect the fact that the bulk of the
!          * target evaluation will happen in workers.
           */
          gpath->subpath = (Path *)
              create_projection_path(root,
                                     gpath->subpath->parent,
diff --git a/src/include/nodes/relation.h b/src/include/nodes/relation.h
index 57747fc..9470df6 100644
*** a/src/include/nodes/relation.h
--- b/src/include/nodes/relation.h
*************** typedef struct HashPath
*** 1274,1288 ****
  /*
   * ProjectionPath represents a projection (that is, targetlist computation)
   *
!  * This path node represents using a Result plan node to do a projection.
!  * It's only needed atop a node that doesn't support projection (such as
!  * Sort); otherwise we just jam the new desired PathTarget into the lower
!  * path node, and adjust that node's estimated cost accordingly.
   */
  typedef struct ProjectionPath
  {
      Path        path;
      Path       *subpath;        /* path representing input source */
  } ProjectionPath;

  /*
--- 1274,1295 ----
  /*
   * ProjectionPath represents a projection (that is, targetlist computation)
   *
!  * Nominally, this path node represents using a Result plan node to do a
!  * projection step.  However, if the input plan node supports projection,
!  * we can just modify its output targetlist to do the required calculations
!  * directly, and not need a Result.  In some places in the planner we can just
!  * jam the desired PathTarget into the input path node (and adjust its cost
!  * accordingly), so we don't need a ProjectionPath.  But in other places
!  * it's necessary to not modify the input path node, so we need a separate
!  * ProjectionPath node, which is marked dummy to indicate that we intend to
!  * assign the work to the input plan node.  The estimated cost for the
!  * ProjectionPath node will account for whether a Result will be used or not.
   */
  typedef struct ProjectionPath
  {
      Path        path;
      Path       *subpath;        /* path representing input source */
+     bool        dummypp;        /* true if no separate Result is needed */
  } ProjectionPath;

  /*
diff --git a/src/include/optimizer/pathnode.h b/src/include/optimizer/pathnode.h
index 586ecdd..5de4c34 100644
*** a/src/include/optimizer/pathnode.h
--- b/src/include/optimizer/pathnode.h
*************** extern ProjectionPath *create_projection
*** 143,150 ****
  extern Path *apply_projection_to_path(PlannerInfo *root,
                           RelOptInfo *rel,
                           Path *path,
!                          PathTarget *target,
!                          bool target_parallel);
  extern SortPath *create_sort_path(PlannerInfo *root,
                   RelOptInfo *rel,
                   Path *subpath,
--- 143,149 ----
  extern Path *apply_projection_to_path(PlannerInfo *root,
                           RelOptInfo *rel,
                           Path *path,
!                          PathTarget *target);
  extern SortPath *create_sort_path(PlannerInfo *root,
                   RelOptInfo *rel,
                   Path *subpath,