Re: 8.x index insert performance - Mailing list pgsql-performance

From Greg Stark
Subject Re: 8.x index insert performance
Date
Msg-id 87oe53hsfy.fsf@stark.xeocode.com
Whole thread Raw
In response to Re: 8.x index insert performance  ("Merlin Moncure" <merlin.moncure@rcsonline.com>)
List pgsql-performance
"Merlin Moncure" <merlin.moncure@rcsonline.com> writes:

> > select * from sometable where somefield IS NULL won't work because IS
> is
> > not a nomally indexible operator.
>
> Ah, I didn't know that.  So there is no real reason not to exclude null
> values from all your indexes :).  Reading Tom's recent comments
> everything is clear now.

There are other reasons. If you want a query like

  SELECT * FROM tab ORDER BY col LIMIT 10

to use an index on col then it can't exclude NULLs or else it wouldn't be
useful. (Oracle actually has this problem, you frequently have to add WHERE
col IS NOT NULL" in order to let it use an index.)


--
greg

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