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Re: Is PostgreSQL good?

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Hi Mladen,

On 6/30/2011 8:41 AM, Mladen Gogala wrote:
> On Thu, 30 Jun 2011 07:05:54 -0700, Don Y wrote:
>
>> Are hints on a par with the 'register' keyword in C?
>
> Yes.
>
>> I.e., something
>> you *hope* gives the compiler an insight into your algorithm -- but,
>> that the compiler is free to *ignore*?
>
> C compiler is not free to ignore "register" keyword and neither is the
> database free to ignore hints. Compiler has to place your variable in a
> register, if there is one available. Database also must obey hints, if

No, the compiler can (and usually *does*) ignore the 'register'
keyword.  It (was originally) intended as a "hint" (in the generic
sense of the word) to the compiler for a possible optimization
"in the opinion of the programmer".

This is unlike, for example, the contract that "volatile" imposes
on the compiler (which can NOT be ignored).

[I obviously can't commeent on what the DBMS "must" do regarding
*its* "hints"]

I deliberately chose this example as it seems (to me) intuitively
related to what a hint *might* be in database-parlance.

> possible. Also, with C there is one more keyword, namely "asm", which may
> be used to coerce the code to behave precisely as you want.

Are you inferring that database hints impose the same sort of
constraints on the DBMS?

> This analogy is not good for several reasons, the main one being the
> difference between the directly executable vs. interpreted paradigms.
> If C was the only compiler to disallow "hints", it wouldn't be so
> popular. Now, if PostgreSQL was the only major database to disallow
> hints...?

This depends on the role "hints" (in their respective domains)
are expected to play.  E.g., I can *rarely* give a hint to a decent
C compiler that is *better* than what the compiler can deduce on
its own.  That's not a bad reflection on me but, rather, praise
for how advanced C optimizers have become.

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migrating oracle to postgres Username <user@domain.tld> - 2011-06-20 19:28 +0200
  Re: migrating oracle to postgres Mladen Gogala <no@email.here.invalid> - 2011-06-20 20:08 +0000
    Re: migrating oracle to postgres Username <user@domain.tld> - 2011-06-20 23:45 +0200
      Re: migrating oracle to postgres Mladen Gogala <no@email.here.invalid> - 2011-06-20 22:37 +0000
      Re: migrating oracle to postgres Mladen Gogala <gogala.mladen@gmail.com> - 2011-06-21 02:01 +0000
  Re: migrating oracle to postgres "Laurenz Albe" <invite@spam.to.invalid> - 2011-06-21 09:18 +0200
    Re: migrating oracle to postgres Mladen Gogala <gogala.mladen@gmail.com> - 2011-06-21 13:38 +0000
      Is PostgreSQL good? (was: migrating oracle to postgres) "Laurenz Albe" <invite@spam.to.invalid> - 2011-06-22 12:30 +0200
        Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Harry Tuttle <OTPXDAJCSJVU@spammotel.com> - 2011-06-22 13:15 +0200
        Re: Is PostgreSQL good? (was: migrating oracle to postgres) Mladen Gogala <gogala.mladen@gmail.com> - 2011-06-22 12:02 +0000
          Re: Is PostgreSQL good? "M. Strobel" <sorry_no_mail_here@nowhere.dee> - 2011-06-22 21:52 +0200
            Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Mladen Gogala <no@email.here.invalid> - 2011-06-22 22:43 +0000
          Re: Is PostgreSQL good? (was: migrating oracle to postgres) "Laurenz Albe" <invite@spam.to.invalid> - 2011-06-24 12:29 +0200
            Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Hans Castorp <REWYRLXHEGHO@spammotel.com> - 2011-06-24 12:57 +0200
              Re: Is PostgreSQL good? "Laurenz Albe" <invite@spam.to.invalid> - 2011-06-24 14:53 +0200
              Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Mladen Gogala <no@email.here.invalid> - 2011-06-24 16:32 +0000
            Re: Is PostgreSQL good? (was: migrating oracle to postgres) Mladen Gogala <gogala.mladen@gmail.com> - 2011-06-24 13:53 +0000
              Re: Is PostgreSQL good? (was: migrating oracle to postgres) "Laurenz Albe" <invite@spam.to.invalid> - 2011-06-27 11:17 +0200
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? (was: migrating oracle to postgres) Mladen Gogala <gogala.mladen@gmail.com> - 2011-06-28 06:11 +0000
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? "Laurenz Albe" <invite@spam.to.invalid> - 2011-06-28 10:34 +0200
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Mladen Gogala <gogala.mladen@gmail.com> - 2011-06-28 13:30 +0000
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? "Laurenz Albe" <invite@spam.to.invalid> - 2011-06-29 09:50 +0200
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Mladen Gogala <no@email.here.invalid> - 2011-06-29 21:38 +0000
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? "Laurenz Albe" <invite@spam.to.invalid> - 2011-06-30 09:14 +0200
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Mladen Gogala <mgogala@no.address.invalid> - 2011-06-30 13:22 +0000
            Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Don Y <nowhere@here.com> - 2011-06-30 07:05 -0700
              Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Mladen Gogala <no@email.here.invalid> - 2011-06-30 15:41 +0000
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Richard Kettlewell <rjk@greenend.org.uk> - 2011-06-30 16:49 +0100
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Mladen Gogala <no@email.here.invalid> - 2011-06-30 19:24 +0000
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Don Y <nowhere@here.com> - 2011-06-30 13:21 -0700
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Mladen Gogala <no@email.here.invalid> - 2011-06-30 22:42 +0000
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Don Y <nowhere@here.com> - 2011-07-01 11:57 -0700
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Mladen Gogala <gogala.mladen@gmail.com> - 2011-07-01 22:58 +0000
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Richard Kettlewell <rjk@greenend.org.uk> - 2011-07-01 14:07 +0100
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Mladen Gogala <gogala.mladen@gmail.com> - 2011-07-01 13:29 +0000
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Don Y <nowhere@here.com> - 2011-06-30 13:17 -0700
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Mladen Gogala <gogala.mladen@gmail.com> - 2011-06-30 23:53 +0000
              Re: Is PostgreSQL good? "Laurenz Albe" <invite@spam.to.invalid> - 2011-07-01 10:13 +0200
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Mladen Gogala <gogala.mladen@gmail.com> - 2011-07-01 13:38 +0000
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? "Laurenz Albe" <invite@spam.to.invalid> - 2011-07-01 16:58 +0200
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Mladen Gogala <no@email.here.invalid> - 2011-07-01 15:33 +0000
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Don Y <nowhere@here.com> - 2011-07-01 11:39 -0700
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? "Laurenz Albe" <invite@spam.to.invalid> - 2011-07-04 16:39 +0200
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Don Y <nowhere@here.com> - 2011-07-04 12:11 -0700
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? "Laurenz Albe" <invite@spam.to.invalid> - 2011-07-05 08:58 +0200
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Don Y <nowhere@here.com> - 2011-07-05 11:29 -0700
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? "Laurenz Albe" <invite@spam.to.invalid> - 2011-07-06 09:00 +0200
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Don Y <nowhere@here.com> - 2011-07-06 01:00 -0700
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? "Laurenz Albe" <invite@spam.to.invalid> - 2011-07-07 09:05 +0200
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Don Y <nowhere@here.com> - 2011-07-07 00:34 -0700
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Matthew Woodcraft <mattheww@chiark.greenend.org.uk> - 2011-07-04 20:12 +0100
                Re: Is PostgreSQL good? Don Y <nowhere@here.com> - 2011-07-04 12:24 -0700
      Re: migrating oracle to postgres Robert Klemme <shortcutter@googlemail.com> - 2011-06-23 17:48 +0200
        Re: migrating oracle to postgres Mladen Gogala <no@email.here.invalid> - 2011-06-23 16:42 +0000
          Re: migrating oracle to postgres Mladen Gogala <no@email.here.invalid> - 2011-06-23 18:57 +0000
          Re: migrating oracle to postgres Robert Klemme <shortcutter@googlemail.com> - 2011-06-26 17:35 +0200
            Re: migrating oracle to postgres Mladen Gogala <gogala.mladen@gmail.com> - 2011-06-26 19:08 +0000
          Re: migrating oracle to postgres Robert Klemme <shortcutter@googlemail.com> - 2011-06-27 00:32 -0700
            Re: migrating oracle to postgres Mladen Gogala <no@email.here.invalid> - 2011-06-28 16:00 +0000
              Re: migrating oracle to postgres Robert Klemme <shortcutter@googlemail.com> - 2011-06-28 22:28 +0200

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