Re: Strange Create Index behaviour

Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>

From: Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>
To: Gary Doades <gpd@gpdnet.co.uk>
Cc: pgsql-performance@postgresql.org
Date: 2006-02-15T21:51:23Z
Lists: pgsql-hackers, pgsql-performance
Gary Doades <gpd@gpdnet.co.uk> writes:
> Interestingly, if I don't delete the table after a run, but just drop 
> and re-create the index repeatedly it stays a pretty consistent time, 
> either repeatedly good or repeatedly bad!

This is consistent with the theory of a data-dependent performance
problem in qsort.  If you don't generate a fresh set of random test
data, then you get repeatable runtimes.  With a new set of test data,
you might or might not hit the not-so-sweet-spot that we seem to have
detected.

			regards, tom lane