ToDo List Item - System Table Index Clustering

Hello Postgres Hackers,

In reference to this todo item about clustering system table indexes,           
( http://archives.postgresql.org/pgsql-hackers/2004-05/msg00989.php ) 
I have been studying the system tables to see which would benefit  from 
clustering.  I have some index suggestions and a question if you have a 
moment.

Cluster Candidates:

	pg_attribute:  Make the existing index ( attrelid, attnum ) clustered to 
	order it by table and column.
	
	pg_attrdef:  Existing index ( adrelid, adnum ) clustered to order it
	by table and column.

	pg_constraint:  Existing index ( conrelid ) clustered to get table 
	constraints contiguous.

	pg_depend: Existing Index (refclassid, refobjid, refobjsubid) clustered
	to so that when the referenced object is changed its dependencies 
	arevcontiguous.

	pg_description: Make the existing index ( Objoid, classoid, objsubid ) 
	clustered to order it by entity, catalog, and optional column.  
		* reversing the first two columns makes more sense to me ... 
		catalog, object, column or since object implies catalog ( right? ) 
		just dispensing with catalog altogether, but that would mean 
		creating a new index.
	
	pg_shdependent: Existing index (refclassid, refobjid) clustered for 
	same reason as pg_depend.

	pg_statistic: Existing index (starelid, staattnum) clustered to order 
	it by table and column.

	pg_trigger:  Make the existing index ( tgrelid, tgname ) clustered to 
	order it by table then name getting all the triggers on a table together.

Maybe Cluster:

	pg_rewrite: Not sure about this one ... The existing index ( ev_class,
	rulename ) seems logical to cluster to get all the rewrite rules for a
	given table contiguous but in the db's available to me virtually every
	table only has one rewrite rule.  

	pg_auth_members:  We could order it by role or by member of
	that role.  Not sure which would be more valuable.


Stupid newbie question:


	is there a way to make queries on the system tables show me what 
	is actually there when I'm poking around?  So for example:

		Select * from pg_type limit 1;

	tells me that the typoutput is 'boolout'.  An english string rather than 
	a number.  So even though the documentation says that column
	maps to pg_proc.oid I can't then write:

		Select * from pg_proc where oid = 'boolout';

	It would be very helpful if I wasn't learning the system but since I
	am I'd like to turn it off for now.  Fewer layers of abstraction.


Thanks,

Simone Aiken

303-956-7188
Quietly Competent Consulting