a15e8ce7b6
Document that CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY is not currently supported for indexes on partitioned tables. Discussion: https://postgr.es/m/CAKJS1f_CErd2z9L21Q8OGLD4TgH7yw1z9MAtHTSO13sXVG-yow@mail.gmail.com Backpatch-through: 11
860 lines
33 KiB
Plaintext
860 lines
33 KiB
Plaintext
<!--
|
|
doc/src/sgml/ref/create_index.sgml
|
|
PostgreSQL documentation
|
|
-->
|
|
|
|
<refentry id="sql-createindex">
|
|
<indexterm zone="sql-createindex">
|
|
<primary>CREATE INDEX</primary>
|
|
</indexterm>
|
|
|
|
<refmeta>
|
|
<refentrytitle>CREATE INDEX</refentrytitle>
|
|
<manvolnum>7</manvolnum>
|
|
<refmiscinfo>SQL - Language Statements</refmiscinfo>
|
|
</refmeta>
|
|
|
|
<refnamediv>
|
|
<refname>CREATE INDEX</refname>
|
|
<refpurpose>define a new index</refpurpose>
|
|
</refnamediv>
|
|
|
|
<refsynopsisdiv>
|
|
<synopsis>
|
|
CREATE [ UNIQUE ] INDEX [ CONCURRENTLY ] [ [ IF NOT EXISTS ] <replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable> ] ON [ ONLY ] <replaceable class="parameter">table_name</replaceable> [ USING <replaceable class="parameter">method</replaceable> ]
|
|
( { <replaceable class="parameter">column_name</replaceable> | ( <replaceable class="parameter">expression</replaceable> ) } [ COLLATE <replaceable class="parameter">collation</replaceable> ] [ <replaceable class="parameter">opclass</replaceable> ] [ ASC | DESC ] [ NULLS { FIRST | LAST } ] [, ...] )
|
|
[ INCLUDE ( <replaceable class="parameter">column_name</replaceable> [, ...] ) ]
|
|
[ WITH ( <replaceable class="parameter">storage_parameter</replaceable> = <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> [, ... ] ) ]
|
|
[ TABLESPACE <replaceable class="parameter">tablespace_name</replaceable> ]
|
|
[ WHERE <replaceable class="parameter">predicate</replaceable> ]
|
|
</synopsis>
|
|
</refsynopsisdiv>
|
|
|
|
<refsect1>
|
|
<title>Description</title>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
<command>CREATE INDEX</command> constructs an index on the specified column(s)
|
|
of the specified relation, which can be a table or a materialized view.
|
|
Indexes are primarily used to enhance database performance (though
|
|
inappropriate use can result in slower performance).
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The key field(s) for the index are specified as column names,
|
|
or alternatively as expressions written in parentheses.
|
|
Multiple fields can be specified if the index method supports
|
|
multicolumn indexes.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
An index field can be an expression computed from the values of
|
|
one or more columns of the table row. This feature can be used
|
|
to obtain fast access to data based on some transformation of
|
|
the basic data. For example, an index computed on
|
|
<literal>upper(col)</literal> would allow the clause
|
|
<literal>WHERE upper(col) = 'JIM'</literal> to use an index.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
<productname>PostgreSQL</productname> provides the index methods
|
|
B-tree, hash, GiST, SP-GiST, GIN, and BRIN. Users can also define their own
|
|
index methods, but that is fairly complicated.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
When the <literal>WHERE</literal> clause is present, a
|
|
<firstterm>partial index</firstterm> is created.
|
|
A partial index is an index that contains entries for only a portion of
|
|
a table, usually a portion that is more useful for indexing than the
|
|
rest of the table. For example, if you have a table that contains both
|
|
billed and unbilled orders where the unbilled orders take up a small
|
|
fraction of the total table and yet that is an often used section, you
|
|
can improve performance by creating an index on just that portion.
|
|
Another possible application is to use <literal>WHERE</literal> with
|
|
<literal>UNIQUE</literal> to enforce uniqueness over a subset of a
|
|
table. See <xref linkend="indexes-partial"/> for more discussion.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The expression used in the <literal>WHERE</literal> clause can refer
|
|
only to columns of the underlying table, but it can use all columns,
|
|
not just the ones being indexed. Presently, subqueries and
|
|
aggregate expressions are also forbidden in <literal>WHERE</literal>.
|
|
The same restrictions apply to index fields that are expressions.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
All functions and operators used in an index definition must be
|
|
<quote>immutable</quote>, that is, their results must depend only on
|
|
their arguments and never on any outside influence (such as
|
|
the contents of another table or the current time). This restriction
|
|
ensures that the behavior of the index is well-defined. To use a
|
|
user-defined function in an index expression or <literal>WHERE</literal>
|
|
clause, remember to mark the function immutable when you create it.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</refsect1>
|
|
|
|
<refsect1>
|
|
<title>Parameters</title>
|
|
|
|
<variablelist>
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>UNIQUE</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Causes the system to check for
|
|
duplicate values in the table when the index is created (if data
|
|
already exist) and each time data is added. Attempts to
|
|
insert or update data which would result in duplicate entries
|
|
will generate an error.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Additional restrictions apply when unique indexes are applied to
|
|
partitioned tables; see <xref linkend="sql-createtable" />.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>CONCURRENTLY</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
When this option is used, <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> will build the
|
|
index without taking any locks that prevent concurrent inserts,
|
|
updates, or deletes on the table; whereas a standard index build
|
|
locks out writes (but not reads) on the table until it's done.
|
|
There are several caveats to be aware of when using this option
|
|
— see <xref linkend="sql-createindex-concurrently"
|
|
endterm="sql-createindex-concurrently-title"/>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>IF NOT EXISTS</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Do not throw an error if a relation with the same name already exists.
|
|
A notice is issued in this case. Note that there is no guarantee that
|
|
the existing index is anything like the one that would have been created.
|
|
Index name is required when <literal>IF NOT EXISTS</literal> is specified.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>INCLUDE</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The optional <literal>INCLUDE</literal> clause specifies a
|
|
list of columns which will be included in the index
|
|
as <firstterm>non-key</firstterm> columns. A non-key column cannot
|
|
be used in an index scan search qualification, and it is disregarded
|
|
for purposes of any uniqueness or exclusion constraint enforced by
|
|
the index. However, an index-only scan can return the contents of
|
|
non-key columns without having to visit the index's table, since
|
|
they are available directly from the index entry. Thus, addition of
|
|
non-key columns allows index-only scans to be used for queries that
|
|
otherwise could not use them.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
It's wise to be conservative about adding non-key columns to an
|
|
index, especially wide columns. If an index tuple exceeds the
|
|
maximum size allowed for the index type, data insertion will fail.
|
|
In any case, non-key columns duplicate data from the index's table
|
|
and bloat the size of the index, thus potentially slowing searches.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Columns listed in the <literal>INCLUDE</literal> clause don't need
|
|
appropriate operator classes; the clause can include
|
|
columns whose data types don't have operator classes defined for
|
|
a given access method.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Expressions are not supported as included columns since they cannot be
|
|
used in index-only scans.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Currently, only the B-tree index access method supports this feature.
|
|
In B-tree indexes, the values of columns listed in the
|
|
<literal>INCLUDE</literal> clause are included in leaf tuples which
|
|
correspond to heap tuples, but are not included in upper-level
|
|
index entries used for tree navigation.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><replaceable class="parameter">name</replaceable></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The name of the index to be created. No schema name can be included
|
|
here; the index is always created in the same schema as its parent
|
|
table. If the name is omitted, <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> chooses a
|
|
suitable name based on the parent table's name and the indexed column
|
|
name(s).
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>ONLY</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Indicates not to recurse creating indexes on partitions, if the
|
|
table is partitioned. The default is to recurse.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><replaceable class="parameter">table_name</replaceable></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The name (possibly schema-qualified) of the table to be indexed.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><replaceable class="parameter">method</replaceable></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The name of the index method to be used. Choices are
|
|
<literal>btree</literal>, <literal>hash</literal>,
|
|
<literal>gist</literal>, <literal>spgist</literal>, <literal>gin</literal>, and
|
|
<literal>brin</literal>.
|
|
The default method is <literal>btree</literal>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><replaceable class="parameter">column_name</replaceable></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The name of a column of the table.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><replaceable class="parameter">expression</replaceable></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
An expression based on one or more columns of the table. The
|
|
expression usually must be written with surrounding parentheses,
|
|
as shown in the syntax. However, the parentheses can be omitted
|
|
if the expression has the form of a function call.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><replaceable class="parameter">collation</replaceable></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The name of the collation to use for the index. By default,
|
|
the index uses the collation declared for the column to be
|
|
indexed or the result collation of the expression to be
|
|
indexed. Indexes with non-default collations can be useful for
|
|
queries that involve expressions using non-default collations.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><replaceable class="parameter">opclass</replaceable></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The name of an operator class. See below for details.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>ASC</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Specifies ascending sort order (which is the default).
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>DESC</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Specifies descending sort order.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>NULLS FIRST</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Specifies that nulls sort before non-nulls. This is the default
|
|
when <literal>DESC</literal> is specified.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>NULLS LAST</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Specifies that nulls sort after non-nulls. This is the default
|
|
when <literal>DESC</literal> is not specified.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><replaceable class="parameter">storage_parameter</replaceable></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The name of an index-method-specific storage parameter. See
|
|
<xref linkend="sql-createindex-storage-parameters" endterm="sql-createindex-storage-parameters-title"/>
|
|
for details.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><replaceable class="parameter">tablespace_name</replaceable></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The tablespace in which to create the index. If not specified,
|
|
<xref linkend="guc-default-tablespace"/> is consulted, or
|
|
<xref linkend="guc-temp-tablespaces"/> for indexes on temporary
|
|
tables.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><replaceable class="parameter">predicate</replaceable></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The constraint expression for a partial index.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
</variablelist>
|
|
|
|
<refsect2 id="sql-createindex-storage-parameters">
|
|
<title id="sql-createindex-storage-parameters-title">Index Storage Parameters</title>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
The optional <literal>WITH</literal> clause specifies <firstterm>storage
|
|
parameters</firstterm> for the index. Each index method has its own set of allowed
|
|
storage parameters. The B-tree, hash, GiST and SP-GiST index methods all
|
|
accept this parameter:
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<variablelist>
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>fillfactor</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
The fillfactor for an index is a percentage that determines how full
|
|
the index method will try to pack index pages. For B-trees, leaf pages
|
|
are filled to this percentage during initial index build, and also
|
|
when extending the index at the right (adding new largest key values).
|
|
If pages
|
|
subsequently become completely full, they will be split, leading to
|
|
gradual degradation in the index's efficiency. B-trees use a default
|
|
fillfactor of 90, but any integer value from 10 to 100 can be selected.
|
|
If the table is static then fillfactor 100 is best to minimize the
|
|
index's physical size, but for heavily updated tables a smaller
|
|
fillfactor is better to minimize the need for page splits. The
|
|
other index methods use fillfactor in different but roughly analogous
|
|
ways; the default fillfactor varies between methods.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
</variablelist>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
B-tree indexes additionally accept this parameter:
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<variablelist>
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>vacuum_cleanup_index_scale_factor</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Per-index value for <xref linkend="guc-vacuum-cleanup-index-scale-factor"/>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
</variablelist>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
GiST indexes additionally accept this parameter:
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<variablelist>
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>buffering</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Determines whether the buffering build technique described in
|
|
<xref linkend="gist-buffering-build"/> is used to build the index. With
|
|
<literal>OFF</literal> it is disabled, with <literal>ON</literal> it is enabled, and
|
|
with <literal>AUTO</literal> it is initially disabled, but turned on
|
|
on-the-fly once the index size reaches <xref linkend="guc-effective-cache-size"/>. The default is <literal>AUTO</literal>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
</variablelist>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
GIN indexes accept different parameters:
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<variablelist>
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>fastupdate</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
This setting controls usage of the fast update technique described in
|
|
<xref linkend="gin-fast-update"/>. It is a Boolean parameter:
|
|
<literal>ON</literal> enables fast update, <literal>OFF</literal> disables it.
|
|
(Alternative spellings of <literal>ON</literal> and <literal>OFF</literal> are
|
|
allowed as described in <xref linkend="config-setting"/>.) The
|
|
default is <literal>ON</literal>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<note>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Turning <literal>fastupdate</literal> off via <command>ALTER INDEX</command> prevents
|
|
future insertions from going into the list of pending index entries,
|
|
but does not in itself flush previous entries. You might want to
|
|
<command>VACUUM</command> the table or call <function>gin_clean_pending_list</function>
|
|
function afterward to ensure the pending list is emptied.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</note>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
</variablelist>
|
|
<variablelist>
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>gin_pending_list_limit</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Custom <xref linkend="guc-gin-pending-list-limit"/> parameter.
|
|
This value is specified in kilobytes.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
</variablelist>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
<acronym>BRIN</acronym> indexes accept different parameters:
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<variablelist>
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>pages_per_range</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Defines the number of table blocks that make up one block range for
|
|
each entry of a <acronym>BRIN</acronym> index (see <xref linkend="brin-intro"/>
|
|
for more details). The default is <literal>128</literal>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
|
|
<varlistentry>
|
|
<term><literal>autosummarize</literal></term>
|
|
<listitem>
|
|
<para>
|
|
Defines whether a summarization run is invoked for the previous page
|
|
range whenever an insertion is detected on the next one.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</listitem>
|
|
</varlistentry>
|
|
</variablelist>
|
|
</refsect2>
|
|
|
|
<refsect2 id="sql-createindex-concurrently">
|
|
<title id="sql-createindex-concurrently-title">Building Indexes Concurrently</title>
|
|
|
|
<indexterm zone="sql-createindex-concurrently">
|
|
<primary>index</primary>
|
|
<secondary>building concurrently</secondary>
|
|
</indexterm>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Creating an index can interfere with regular operation of a database.
|
|
Normally <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> locks the table to be indexed against
|
|
writes and performs the entire index build with a single scan of the
|
|
table. Other transactions can still read the table, but if they try to
|
|
insert, update, or delete rows in the table they will block until the
|
|
index build is finished. This could have a severe effect if the system is
|
|
a live production database. Very large tables can take many hours to be
|
|
indexed, and even for smaller tables, an index build can lock out writers
|
|
for periods that are unacceptably long for a production system.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
<productname>PostgreSQL</productname> supports building indexes without locking
|
|
out writes. This method is invoked by specifying the
|
|
<literal>CONCURRENTLY</literal> option of <command>CREATE INDEX</command>.
|
|
When this option is used,
|
|
<productname>PostgreSQL</productname> must perform two scans of the table, and in
|
|
addition it must wait for all existing transactions that could potentially
|
|
modify or use the index to terminate. Thus
|
|
this method requires more total work than a standard index build and takes
|
|
significantly longer to complete. However, since it allows normal
|
|
operations to continue while the index is built, this method is useful for
|
|
adding new indexes in a production environment. Of course, the extra CPU
|
|
and I/O load imposed by the index creation might slow other operations.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
In a concurrent index build, the index is actually entered into
|
|
the system catalogs in one transaction, then two table scans occur in
|
|
two more transactions. Before each table scan, the index build must
|
|
wait for existing transactions that have modified the table to terminate.
|
|
After the second scan, the index build must wait for any transactions
|
|
that have a snapshot (see <xref linkend="mvcc"/>) predating the second
|
|
scan to terminate. Then finally the index can be marked ready for use,
|
|
and the <command>CREATE INDEX</command> command terminates.
|
|
Even then, however, the index may not be immediately usable for queries:
|
|
in the worst case, it cannot be used as long as transactions exist that
|
|
predate the start of the index build.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
If a problem arises while scanning the table, such as a deadlock or a
|
|
uniqueness violation in a unique index, the <command>CREATE INDEX</command>
|
|
command will fail but leave behind an <quote>invalid</quote> index. This index
|
|
will be ignored for querying purposes because it might be incomplete;
|
|
however it will still consume update overhead. The <application>psql</application>
|
|
<command>\d</command> command will report such an index as <literal>INVALID</literal>:
|
|
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
postgres=# \d tab
|
|
Table "public.tab"
|
|
Column | Type | Collation | Nullable | Default
|
|
--------+---------+-----------+----------+---------
|
|
col | integer | | |
|
|
Indexes:
|
|
"idx" btree (col) INVALID
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
|
|
The recommended recovery
|
|
method in such cases is to drop the index and try again to perform
|
|
<command>CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY</command>. (Another possibility is to rebuild
|
|
the index with <command>REINDEX</command>. However, since <command>REINDEX</command>
|
|
does not support concurrent builds, this option is unlikely to seem
|
|
attractive.)
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Another caveat when building a unique index concurrently is that the
|
|
uniqueness constraint is already being enforced against other transactions
|
|
when the second table scan begins. This means that constraint violations
|
|
could be reported in other queries prior to the index becoming available
|
|
for use, or even in cases where the index build eventually fails. Also,
|
|
if a failure does occur in the second scan, the <quote>invalid</quote> index
|
|
continues to enforce its uniqueness constraint afterwards.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Concurrent builds of expression indexes and partial indexes are supported.
|
|
Errors occurring in the evaluation of these expressions could cause
|
|
behavior similar to that described above for unique constraint violations.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Regular index builds permit other regular index builds on the
|
|
same table to occur simultaneously, but only one concurrent index build
|
|
can occur on a table at a time. In either case, schema modification of the
|
|
table is not allowed while the index is being built. Another difference is
|
|
that a regular <command>CREATE INDEX</command> command can be performed
|
|
within a transaction block, but <command>CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY</command>
|
|
cannot.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Concurrent builds for indexes on partitioned tables are currently not
|
|
supported. However, you may concurrently build the index on each
|
|
partition individually and then finally create the partitioned index
|
|
non-concurrently in order to reduce the time where writes to the
|
|
partitioned table will be locked out. In this case, building the
|
|
partitioned index is a metadata only operation.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
</refsect2>
|
|
</refsect1>
|
|
|
|
<refsect1>
|
|
<title>Notes</title>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
See <xref linkend="indexes"/> for information about when indexes can
|
|
be used, when they are not used, and in which particular situations
|
|
they can be useful.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Currently, only the B-tree, GiST, GIN, and BRIN index methods support
|
|
multicolumn indexes. Up to 32 fields can be specified by default.
|
|
(This limit can be altered when building
|
|
<productname>PostgreSQL</productname>.) Only B-tree currently
|
|
supports unique indexes.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
An <firstterm>operator class</firstterm> can be specified for each
|
|
column of an index. The operator class identifies the operators to be
|
|
used by the index for that column. For example, a B-tree index on
|
|
four-byte integers would use the <literal>int4_ops</literal> class;
|
|
this operator class includes comparison functions for four-byte
|
|
integers. In practice the default operator class for the column's data
|
|
type is usually sufficient. The main point of having operator classes
|
|
is that for some data types, there could be more than one meaningful
|
|
ordering. For example, we might want to sort a complex-number data
|
|
type either by absolute value or by real part. We could do this by
|
|
defining two operator classes for the data type and then selecting
|
|
the proper class when creating an index. More information about
|
|
operator classes is in <xref linkend="indexes-opclass"/> and in <xref
|
|
linkend="xindex"/>.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
When <literal>CREATE INDEX</literal> is invoked on a partitioned
|
|
table, the default behavior is to recurse to all partitions to ensure
|
|
they all have matching indexes.
|
|
Each partition is first checked to determine whether an equivalent
|
|
index already exists, and if so, that index will become attached as a
|
|
partition index to the index being created, which will become its
|
|
parent index.
|
|
If no matching index exists, a new index will be created and
|
|
automatically attached; the name of the new index in each partition
|
|
will be determined as if no index name had been specified in the
|
|
command.
|
|
If the <literal>ONLY</literal> option is specified, no recursion
|
|
is done, and the index is marked invalid.
|
|
(<command>ALTER INDEX ... ATTACH PARTITION</command> marks the index
|
|
valid, once all partitions acquire matching indexes.) Note, however,
|
|
that any partition that is created in the future using
|
|
<command>CREATE TABLE ... PARTITION OF</command> will automatically
|
|
have a matching index, regardless of whether <literal>ONLY</literal> is
|
|
specified.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
For index methods that support ordered scans (currently, only B-tree),
|
|
the optional clauses <literal>ASC</literal>, <literal>DESC</literal>, <literal>NULLS
|
|
FIRST</literal>, and/or <literal>NULLS LAST</literal> can be specified to modify
|
|
the sort ordering of the index. Since an ordered index can be
|
|
scanned either forward or backward, it is not normally useful to create a
|
|
single-column <literal>DESC</literal> index — that sort ordering is already
|
|
available with a regular index. The value of these options is that
|
|
multicolumn indexes can be created that match the sort ordering requested
|
|
by a mixed-ordering query, such as <literal>SELECT ... ORDER BY x ASC, y
|
|
DESC</literal>. The <literal>NULLS</literal> options are useful if you need to support
|
|
<quote>nulls sort low</quote> behavior, rather than the default <quote>nulls
|
|
sort high</quote>, in queries that depend on indexes to avoid sorting steps.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
For most index methods, the speed of creating an index is
|
|
dependent on the setting of <xref linkend="guc-maintenance-work-mem"/>.
|
|
Larger values will reduce the time needed for index creation, so long
|
|
as you don't make it larger than the amount of memory really available,
|
|
which would drive the machine into swapping.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
<productname>PostgreSQL</productname> can build indexes while
|
|
leveraging multiple CPUs in order to process the table rows faster.
|
|
This feature is known as <firstterm>parallel index
|
|
build</firstterm>. For index methods that support building indexes
|
|
in parallel (currently, only B-tree),
|
|
<varname>maintenance_work_mem</varname> specifies the maximum
|
|
amount of memory that can be used by each index build operation as
|
|
a whole, regardless of how many worker processes were started.
|
|
Generally, a cost model automatically determines how many worker
|
|
processes should be requested, if any.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Parallel index builds may benefit from increasing
|
|
<varname>maintenance_work_mem</varname> where an equivalent serial
|
|
index build will see little or no benefit. Note that
|
|
<varname>maintenance_work_mem</varname> may influence the number of
|
|
worker processes requested, since parallel workers must have at
|
|
least a <literal>32MB</literal> share of the total
|
|
<varname>maintenance_work_mem</varname> budget. There must also be
|
|
a remaining <literal>32MB</literal> share for the leader process.
|
|
Increasing <xref linkend="guc-max-parallel-workers-maintenance"/>
|
|
may allow more workers to be used, which will reduce the time
|
|
needed for index creation, so long as the index build is not
|
|
already I/O bound. Of course, there should also be sufficient
|
|
CPU capacity that would otherwise lie idle.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Setting a value for <literal>parallel_workers</literal> via <xref
|
|
linkend="sql-altertable"/> directly controls how many parallel
|
|
worker processes will be requested by a <command>CREATE
|
|
INDEX</command> against the table. This bypasses the cost model
|
|
completely, and prevents <varname>maintenance_work_mem</varname>
|
|
from affecting how many parallel workers are requested. Setting
|
|
<literal>parallel_workers</literal> to 0 via <command>ALTER
|
|
TABLE</command> will disable parallel index builds on the table in
|
|
all cases.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<tip>
|
|
<para>
|
|
You might want to reset <literal>parallel_workers</literal> after
|
|
setting it as part of tuning an index build. This avoids
|
|
inadvertent changes to query plans, since
|
|
<literal>parallel_workers</literal> affects
|
|
<emphasis>all</emphasis> parallel table scans.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</tip>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
While <command>CREATE INDEX</command> with the
|
|
<literal>CONCURRENTLY</literal> option supports parallel builds
|
|
without special restrictions, only the first table scan is actually
|
|
performed in parallel.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Use <xref linkend="sql-dropindex"/>
|
|
to remove an index.
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
Prior releases of <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> also had an
|
|
R-tree index method. This method has been removed because
|
|
it had no significant advantages over the GiST method.
|
|
If <literal>USING rtree</literal> is specified, <command>CREATE INDEX</command>
|
|
will interpret it as <literal>USING gist</literal>, to simplify conversion
|
|
of old databases to GiST.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</refsect1>
|
|
|
|
<refsect1>
|
|
<title>Examples</title>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
To create a unique B-tree index on the column <literal>title</literal> in
|
|
the table <literal>films</literal>:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
CREATE UNIQUE INDEX title_idx ON films (title);
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
To create a unique B-tree index on the column <literal>title</literal>
|
|
with included columns <literal>director</literal>
|
|
and <literal>rating</literal> in the table <literal>films</literal>:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
CREATE UNIQUE INDEX title_idx ON films (title) INCLUDE (director, rating);
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
To create an index on the expression <literal>lower(title)</literal>,
|
|
allowing efficient case-insensitive searches:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
CREATE INDEX ON films ((lower(title)));
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
(In this example we have chosen to omit the index name, so the system
|
|
will choose a name, typically <literal>films_lower_idx</literal>.)
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
To create an index with non-default collation:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
CREATE INDEX title_idx_german ON films (title COLLATE "de_DE");
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
To create an index with non-default sort ordering of nulls:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
CREATE INDEX title_idx_nulls_low ON films (title NULLS FIRST);
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
To create an index with non-default fill factor:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
CREATE UNIQUE INDEX title_idx ON films (title) WITH (fillfactor = 70);
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
To create a <acronym>GIN</acronym> index with fast updates disabled:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
CREATE INDEX gin_idx ON documents_table USING GIN (locations) WITH (fastupdate = off);
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
To create an index on the column <literal>code</literal> in the table
|
|
<literal>films</literal> and have the index reside in the tablespace
|
|
<literal>indexspace</literal>:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
CREATE INDEX code_idx ON films (code) TABLESPACE indexspace;
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
To create a GiST index on a point attribute so that we
|
|
can efficiently use box operators on the result of the
|
|
conversion function:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
CREATE INDEX pointloc
|
|
ON points USING gist (box(location,location));
|
|
SELECT * FROM points
|
|
WHERE box(location,location) && '(0,0),(1,1)'::box;
|
|
</programlisting>
|
|
</para>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
To create an index without locking out writes to the table:
|
|
<programlisting>
|
|
CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY sales_quantity_index ON sales_table (quantity);
|
|
</programlisting></para>
|
|
|
|
</refsect1>
|
|
|
|
<refsect1>
|
|
<title>Compatibility</title>
|
|
|
|
<para>
|
|
<command>CREATE INDEX</command> is a
|
|
<productname>PostgreSQL</productname> language extension. There
|
|
are no provisions for indexes in the SQL standard.
|
|
</para>
|
|
</refsect1>
|
|
|
|
<refsect1>
|
|
<title>See Also</title>
|
|
|
|
<simplelist type="inline">
|
|
<member><xref linkend="sql-alterindex"/></member>
|
|
<member><xref linkend="sql-dropindex"/></member>
|
|
</simplelist>
|
|
</refsect1>
|
|
</refentry>
|