Re: When does VACUUM FULL not clean out all deleted data?

Scott Marlowe wrote:

> Note that routine vacuum FULL is not a good idea actually.  vacuum
> full is something you run when things have gone wrong (i.e. not enough
> regular vacuuming) and it is usually best followed by reindexing all
> your indexes.
>
> It's far better to keep track of bloat and run vacuum full, if at all,
> by hand, and only when needed.  Running it regularly with no
> reindexing often results in index bloat which makes the database
> slower not faster.

I've been trying to research this issue.  I can't really find
documentation that defines when to 'vacuum full.'  That is other then
this posting on the list and the following from the man page:

'The FULL option is not recommended for routine use, but may be useful
in special cases. An example is when you have deleted most of the rows
in a table and would like the table to physically shrink to occupy less
disk space. VACUUM FULL will usually shrink the table more than a plain
VACUUM would.'

So, I'm wondering if anyone can point me to more specific information as
to when, if ever, you should 'vacuum full?'

The more research I do, the more it appears that you should only 'vacuum
full' when you run into space issues.

--
Until later, Geoffrey

Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little
temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
  - Benjamin Franklin