Re: Fractal tree indexing

On 02/13/2013 11:20 AM, Tom Lane wrote:
> Heikki Linnakangas <hlinnakangas@vmware.com> writes:
>> The basic idea of a fractal tree index is to attach a buffer to every
>> non-leaf page. On insertion, instead of descending all the way down to
>> the correct leaf page, the new tuple is put on the buffer at the root
>> page. When that buffer fills up, all the tuples in the buffer are
>> cascaded down to the buffers on the next level pages. And recursively,
>> whenever a buffer fills up at any level, it's flushed to the next level.
> [ scratches head... ]  What's "fractal" about that?  Or is that just a
> content-free marketing name for this technique?
>
>             


And if that's all it is then I have some doubt about its patentability. 
For one thing I'd be mildly surprised if there weren't prior art. But of 
course, IANAL :-)

cheers

andrew