Re: [feature] cached index to speed up specific queries on extremely large data sets

On 04/11/2014 03:20 PM, lkcl . wrote:
> so i had an idea.  there already exists the concept of indexes.  there
> already exists the concept of "cached queries".  question: would it be
> practical to*merge*  those two concepts such that specific queries
> could be*updated*  as new records are added, such that when the query
> is called again it answers basically pretty much immediately? let us
> assume that performance degradation on "update" (given that indexes
> already exist and are required to be updated) is acceptable.

I think you just described materialized views. The built-in materialized 
views in PostgreSQL are not updated immediately as the tables are 
modified, but it's entirely possible to roll your own using views and 
triggers. There are a few links on the PostgreSQL wiki, in the "Versions 
before 9.3" section: https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Materialized_Views.

- Heikki