1
0
mirror of https://github.com/postgres/postgres.git synced 2025-06-23 14:01:44 +03:00

Update LIMIT/FETCH FAQ item.

This commit is contained in:
Bruce Momjian
2005-02-01 01:36:13 +00:00
parent 0a92c58b7c
commit 25deba3141
2 changed files with 19 additions and 33 deletions

View File

@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
alink="#0000ff">
<H1>Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for PostgreSQL</H1>
<P>Last updated: Mon Jan 31 19:18:44 EST 2005</P>
<P>Last updated: Mon Jan 31 20:35:58 EST 2005</P>
<P>Current maintainer: Bruce Momjian (<A href=
"mailto:pgman@candle.pha.pa.us">pgman@candle.pha.pa.us</A>)
@ -590,18 +590,13 @@
to upgrade between major PostgreSQL releases?</H4>
<P>The PostgreSQL team makes only small changes between minor releases,
so upgrading from 7.2 to 7.2.1 does not require a dump and restore.
However, major releases (e.g. from 7.2 to 7.3) often change the internal
so upgrading from 7.4 to 7.4.1 does not require a dump and restore.
However, major releases (e.g. from 7.3 to 7.4) often change the internal
format of system tables and data files. These changes are often complex,
so we don't maintain backward compatability for data files. A dump outputs
so we don't maintain backward compatibility for data files. A dump outputs
data in a generic format that can then be loaded in using the new internal
format.</P>
<P>In releases where the on-disk format does not change, the
<I>pg_upgrade</I> script can be used to upgrade without a dump/restore.
The release notes mention whether <I>pg_upgrade</I> is available for the
release.</P>
<H4><A name="3.8">3.8</A>) What computer hardware should I use?</H4>
<P>Because PC hardware is mostly compatible, people tend to believe that
@ -619,15 +614,13 @@
<H4><A name="4.1">4.1</A>) How do I <SMALL>SELECT</SMALL> only the
first few rows of a query? A random row?</H4>
<P>See the <SMALL>FETCH</SMALL> manual page, or use
<SMALL>SELECT</SMALL> ... <SMALL>LIMIT</SMALL>....</P>
<P>The entire query may have to be evaluated, even if you only want
the first few rows. Consider using a query that has an <SMALL>ORDER
BY</SMALL>. If there is an index that matches the <SMALL>ORDER
BY</SMALL>, PostgreSQL may be able to evaluate only the first few
records requested, or the entire query may have to be evaluated
until the desired rows have been generated.</P>
<P>To retrieve only a few rows, if you know at the number of rows
needed at the time of the <SMALL>SELECT</SMALL> use
<SMALL>LIMIT</SMALL> . If an index matches the <SMALL>ORDER
BY</SMALL> it is possible the entire query does not have to be
executed. If you don't know the number of rows at
<SMALL>SELECT</SMALL> time, use a cursor and
<SMALL>FETCH</SMALL>.</P>
<P>To <SMALL>SELECT</SMALL> a random row, use:
<PRE>