PostgreSQL – Compare Column Value from First Row Only

postgresql

This is how my history table looks like

     start_date        |      end_date          |   name
-----------------------+------------------------+----------
2016-11-05 02:26:00+00 | 2016-11-10 01:55:00+00 | premium
2016-10-01 00:40:00+00 | 2016-11-30 01:55:00+00 | free

Records are ordered by start_date in descending order. I want to get the first row and then check if its end_date is greater then now(), if yes then return true else false.

I have written the below query by looking at some tutorials and its working fine but i don't know if this is efficient or not and how to write an optimised query for my question above.

SELECT history.end_datetime FROM history, 
(SELECT id, end_datetime from history ORDER BY start_datetime 
DESC LIMIT 1) subhistory WHERE history.id = subhistory.id AND 
subhistory.end_datetime > now();

Best Answer

You could it much more simply:

SELECT end_datetime > now() AS result 
FROM history 
ORDER BY start_datetime DESC 
LIMIT 1 ;

The query is similar to your subquery, it returns only one row, the latest start_datetime. The end_datetime > now() in the select list is a boolean expression so it retuns either TRUE or FALSE, depending on the value of end_datetime in that row. We don't need to join this result set to the table because all the information we need is there, in the one row.

You could modify the select list, to include other columns, too, or all the columns if you need them:

SELECT end_datetime > now() AS result,
       start_datatime,
       end_datetime
...

For efficiency, you need an index on (start_datetime). Your query would be efficient, too, despite the unneeded self-join.

Consistent rows

The important question which does not seem to be on your radar yet:
From each set of rows for the same seriesName, do you want the columns of one row, or just any values from multiple rows (which may or may not go together)?

Your answer does the latter, you combine the maximum dbid with the maximum retreivaltime, which may come from a different row.

To get consistent rows, use DISTINCT ON and wrap it in a subquery to order the result differently:

SELECT * FROM (
   SELECT DISTINCT ON (seriesName)
          dbid, seriesName, retreivaltime
   FROM   FileItems
   WHERE  sourceSite = 'mk' 
   ORDER  BY seriesName, retreivaltime DESC NULLS LAST  -- latest retreivaltime
   ) sub
ORDER BY retreivaltime DESC NULLS LAST
LIMIT  100;

Details for DISTINCT ON:

Select first row in each GROUP BY group?

Aside: should probably be retrievalTime, or better yet: retrieval_time. Unquoted mixed case identifiers are a common source of confusion in Postgres.

Better Performance with rCTE

Since we are dealing with a big table here, we'd need a query that can use an index, which is not the case for the above query (except for WHERE sourceSite = 'mk')

On closer inspection, your problem seems to be a special case of a loose index scan. Postgres does not support loose index scans natively, but it can be emulated with a recursive CTE. There is a code example for the simple case in the Postgres Wiki.

Related answer on SO with more advanced solutions, explanation, fiddle:

Optimize GROUP BY query to retrieve latest record per user

Your case is more complex, though. But I think I found a variant to make it work for you. Building on this index (without WHERE sourceSite = 'mk')

CREATE INDEX mi_special_full_idx ON MangaItems
(retreivaltime DESC NULLS LAST, seriesName DESC NULLS LAST, dbid)

Or (with WHERE sourceSite = 'mk')

CREATE INDEX mi_special_granulated_idx ON MangaItems
(sourceSite, retreivaltime DESC NULLS LAST, seriesName DESC NULLS LAST, dbid)

The first index can be used for both queries, but is not fully efficient with the additional WHERE condition. The second index is of very limited use for the first query. Since you have both variants of the query consider creating both indexes.

I added dbid at the end to allow Index Only scans.

This query with a recursive CTE makes use of the index. I tested with Postgres 9.3 and it works for me: no sequential scan, all index-only scans:

WITH RECURSIVE cte AS (
   (
   SELECT dbid, seriesName, retreivaltime, 1 AS rn, ARRAY[seriesName] AS arr
   FROM   MangaItems
   WHERE  sourceSite = 'mk'
   ORDER  BY retreivaltime DESC NULLS LAST, seriesName DESC NULLS LAST
   LIMIT  1
   )
   UNION ALL
   SELECT i.dbid, i.seriesName, i.retreivaltime, c.rn + 1, c.arr || i.seriesName
   FROM   cte c
   ,      LATERAL (
      SELECT dbid, seriesName, retreivaltime
      FROM   MangaItems
      WHERE (retreivaltime, seriesName) < (c.retreivaltime, c.seriesName)
      AND    sourceSite = 'mk'  -- repeat condition!
      AND    seriesName <> ALL(c.arr)
      ORDER  BY retreivaltime DESC NULLS LAST, seriesName DESC NULLS LAST
      LIMIT  1
      ) i
   WHERE  c.rn < 101
   )
SELECT dbid
FROM   cte
ORDER  BY rn;

You need to include seriesName in ORDER BY, since retreivaltime is not unique. "Almost" unique is still not unique.

Explain

The non-recursive query starts with the latest row.
The recursive query adds the next-latest row with a seriesName that's not in the list, yet etc., until we have 100 rows.
Essential parts are the JOIN condition (b.retreivaltime, b.seriesName) < (c.retreivaltime, c.seriesName) and the ORDER BY clause ORDER BY retreivaltime DESC NULLS LAST, seriesName DESC NULLS LAST. Both match the sort order of the index, which allows for the magic to happen.
Collecting seriesName in an array to rule out duplicates. The cost for b.seriesName <> ALL(c.foo_arr) grows progressively with the number of rows, but for just 100 rows it is still cheap.
Just returning dbid as clarified in the comments.

Alternative with partial indexes:

We have been dealing with similar problems before. Here is a highly optimized complete solution based on partial indexes and a looping function:

Can spatial index help a "range - order by - limit" query

Probably the fastest way (except for a materialized view) if done right. But more complex.

Materialized View

Since you do not have a lot of write operations and they are not performance-critical as stated in the comments (should be in the question), save the top n pre-computed rows in a materialized view and refresh it after relevant changes to the underlying table. Base your performance-critical queries on the materialized view instead.

Could just be a "thin" mv of the latest 1000 dbid or so. In the query, join to the original table. For instance, if content is sometimes updated, but the top n rows can remain unchanged.
Or a "fat" mv with whole rows to return. Faster, yet. Needs to be refreshed more often, obviously.

Details in the manual here and here.

PostgreSQL – Select Rows Where SUM(T.quantity) is Greater Than Argument

If you don't need the "optimal fill", you could use a window function and something like this:

select *
from (
  select id, name, price, category, 
         sum(price) over (order by price, date_created) as so_far
  from my_table
  where price > 40 
    and category = 'buy' 
) t
where so_far <= 12;

If you are mixing "groups" of orders, you might need a partition by clause as well. Change the order by inside the window function to meet your ordering criteria.