PostgreSQL Query Optimization: The Ultimate Guide to Building Efficient Queries

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to APress Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024

H. Dombrovskaya et al.PostgreSQL Query Optimizationhttps://doi.org/10.1007/979-8-8688-0069-6_2

2. Theory: Yes, We Need It!

Henrietta Dombrovskaya¹  , Boris Novikov² and Anna Bailliekova³

(1)

DRW Holdings, Chicago, IL, USA

(2)

Database expert, Helsinki, Finland

(3)

UrbanFootprint, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

 

In order to write performant queries, database developers need to understand how queries are processed by the database engine. And to do that, we need to know the basics of relational theory. If the word “theory” sounds too dry, we can call it “the secret life of a database query.” In this chapter, we will take a look at this “secret life,” explaining what happens ...