Chapter 4

Algorithms for Query Processing and

Optimization
Chapter Outline
1. Introduction to Query Processing
2. Translating SQL Queries into Relational Algebra
3. Algorithms for External Sorting
4. Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN Operations
5. Algorithms for PROJECT and SET Operations
6. Implementing Aggregate Operations and Outer Joins
7. Combining Operations using Pipelining
8. Using Heuristics in Query Optimization
9. Using Selectivity and Cost Estimates in Query Optimization
10. Overview of Query Optimization in Oracle
11. Semantic Query Optimization

2
1. Introduction to Query Processing

◼ Query optimization: the process of choosing a suitable

execution strategy for processing a query.
◼ Two internal representations of a query
❑ – Query Tree
❑ – Query Graph

3
Typical steps when processing a high-level query

4
COMPANY Database Schema

5
2. Translating SQL Queries into Relational
Algebra (1)
◼ Query block: the basic unit that can be translated into the algebraic
operators and optimized.
◼ A query block contains a single SELECT-FROM-WHERE expression,
as well as GROUP BY and HAVING clause if these are part of the
block.
◼ Nested queries within a query are identified as separate query blocks.
◼ Aggregate operators in SQL must be included in the extended algebra.

6
Translating SQL Queries into Relational Algebra (2)

SELECT LNAME, FNAME

FROM EMPLOYEE
WHERE SALARY > ( SELECT MAX (SALARY)
FROM EMPLOYEE
WHERE DNO = 5);

SELECT LNAME, FNAME SELECT MAX (SALARY)

FROM EMPLOYEE FROM EMPLOYEE
WHERE SALARY > C WHERE DNO = 5

LNAME, FNAME ℱMAX SALARY

σSALARY>C(EMPLOYEE)) (σDNO=5 (EMPLOYEE))
7
3. Algorithms for External Sorting (1)

◼ External sorting : refers to sorting algorithms that are suitable for large
files of records stored on disk that do not fit entirely in main memory, such
as most database files.
◼ Sort-Merge strategy : starts by sorting small subfiles (runs ) of the main
file and then merges the sorted runs, creating larger sorted subfiles that
are merged in turn.
– Sorting phase: nR = (b/nB)
– Merging phase: dM = Min(nB-1, nR);
nP= (logdM(nR))
nR: number of initial runs; b: number of file blocks;
nB: available buffer space; dM: degree of merging;
nP: number of passes.

8
Algorithms for External Sorting (2)

set i  1, j  b; /* size of the file in blocks */

k  nB; /* size of buffer in blocks */
m  (j/k); /*number of runs */
{Sort phase}
while (i<= m) do
{
read next k blocks of the file into the buffer or if there are less than k
blocks remaining, then read in the remaining blocks;
sort the records in the buffer and write as a temporary subfile;
i  i+1;
}
The number of block accesses for the sort phase = 2*b

9
Algorithms for External Sorting (3)
/*Merge phase: merge subfiles until only 1 remains */
set i  1;
p  logk-1m; /* p is the number of passes for the merging phase */
j  m; /* the number of runs */
while (i<= p) do
{
n  1;
q  (j/(k-1); /* the number of runs to write in this pass */
while ( n <= q) do
{
read next k-1 subfiles or remaining subfiles (from previous pass) one block at a time
merge and write as new subfile one block at a time;
n  n+1;
}
j  q;
The number of block accesses for the merge phase = 2*(b* logdMnR)
i  i+1;
}
10
Example of External Sorting (1)
1 block = 2 records

15 22 2 27 14 6 51 18 35 16 50 36 9 8 32 12 11 33 30 30 23 21 24 29

buffer = 3 blocks = 6 records

Sort phase:
Read 3 blocks of the file → sort.
→ run: 3 blocks

11
Example of External Sorting (2)
Sort phase:

15 22 2 27 14 6 51 18 35 16 50 36 9 8 32 12 11 33 30 30 23 21 24 29

15 22 2 27 14 6 2 6 14 15 22 27

2 6 14 15 22 27

1 run

12
Example of External Sorting (3)
Sort phase

15 22 2 27 14 6 51 18 35 16 50 36 9 8 32 12 11 33 30 30 23 21 24 29

2 6 14 15 22 27 16 18 35 36 50 51 8 9 11 12 32 33 20 21 23 24 29 30

1 run 1 run 1 run 1 run

13
Example of External Sorting (4)

2 6 14 15 22 27 16 18 35 36 50 51 8 9 11 12 32 33 20 21 23 24 29 30

Merge phase:
Each step:
- Read 1 block from (nB - 1) runs to buffer
- Merge → temp block
- If temp block full: write to file
- If any empty block: Read next block from
corresponding run

14
Example of External Sorting (5)
Merge phase: Pass 1
2 6 14 15 22 27 16 18 35 36 50 51 8 9 11 12 32 33 20 21 23 24 29 30

2 6 16 18 6 16 18 2 16 18 2 6

Temp block Empty → read next Full

block from → write
corresponding run to file

15
Example of External Sorting (6)
Merge phase: Pass 1
2 6 14 15 22 27 16 18 35 36 50 51 8 9 11 12 32 33 20 21 23 24 29 30

14 15 16 18 15 16 18 14 16 18 14 15

Temp block Empty → read next Full

block from → write to file
corresponding run

2 6

16
Example of External Sorting (7)
Merge phase: Pass 1
2 6 14 15 22 27 16 18 35 36 50 51 8 9 11 12 32 33 20 21 23 24 29 30

Empty → read next

block from
corresponding run

22 27 16 18 22 27 18 16 22 27 16 18

Temp block Full

→ write to file

2 6 14 15

17
Example of External Sorting (8)
Merge phase: Pass 1
2 6 14 15 22 27 16 18 35 36 50 51 8 9 11 12 32 33 20 21 23 24 29 30

Empty → read next

block from
corresponding run

22 27 35 36 27 35 36 22 35 36 22 27

Temp block Full

→ write to file

2 6 14 15 16 18

18
Example of External Sorting (9)
Merge phase: Pass 1
2 6 14 15 22 27 16 18 35 36 50 51 8 9 11 12 32 33 20 21 23 24 29 30

Not have any block=> remove this run

from this merge step => write remain
blocks of the others run to file.

35 36

Temp block

2 6 14 15 16 18 22 27

19
Example of External Sorting (10)
Merge phase: Pass 1
2 6 14 15 22 27 16 18 35 36 50 51 8 9 11 12 32 33 20 21 23 24 29 30

Temp block
1 new run

2 6 14 15 16 18 22 27 35 36 50 51

20
Example of External Sorting (11)
Merge phase: Pass 2
2 6 14 15 16 18 22 27 35 36 50 51 8 9 11 12 20 21 23 24 29 30 32 33

2 6 8 9 6 8 9 2 8 9 2 6

Temp block Empty → read next Full

block from → write to file
corresponding run

21
Example of External Sorting (12)
Merge phase: Pass 2
2 6 14 15 16 18 22 27 35 36 50 51 8 9 11 12 20 21 23 24 29 30 32 33

14 15 8 9

Temp block

2 6

22
Example of External Sorting (13)

Result:
2 6 8 9 11 12 14 15 16 18 20 21 22 23 24 27 29 30 32 33 35 36 50 51

23
4. Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN
Operations (1)
Implementing the SELECT Operation:
Examples:
◼ (OP1): σSSN='123456789'(EMPLOYEE)
◼ (OP2): σDNUMBER>5(DEPARTMENT)
◼ (OP3): σDNO=5(EMPLOYEE)
◼ (OP4): σDNO=5 AND SALARY>30000 AND SEX=F(EMPLOYEE)
◼ (OP5): σESSN='123456789' AND PNO=10(WORKS_ON)
◼ (OP6): σDNO IN (3, 27, 49) (EMPLOYEE)

◼ (OP7): σ((Salary*Commission_pct) + Salary ) > 5000(EMPLOYEE) 24

Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN (2)

Implementing the SELECT Operation (cont.):

Search Methods for Simple Selection:
◼ S1. Linear search (brute force): Retrieve every record in the file, and
test whether its attribute values satisfy the selection condition.
◼ S2. Binary search : If the selection condition involves an equality
comparison on a key attribute on which the file is ordered, binary search
(which is more efficient than linear search) can be used. (See OP1).
◼ S3. Using a primary index or hash key to retrieve a single record: If the
selection condition involves an equality comparison on a key attribute with
a primary index (or a hash key), use the primary index (or the hash key) to
retrieve the record.

25
Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN Operations (3)

Implementing the SELECT Operation (cont.):

Search Methods for Simple Selection:
◼ S4. Using a primary index to retrieve multiple records: If the
comparison condition is >, ≥ , <, or ≤ on a key field with a primary
index, use the index to find the record satisfying the corresponding
equality condition, then retrieve all subsequent records in the (ordered)
file.
◼ S5. Using a clustering index to retrieve multiple records: If the
selection condition involves an equality comparison on a non-key
attribute with a clustering index, use the clustering index to retrieve all
the records satisfying the selection condition.

26
Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN Operations (4)

Implementing the SELECT Operation (cont.):

Search Methods for Simple Selection:
◼ S6. Using a secondary (B+-tree) index : On an equality comparison, this
search method can be used to retrieve:
❑ a single record if the indexing field has unique values (is a key) OR
❑ to retrieve multiple records if the indexing field is not a key.
❑ In addition, it can be used to retrieve records on conditions involving >,>=, <, or <=
(FOR RANGE QUERIES )

27
Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN Operations (4)

Implementing the SELECT Operation (cont.):

Search Methods for Simple Selection:
◼ S7.a. Using a bitmap index: If the selection condition involves a set of
values for an attribute, the corresponding bitmaps for each value can be
OR-ed to give the set of record identifiers that qualify.
◼ S7.b. Using a functional index: If there is a functional index defined, this
index can be used to retrieve all the records that qualify.

28
Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN (5)

Implementing the SELECT Operation (cont.):

Search Methods for Complex Selection:
◼ S8. Conjunctive (AND) selection : If an attribute involved in any single
simple condition in the conjunctive condition has an access path that
permits the use of one of the methods S2 to S6, use that condition to
retrieve the records and then check whether each retrieved record
satisfies the remaining simple conditions in the conjunctive condition.
◼ S9. Conjunctive (AND) selection using a composite index: If two or
more attributes are involved in equality conditions in the conjunctive
condition and a composite index (or hash structure) exists on the
combined field, we can use the index directly.

29
Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN (6)

Implementing the SELECT Operation (cont.):

Search Methods for Complex Selection:
◼ S10. Conjunctive (AND) selection by intersection of record pointers :
❑ This method is possible if:
◼ secondary indexes are available on all (or some of) the fields involved in equality
comparison conditions in the conjunctive condition and
◼ the indexes include record pointers (rather than block pointers).
❑ Each index can be used to retrieve the set of record pointers that satisfy
the individual condition.
❑ The intersection of these sets of record pointers: record pointers that
satisfy the conjunctive condition, which are then used to retrieve those
records directly.
❑ If only some of the conditions have secondary indexes, each retrieved
record is further tested to determine whether it satisfies the remaining
conditions.
30
Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN Operations (7)

Implementing the SELECT Operation (cont.):

◼ S11. Disjunctive (OR) selection conditions:

❑ Records satisfying the disjunctive condition are the union of the records
satisfying the individual conditions.
❑ If any one of the conditions does not have an access path, we are
compelled to use the brute force, linear search approach (S1).
❑ Only if an access path exists on every simple condition in the disjunction
can we optimize the selection by retrieving the records satisfying each
condition - or their record ids - and then applying the union operation to
eliminate duplicates.

31
Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN Operations (7)
Implementing the SELECT
Operation (cont.):
◼ S11. Disjunctive (OR)
selection conditions:

32
Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN Operations (7)

Implementing the SELECT Operation (cont.):

◼ Whenever a single condition specifies the selection, we can only check
whether an access path exists on the attribute involved in that condition. If an
access path exists, the method corresponding to that access path is used;
otherwise, the “brute force” linear search approach of method S1 is used.
(See OP1, OP2 and OP3)
◼ For conjunctive selection conditions, whenever more than one of the
attributes involved in the conditions have an access path, query optimization
should be done to choose the access path that retrieves the fewest records
in the most efficient way.

33
Which search method should be used? (1)

◼ (OP1): σSSN='123456789'(EMPLOYEE)
◼ (OP2): σDNUMBER>5(DEPARTMENT)
◼ (OP3): σDNO=5(EMPLOYEE)
◼ (OP4): σDNO=5 AND SALARY>30000 AND SEX=F(EMPLOYEE)
◼ (OP5): σESSN='123456789' AND PNO=10(WORKS_ON)
◼ (OP6): σDNO IN (3, 27, 49) (EMPLOYEE)

◼ (OP7): σ((Salary*Commission_pct) + Salary ) > 5000(EMPLOYEE)

34
Which search method should be used? (2)

◼ EMPLOYEE
❑ A clustering index on SALARY
❑ A secondary index on the key attribute SSN
❑ A secondary index on the nonkey attribute DNO
❑ A secondary index on SEX

(OP1): σSSN='123456789'(EMPLOYEE)

❑ S1. Linear search

❑ S6. Secondary index search
35
Which search method should be used? (3)

◼ DEPARTMENT
❑ A primary index on DNUMBER
❑ A secondary index on MGRSSN

(OP2): σDNUMBER>5 (DEPARTMENT)

❑ S1. Linear search

❑ S2. Binary search
❑ S4. Primary index search

36
Which search method should be used? (4)

◼ EMPLOYEE
❑ A clustering index on SALARY
❑ A secondary index on the key attribute SSN
❑ A secondary index on the nonkey attribute DNO
❑ A secondary index on SEX

(OP3): σDNO=5 (EMPLOYEE)

❑ S1. Linear search
❑ S6. Secondary index search
37
Which search method should be used? (5)
◼ EMPLOYEE
❑ A clustering index on SALARY
❑ A secondary index on the key attribute SSN
❑ A secondary index on the nonkey attribute DNO
❑ A secondary index on SEX
(OP4): σDNO=5 AND SALARY>30000 AND SEX=‘F’ (EMPLOYEE)
❑ S1. Linear search

❑ S8. Conjunctive selection with a simple condition

❑ S10. Conjunctive selection by intersection of the record pointers

◼ S6. Secondary index search on Dno

◼ S5. Clustering index search on Salary
◼ S6. Secondary index search on Sex
38
Which search method should be used? (6)
◼ EMPLOYEE
❑ A clustering index on SALARY
❑ A secondary index on the key attribute SSN
❑ A secondary index on the nonkey attribute DNO
❑ A secondary index on SEX
(OP4’): σDNO=5 OR SALARY>30000 OR SEX=‘F’ (EMPLOYEE)
❑ S1. Linear search

❑ S11. Disjunctive selection by union of the record pointers

◼ S6. Secondary index search on Dno

◼ S5. Clustering index search on Salary
◼ S6. Secondary index search on Sex

39
Which search method should be used? (7)

◼ WORKS_ON
❑ A composite primary index on (ESSN, PNO)

(OP5): σESSN='123456789' AND PNO=10 (WORKS_ON)

❑ S1. Linear search

❑ S9. Conjunctive selection using a composite primary index

40
Which search method should be used? (8)
◼ EMPLOYEE
❑ A clustering index on SALARY
❑ A secondary index on the key attribute SSN
❑ A secondary index on the nonkey attribute DNO
❑ A secondary index on SEX

(OP6): σDNO IN (3, 27, 49) (EMPLOYEE)

❑ S1. Linear search

❑ S7.a. Bitmap index search
❑ S6. Secondary index search + S11. Disjunctive selection by union of the
record pointers
41
Which search method should be used? (9)

◼ EMPLOYEE
❑ A clustering index on SALARY
❑ A secondary index on the key attribute SSN
❑ A secondary index on the nonkey attribute DNO
❑ A secondary index on SEX

(OP7): σ((Salary*Commission_pct) + Salary ) > 5000 (EMPLOYEE)

❑ S1. Linear search

❑ S7.b. Functional index search if a functional index is defined on the

expression: (Salary*Commission_pct + Salary)
42
Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN Operations (8)
Implementing the JOIN Operation:
◼ Join (EQUIJOIN, NATURAL JOIN)

– two–way join: a join on two files

e.g. R  A=B S
– multi-way joins: joins involving more than two files.
e.g. R  A=B S  C=DT

◼ Examples
(OP8): EMPLOYEE  DNO=DNUMBERDEPARTMENT
(OP9): DEPARTMENT  MGRSSN=SSNEMPLOYEE

43
Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN Operations (9)

Implementing the JOIN Operation (cont.):

Methods for implementing joins:
◼ J1. Nested-loop join (brute force): For each record t in R (outer loop),
retrieve every record s from S (inner loop) and test whether the two
records satisfy the join condition t[A] = s[B].
◼ J2. Single-loop join (Using an access structure to retrieve the
matching records): If an index (or hash key) exists for one of the two join
attributes — say, B of S — retrieve each record t in R, one at a time, and
then use the access structure to retrieve directly all matching records s
from S that satisfy s[B] = t[A].

44
Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN Operations (10)

Implementing the JOIN Operation (cont.):

Methods for implementing joins:
◼ J3. Sort-merge join:
❑ Records of R and S are physically sorted (ordered) by value of the join
attributes A and B, respectively.
❑ Both files are scanned in order of the join attributes, matching the
records that have the same values for A and B.
❑ In this method, the records of each file are scanned only once each for
matching with the other file—unless both A and B are non-key attributes, in
which case the method needs to be modified slightly.

45
Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN Operations (12)
sort the tuples in R on attribute A; /* assume R has n tuples */
sort the tuples in S on attribute B; /* assume S has m tuples */
set i  1, j  1;
while (i ≤ n) and (j ≤ m)
do {
if R(i)[A] > S(j)[B]
then set j  j + 1
elseif R(i)[A] < S(j)[B]
then set i  i + 1
else { /* output a matched tuple */
output the combined tupe <R(i), S(j)> to T;
/* output other tuples that match R(i), if any */
set l  j + 1 ;
while ( l ≤ m) and (R(i)[A] = S(l)[B])
do { output the combined tuple <R(i), S(l)> to T;
set l  l + 1
}
/* output other tuples that match S(j), if any */
set k  i+1
while ( k ≤ n) and (R(k)[A] = S(j)[B])
do { output the combined tuple <R(k), S(j)> to T;
set k  k + 1
} Implementing Sort-Merge Join (J3): T  R A=B S
set i  i+1, j  j+1;
}
46
}
 R S

C A B D

5 4
6 6
9 6
10 10
17 17
20 18

Assume that A is a key of R. Initially, two pointers are used

to point to the two tuples of the two relations that have the
smallest values of the two joining attributes.

47
 R S
R(i)[A] > S(j)[B]
C A B D

5 4
6 6
9 6
10 10
17 17
20 18

48
 R S
R(i)[A] < S(j)[B]
C A B D

5 4
6 6
9 6
10 10
17 17
20 18

49
 R S
R(i)[A] = S(j)[B]
C A B D

5 4 → R(2), S(2)
6 6
9 6
10 10
17 17
20 18

50
 R S
R(i)[A] = S(j)[B]
C A B D

5 4 → R(2), S(3)
6 6
9 6
10 10
17 17
20 18

51
 R S
R(i)[A] < S(j)[B]
C A B D

5 4
6 6
9 6
10 10
17 17
20 18

52
 R S
R(i)[A] < S(j)[B]
C A B D

5 4
6 6
9 6
10 10
17 17
20 18

53
 R S
R(i)[A] = S(j)[B]
C A B D

5 4 → R(4), S(4)
6 6
9 6
10 10
17 17
20 18

54
 R S
R(i)[A] < S(j)[B]
C A B D

5 4
6 6
9 6
10 10
17 17
20 18

55
 R S
R(i)[A] = S(j)[B]
C A B D

5 4 → R(5), S(5)
6 6
9 6
10 10
17 17
20 18

56
 R S
R(i)[A] < S(j)[B]
C A B D

5 4
6 6
9 6
10 10
17 17
20 18

57
 R S
R(i)[A] > S(j)[B]
C A B D

5 4
6 6
9 6
10 10
17 17
20 18

58
 R S
j > m → end.
C A B D

5 4
6 6
9 6
10 10
17 17
20 18

Implementing Sort-Merge Join (J3): T  R A=B S

Result: C A B D
R(2), S(2) 6 6
R(2), S(3) 6 6
R(4), S(4) 10 10
R(5), S(5) 17 17

59
Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN Operations (11)

Implementing the JOIN Operation (cont.):

Methods for implementing joins:
◼ J4. Hash-join:
❑ The records of files R and S are both hashed to the same hash file, using the same
hashing function on the join attributes A of R and B of S as hash keys.
❑ A single pass through the file with fewer records (say, R) hashes its records to the
hash file buckets.
❑ A single pass through the other file (S) then hashes each of its records to the
appropriate bucket, where the record is combined with all matching records from R.

60
Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN Operations (11)

Implementing the JOIN Operation (cont.):

Methods for implementing joins:
◼ J4. Hash-join:
❑ The records of files R and S are both hashed to the same hash file, using the same
hashing function on the join attributes A of R and B of S as hash keys.
❑ A single pass through the file with fewer records (say, R) hashes its records to the
hash file buckets.
❑ A single pass through the other file (S) then hashes each of its records to the
appropriate bucket, where the record is combined with all matching records from R.

61
Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN Operations (12)

Implementing the JOIN Operation (cont.):

Methods for implementing joins:
◼ J4. Hash-join:

62
Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN Operations (12)

Implementing the JOIN Operation (cont.):

Methods for implementing joins:
◼ J4. Hash-join:

63
Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN Operations (12)

Implementing the JOIN Operation (cont.):

Methods for implementing joins:
◼ J4. Hash-join:

64
Algorithms for SELECT and JOIN Operations (12)

Implementing the JOIN Operation (cont.):

Methods for implementing joins:
◼ J4. Hash-join:

65
5. Algorithms for PROJECT and SET
Operations (1)
◼ Algorithm for PROJECT operations π<attribute list>(R)
(Figure 19.3b)

◼ If <attribute list> has a key of relation R, extract all tuples from R with only the values for
the attributes in <attribute list>.
◼ If <attribute list> does NOT include a key of relation R, duplicated tuples must be
removed from the results.
◼ Methods to remove duplicate tuples:
◼ Sorting
◼ Hashing

66
Implementing T  ∏<attribute list>(R)

create a tuple t[<attribute list>] in T’ for each tuple t in R;

/* T’ contains the projection result before duplicate elimination */
if <attribute list> includes a key of R
then T  T’
else { sort the tuples in T’;
set i  1, j  2;
while i ≤ n
do { output the tuple T’[i] to T;
while T’[i] = T’[j] and j ≤ n do j  j+1;
set i  j, j  i+1;
}
}
/* T contains the projection result after duplicate elimination */
Implementing T  ∏<attribute list>(R)

67
Algorithms for PROJECT and SET Operations (2)

Algorithm for SET operations

◼ Set operations : UNION, INTERSECTION, SET DIFFERENCE and CARTESIAN
PRODUCT.
◼ CARTESIAN PRODUCT of relations R and S includes all possible combinations of
records from R and S. The attributes of the result include all attributes of R and S.
◼ Cost analysis of CARTESIAN PRODUCT If R has n records and j attributes and S has
m records and k attributes, the result relation will have n*m records and j+k attributes.
◼ CARTESIAN PRODUCT operation is very expensive and should be avoided if possible.

68
Algorithms for PROJECT and SET Operations (3)

◼ Algorithm for SET operations (Cont.)

◼ UNION (See Figure 19.3c)

❑ 1. Sort the two relations on the same attributes.
❑ 2. Scan and merge both sorted files concurrently, whenever the same tuple exists in both
relations, only one is kept in the merged results.
◼ INTERSECTION (See Figure 19.3d)
❑ 1. Sort the two relations on the same attributes.

❑ 2. Scan and merge both sorted files concurrently, keep in the merged results only those
tuples that appear in both relations.
◼ SET DIFFERENCE R-S (See Figure 19.3e)(keep in the merged results only those
tuples that appear in relation R but not in relation S.)

69
Union: T  R  S

sort the tuples in R and S using the same unique sort attributes;
set i  1, j  1;
while (i ≤ n) and (j ≤ m) do
{
if R(i) > S(j)
then
{ output S(j) to T;
set j  j+1
}
else if R(i) < S(j)
then
{ output R(i) to T;
set i  i+1
}
else set j j+1 /* R(i) = S(j), so we skip one of the duplicate tuples */
}
if (i ≤ n) then add tuples R(i) to R(n) to T;
if (j ≤ m) then add tuples S(j) to S(m) to T;

70
Intersection T  R  S

sort the tuples in R and S using the same unique sort attributes;
set i  1, j  1;
while (i ≤ n) and (j ≤ m) do
{
if R(i) > S(j)
then
set j  j+1
else if R(i) < S(j)
then
set i  i+1
else
{ output R(i) to T; /* R(i) = S(j), so we output the tuple
*/
set i  i+1, j j+1
}
} 71
Difference T  R − S
sort the tuples in R and S using the same unique sort attributes;
set i  1, j  1;
while (i ≤ n) and (j ≤ m) do
{
if R(i) > S(j)
then
set j  j+1
else if R(i) < S(j)
then
{ output R(i) to T; /* R(i) has no matching S(j), so output R(i) */
set i  i+1
}
else
set i  i+1, j j+1
}
if (i ≤ n) then add tuples R(i) to R(n) to T;

72
6. Implementing Aggregate Operations
and Outer Joins (1)
Implementing Aggregate Operations:
◼ Aggregate operators : MIN, MAX, SUM, COUNT and AVG

◼ Options to implement aggregate operators:

❑ Table Scan
❑ Index
◼ Example

SELECT MAX(SALARY) FROM EMPLOYEE;

◼ If an (ascending) index on SALARY exists for the employee relation, then the optimizer could
decide on traversing the index for the largest value, which would entail following the right
most pointer in each index node from the root to a leaf.

73
Implementing Aggregate Operations and
Outer Joins (2)
◼ Implementing Aggregate Operations (cont.):
◼ SUM, COUNT and AVG
❑ For a dense index (each record has one index entry):
apply the associated computation to the values in the index.
❑ For a non-dense index: actual number of records associated with each index entry must
be accounted for
◼ With GROUP BY: the aggregate operator must be applied separately to each group of
tuples.
❑ Use sorting or hashing on the group attributes to partition the file into the appropriate
groups;
❑ Compute the aggregate function for the tuples in each group.

◼ What if we have Clustering index on the grouping attributes?

74
Implementing Aggregate Operations and
Outer Joins (3)
◼ Implementing Outer Join:
◼ Outer Join Operators : LEFT OUTER JOIN, RIGHT OUTER JOIN and FULL OUTER
JOIN.
◼ The full outer join produces a result which is equivalent to the union of the results of the
left and right outer joins.
◼ Example:
SELECT FNAME, DNAME
FROM ( EMPLOYEE LEFT OUTER JOIN DEPARTMENT ON DNO = DNUMBER);
◼ Note: The result of this query is a table of employee names and their associated
departments. It is similar to a regular join result, with the exception that if an employee
does not have an associated department, the employee's name will still appear in the
resulting table, although the department name would be indicated as null.

75
Implementing Aggregate Operations and
Outer Joins (4)
◼ Implementing Outer Join (cont.):
◼ Modifying Join Algorithms:

Nested Loop or Sort-Merge joins can be modified to implement outer join.

❑ For left outer join, use the left relation as outer loop and construct result from
every tuple in the left relation.
❑ If there is a match, the concatenated tuple is saved in the result.
❑ However, if an outer tuple does not match, then the tuple is still included in the
result but is padded with a null value(s).

76
Implementing Aggregate Operations and
Outer Joins (5)
◼ Implementing Outer Join (cont.):

Executing a combination of relational algebra operators.

Implement the previous left outer join example
1. {Compute the JOIN of the EMPLOYEE and DEPARTMENT tables}
TEMP1   FNAME,DNAME(EMPLOYEE  DNO=DNUMBER DEPARTMENT)
2. {Find the EMPLOYEEs that do not appear in the JOIN}
TEMP2   FNAME(EMPLOYEE) -  FNAME(Temp1)
3. {Pad each tuple in TEMP2 with a null DNAME field}
TEMP2  TEMP2 x 'null'
4. {UNION the temporary tables to produce the LEFT OUTER JOIN result}
RESULT  TEMP1  TEMP2
The cost of the outer join, as computed above, would include the cost of the associated steps
(i.e., join, projections, set difference and union).

77
7. Combining Operations using Pipelining (1)

◼ Motivation
❑ A query is mapped into a sequence of operations.

❑ Each execution of an operation produces a temporary result.

❑ Generating and saving temporary files on disk is time consuming and

expensive.
◼ Alternative:
❑ Avoid constructing temporary results as much as possible.

❑ Pipeline the data through multiple operations - pass the result of a

previous operator to the next without waiting to complete the previous
operation.

78
Combining Operations using Pipelining (2)
◼ Example: 2-way join, 2 selections on the input files and one final
projection on the resulting file.
◼ Dynamic generation of code to allow for multiple operations to be
pipelined.
◼ Results of a select operation are fed in a "Pipeline " to the join
algorithm.
◼ Also known as stream-based processing.

79
8. Using Heuristics in Query Optimization(1)

Process for heuristics optimization

◼ 1. The parser of a high-level query generates an initial internal
representation;
◼ 2. Apply heuristics rules to optimize the internal representation.
◼ 3. A query execution plan is generated to execute groups of operations
based on the access paths available on the files involved in the query.
◼ The main heuristic is to apply first the operations that reduce the size
of intermediate results.
E.g., Apply SELECT and PROJECT operations before applying the
JOIN or other binary operations.

80
Using Heuristics in Query Optimization (2)

◼ Query tree : a tree data structure that corresponds to a relational algebra

expression. It represents the input relations of the query as leaf nodes of the
tree, and represents the relational algebra operations as internal nodes.
◼ An execution of the query tree consists of executing an internal node
operation whenever its operands are available and then replacing that
internal node by the relation that results from executing the operation.
◼ Query graph : a graph data structure that corresponds to a relational
calculus expression. It does not indicate an order on which operations to
perform first. There is only a single graph corresponding to each query.

81
Using Heuristics in Query Optimization (3)
◼ Example:
For every project located in ‘Stafford’, retrieve the project number, the
controlling department number and the department manager’s last name,
address and birthdate.
◼ Relation algebra :
 PNUMBER, DNUM, LNAME, ADDRESS, BDATE(((σPLOCATION=‘STAFFORD’(PROJECT))
 DNUM=DNUMBER (DEPARTMENT))  MGRSSN=SSN (EMPLOYEE))
◼ SQL query :
Q2: SELECT P.NUMBER, P.DNUM,E.LNAME, E.ADDRESS, E.BDATE
FROM PROJECT AS P, DEPARTMENT AS D, EMPLOYEE AS E
WHERE P.DNUM=D.DNUMBER AND D.MGRSSN=E.SSN AND
P.PLOCATION=‘STAFFORD’; 82
Two query trees for the query Q2

83
Query graph for Q2

84
Using Heuristics in Query Optimization (6)

Heuristic Optimization of Query Trees:

◼ The same query could correspond to many different relational algebra expressions —
and hence many different query trees.

◼ The task of heuristic optimization of query trees is to find a final query tree that is
efficient to execute.

◼ Example :

Q: SELECT LNAME

FROM EMPLOYEE, WORKS_ON,PROJECT

WHERE PNAME = ‘AQUARIUS’ AND PNMUBER=PNO

AND ESSN=SSN AND BDATE > ‘1957-12-31’;

85
Step in converting a query during heuristic optimization.

Step 1: Initial (canonical) query tree for SQL query Q.

86
Step 2: Moving SELECT operations down the query tree.

87
Step 3: Apply more restrictive SELECT operation first

88
Step 4: Replacing Cartesian Product and Select with Join operation.

89
Step 5: Moving Project operations down the query tree

90
Using Heuristics in Query Optimization (10)
General Transformation Rules for Relational Algebra Operations:

◼ 1. Cascade of σ : A conjunctive selection condition can be broken up into a cascade

(sequence) of individual selection operations:
σc1 AND c2 AND ... AND cn(R) = σc1(σc2(...( σcn(R))...) )

◼ 2.Commutativity of σ : The σ operation is commutative:

σc1(σc2(R)) = σc2(σc1(R))

◼ 3. Cascade of π : In a cascade (sequence) of π operations, all but the last one can be
ignored:
πList1(π List2(...( πListn (R))...) ) = π List1(R)

◼ 4. Commuting σ with π : If the selection condition c involves only the attributes A1, ..., An in
the projection list, the two operations can be commuted:
πA1, A2,., An(σc(R)) = σc(πA1, A2,., An (R))

91
Using Heuristics in Query Optimization (11)

General Transformation Rules for Relational Algebra Operations:

(cont.):

◼ 5.Commutativity of  ( and  ): The operation is commutative as the  operation: R 

S = S  R; R  S = S  R

◼ 6. Commuting σ with  (or  ): If all the attributes in the

selection condition c involve only the attributes of one of the relations being joined - say, R-
the two operations can be commuted as follows :
σc( R  S ) = (σc(R))  S

◼ Alternatively, if the selection condition c can be written as (c1 and c2), where condition c1
involves only the attributes of R and condition c2 involves only the attributes of S, the
operations commute as follows:

σc( R  S ) = (σc1(R))  (σc2(S))

92
Using Heuristics in Query Optimization (12)

General Transformation Rules for Relational Algebra Operations (cont.):

◼ 7. Commuting π with  (or  ): Suppose that the projection list is L = {A1,

..., An, B1, ..., Bm}, where A1, ..., An are attributes of R and B1, ..., Bm
are attributes of S. If the join condition c involves only attributes in L, the
two operations can be commuted as follows:
πL( R CS ) = (πA1, ..., An(R)) C(πB1, ..., Bm(S))

◼ If the join condition c contains additional attributes not in L, these must be

added to the projection list, and a final operation is needed.

93
Using Heuristics in Query Optimization (13)

General Transformation Rules for Relational Algebra Operations (cont.):

◼ 8. Commutativity of set operations: The set operations  and ∩ are

commutative but – is not.

◼ 9. Associativity of  , X ,  , and ∩ : These four operations are individually

associative; that is, if q stands for any one of these four operations
(throughout the expression), we have ( R q S ) q T = R q ( S q T )

◼ 10. Commuting s with set operations: The s operation commutes with  , ∩ ,

and –. If q stands for any one of these three operations, we have
sc ( R q S ) = (sc (R)) q (sc (S))

94
Using Heuristics in Query Optimization (14)

General Transformation Rules for Relational Algebra Operations (cont.):

◼ 11. The π operation commutes with .

πL( R  S ) = (πL(R))  (πL(S))

◼ 12. Converting a (σ,  ) sequence into  : If the condition c of a

σ that follows a X corresponds to a join condition, convert the (σ,
X ) sequence into a  as follows:
(σC(R  S)) = (R  C S)

◼ 13. Other transformations

95
Using Heuristics in Query Optimization (15)

Outline of a Heuristic Algebraic Optimization Algorithm

◼ 1. Using rule 1, break up any select operations with conjunctive conditions
into a cascade of select operations.
◼ 2. Using rules 2, 4, 6, and 10 concerning the commutativity of select with
other operations, move each select operation as far down the query tree as is
permitted by the attributes involved in the select condition.
◼ 3. Using rule 9 concerning associativity of binary operations, rearrange the
leaf nodes of the tree so that the leaf node relations with the most restrictive
select operations are executed first in the query tree representation.
◼ 4. Using Rule 12, combine a cartesian product operation with a subsequent
select operation in the tree into a join operation.

96
Using Heuristics in Query Optimization (16)

Outline of a Heuristic Algebraic Optimization Algorithm (cont.)

◼ 5. Using rules 3, 4, 7, and 11 concerning the cascading of project and

the commuting of project with other operations, break down and move
lists of projection attributes down the tree as far as possible by creating
new project operations as needed.

◼ 6. Identify subtrees that represent groups of operations that can be

executed by a single algorithm.

97
Using Heuristics in Query Optimization (17)

Summary of Heuristics for Algebraic Optimization:

◼ 1.The main heuristic is to apply first the operations that reduce the size of
intermediate results.
◼ 2. Perform select operations as early as possible to reduce the number of
tuples and perform project operations as early as possible to reduce the
number of attributes. (This is done by moving select and project operations
as far down the tree as possible.)
◼ 3. The select and join operations that are most restrictive should be executed
before other similar operations. (This is done by reordering the leaf nodes of
the tree among themselves and adjusting the rest of the tree appropriately.)

98
Using Heuristics in Query Optimization (18)

Query Execution Plans

◼ An execution plan for a relational algebra query consists of a combination of
the relational algebra query tree and information about the access methods
to be used for each relation as well as the methods to be used in computing
the relational operators stored in the tree.

◼ Materialized evaluation: The result of an operation is stored as a temporary

relation.

◼ Pipelined evaluation: as the result of an operator is produced, it is

forwarded to the next operator in sequence.

99
9. Using Selectivity and Cost Estimates in
Query Optimization (1)
◼ Cost-based query optimization: Estimate and compare the costs of
executing a query using different execution strategies and choose the
strategy with the lowest cost estimate.

◼ Issues
❑ Cost function
❑ Number of execution strategies to be considered

100
Using Selectivity and Cost Estimates in Query Optimization (2)

Cost Components for Query Execution

◼ 1. Access cost to secondary storage
◼ 2. Storage cost

◼ 3. Computation cost

◼ 4. Memory usage cost

◼ 5. Communication cost

Note: Different database systems may focus on different cost

components.

101
Using Selectivity and Cost Estimates in Query
Optimization (3)
Catalog Information Used in Cost Functions
◼ Information about the size of a file

❑ number of records (tuples) (r),

❑ record size (R),

❑ number of blocks (b)

❑ blocking factor (bfr)

◼ Information about indexes and indexing attributes of a file

❑ Number of levels (x) of each multilevel index
❑ Number of first-level index blocks (bI1)

❑ Number of distinct values (d) of an attribute

❑ Selectivity (sl) of an attribute

❑ Selection cardinality (s) of an attribute. (s = sl * r)

102
Using Selectivity and Cost Estimates in Query Optimization (4)

Examples of Cost Functions for SELECT

◼ S1. Linear search (brute force) approach
CS1a= b;
For an equality condition on a key, C S1b = (b/2) if the record is found;
otherwise CS1a= b.
◼ S2. Binary search :
CS2= log2b + ┌ (s/bfr) ┐- 1
For an equality condition on a unique (key) attribute,
CS2 =log2b
◼ S3. Using a primary index (S3a) or hash key (S3b) to retrieve a single
record
CS3a= x + 1; CS3b = 1 for static or linear hashing;
CS3b = 2 for extendible hashing;
103
Using Selectivity and Cost Estimates in Query Optimization (5)
Examples of Cost Functions for SELECT (cont.)

◼ S4. Using an ordering index to retrieve multiple records:

For the comparison condition on a key field with an ordering index, CS4= x +
(b/2)
◼ S5. Using a clustering index to retrieve multiple records for an equality
condition:
CS5= x + ┌ (s/bfr) ┐
◼ S6. Using a secondary (B+-tree) index:
For an equality comparison, CS6a= x + s (option 1 & 2);
CS6a= x + s + 1 (option 3);
For a comparison condition such as >, <, >=, or <=,
CS6b= x + (bI1/2) + (r/2) 104
Using Selectivity and Cost Estimates in Query
Optimization (6)
Examples of Cost Functions for SELECT (cont.)

◼ S7. Conjunctive selection:

Use either S1 or one of the methods S2 to S6 to solve.
For the latter case, use one condition to retrieve the records and then check
in the memory buffer whether each retrieved record satisfies the remaining
conditions in the conjunction.

◼ S8. Conjunctive selection using a composite index:

Same as S3a, S5 or S6a, depending on the type of index.

105
Example
◼ rE = 10,000 , bE = 2000 , bfrE = 5
◼ Access paths:
❑ 1. A clustering index on SALARY, with levels xSALARY = 3 and average
selection cardinality SSALARY = 20.
❑ 2. A secondary index on the key attribute SSN, with xSSN = 4 (SSSN = 1).
❑ 3. A secondary index on the nonkey attribute DNO, with xDNO= 2 and first-
level index blocks bI1DNO= 4. There are dDNO = 125 distinct values for DNO,
so the selection cardinality of DNO is SDNO = (r/dDNO) = 80.
❑ 4. A secondary index on SEX, with xSEX = 1. There are dSEX = 2 values for
the sex attribute, so the average selection cardinality is SSEX = (r/dSEX) =
5000.
106
Example

◼ (op1): σSSN='123456789' (EMPLOYEE)

❑ CS1b = 1000
❑ CS6a = xSSN + 1 = 4+1 = 5

◼ (op2): σDNO>5 (EMPLOYEE)

❑ CS1a = 2000
❑ CS6b = xDNO + (bl1DNO/2) + (r/2) = 2 + 4/2 + 10000/2 = 5004

107
Example
◼ (op3): σDNO=5 (EMPLOYEE)

❑ CS1a = 2000
❑ CS6a = xDNO + sDNO = 2 + 80 = 82 (option 1 & 2)
❑ CS6a = xDNO + sDNO + 1 = 2 + 80 + 1= 83 (option 3)

◼ (op4): σDNO=5 AND SALARY>30000 AND SEX='F' (EMPLOYEE)

❑ CS6a-DNO = 82 (or 83)
❑ CS4-SALARY = xSALARY + (b/2) = 3 + 2000/2 = 1003
❑ CS6a-SEX = xSEX + sSEX = 1 + 5000 = 5001
❑ (CS6a-SEX = xSEX + sSEX + 1 = 5002 )

❑ => chose DNO = 5 first and check the other conditions.

108
Using Selectivity and Cost Estimates in Query
Optimization (7)
Examples of Cost Functions for JOIN

◼ Join selectivity (js)

js = | (R  C S) | / | R x S | = | (R  C S) | / (|R| * |S |)

If condition C does not exist, js = 1;

If no tuples from the relations satisfy condition C, js = 0;
Usually, 0 <= js <= 1 ;

Size of the result file after join operation

| (R C S) | = js * |R| * |S |

109
Using Selectivity and Cost Estimates in Query
Optimization (8)
Examples of Cost Functions for JOIN (cont.)

◼ J1. Nested-loop join:

CJ1 = bR+ (bR*bS) + ((js* |R|* |S|)/bfrRS)
(Use R for outer loop)

◼ J2. Single-loop join(using an access structure to retrieve the matching record(s))

If an index exists for the join attribute B of S with index levels
xB, we can retrieve each record s in R and then use the index to retrieve all the matching
records t from S that satisfy t[B] = s[A].
The cost depends on the type of index.

110
Using Selectivity and Cost Estimates in Query
Optimization (9)
Examples of Cost Functions for JOIN (cont.)
◼ J2. Single-loop join (cont.)

For a secondary index,

CJ2a = bR + (|R| * (xB+ sB)) + ((js* |R|* |S|)/bfrRS) (option 1 &2);
CJ2a = bR + (|R| * (xB+ sB + 1 )) + ((js* |R|* |S|)/bfrRS) (option 3);
For a clustering index,
CJ2b = bR + (|R| * (xB+ (sB/bfrB))) + ((js* |R|* |S|)/bfrRS);
For a primary index,
CJ2c = bR + (|R| * (xB+ 1)) + ((js* |R|* |S|)/bfrRS);
If a hash key exists for one of the two join attributes — B of S
CJ2d = bR + (|R| * h) + ((js* |R|* |S|)/bfrRS);
h: the average number of block accesses to retrieve a record, given its hash key value, h>=1
◼ J3. Sort-merge join:
CJ3a = CS + bR+ bS + ((js* |R|* |S|)/bfrRS); (CS: Cost for sorting files)
111
Example

◼ Suppose that we have the EMPLOYEE file described in the previous

example
◼ Assume that the DEPARTMENT file of rD = 125 and bD = 13 , xDNUMBER = 1,
secondary index on MGRSSN of DEPARTMENT, sMGRSSN = 1, xMGRSSN = 2,
jsOP6 = (1/IDEPARTMENTI ) = 1/125 , bfrED = 4

◼ (op8): EMPLOYEE  DNO=DNUMBER DEPARTMENT

◼ (op9): DEPARTMENT  MGRSSN=SSNEMPLOYEE

112
DEPARTMENT: rD = 125 and bD = 13 , xDNUMBER = 1, primary index on DNUMBER of DEPARTMENT, xDNUMBER = 1,
Example
jsOP6 = (1/IDEPARTMENTI ) = 1/rD = 1/125 , bfrED = 4
EMPLOYEE : rE = 10000, bE = 2000, secondary index on the nonkey attribute DNO, xDNO = 2, SDNO = 80).
◼ (op8): EMPLOYEE  DNO=DNUMBER DEPARTMENT
❑ Method J1 with Employee as outer:
◼ CJ1 = bE + (bE * bD) + ((jsOP6 * rE * rD)/bfrED)
◼ = 2000 + (2000 * 13) + (((1/125) * 10,000 * 125)/4) =30,500
❑ Method J1 with Department as outer:
◼ CJ1 = bD + (bE * bD) + (((jsOP6 * rE * rD)/bfrED)
◼ = 13 + (13 * 2000) + (((1/125) * 10,000 * 125/4) = 28,513
❑ Method J2 with EMPLOYEE as outer loop:
◼ CJ2c = bE + (rE * (xDNUMBER + 1)) + ((jsOP6 * rE * rD)/bfrED
◼ = 2000 + (10,000 * 2) + (((1/125) * 10,000 * 125/4) = 24,500
❑ Method J2 with DEPARTMENT as outer loop:
◼ CJ2a = bD + (rD * (xDNO+ sDNO)) + ((jsOP6 * rE * rD)/bfrED) (option 1 & 2)
◼ = 13 + (125 * (2 + 80)) + (((1/125) * 10,000 * 125/4) = 12,763
◼ CJ2a = bD + (rD * (xDNO+ sDNO + 1)) + ((jsOP6 * rE * rD)/bfrED) (option 3)
◼ = 13 + (125 * (2 + 80 + 1)) + (((1/125) * 10,000 * 125/4) = 12,888
113
DEPARTMENT: rD = 125 and bD = 13 , xDNUMBER = 1, secondary index on MGRSSN of DEPARTMENT, sMGRSSN =
Example
1, xMGRSSN = 2, jsOP7 = (1/IEMPLOYEEI ) = 1/rE = 1/10,000 , bfrED = 4
EMPLOYEE : : rE = 10000, bE = 2000, secondary index on the key attribute SSN, with xSSN = 4 (SSSN = 1).

◼ (op9): DEPARTMENT  MGRSSN=SSNEMPLOYEE

❑ Method J1 with Employee as outer:
◼ CJ1 = bE + (bE * bD) + ((jsOP7 * rE * rD)/bfrED)
◼ = 2000 + (2000 * 13) + (((1/10,000) * 10,000 * 125)/4) = ┌28,031.25┐ = 28,032
❑ Method J1 with Department as outer:
◼ CJ1 = bD + (bE * bD) + (((jsOP7 * rE * rD)/bfrED)
◼ = 13 + (13 * 2000) + (((1/10,000) * 10,000 * 125/4) = ┌ 26,044.25 ┐ = 26,045
❑ Method J2 with EMPLOYEE as outer loop:
◼ CJ2c = bE + (rE * (xMGRSSN + sMGRSSN)) + ((jsOP7 * rE * rD)/bfrED (option 1 & 2)
◼ = 2000 + (10,000 * (2+1)) + (((1/10,000) * 10,000 * 125/4) = ┌ 32,031.25 ┐ = 32,032
◼ CJ2c = bE + (rE * (xMGRSSN + sMGRSSN +1)) + ((jsOP7 * rE * rD)/bfrED = 42,032 (option 3)
❑ Method J2 with DEPARTMENT as outer loop:
◼ CJ2a = bD + (rD * (xSSN+ sSSN)) + ((jsOP7 * rE * rD)/bfrED) (option 1 & 2)
◼ = 13 + (125 * (4 + 1)) + (((1/10,000) * 10,000 * 125/4) = ┌ 669.25 ┐ = 670
◼ CJ2a = bD + (rD * (xSSN+ sSSN +1)) + ((jsOP7 * rE * rD)/bfrED) = 795 (option 3) 114
Using Selectivity and Cost Estimates in Query
Optimization (10)
Multiple Relation Queries and Join Ordering
◼ A query joining n relations will have n-1 join operations, and hence can
have a large number of different join orders when we apply the
algebraic transformation rules.
◼ Current query optimizers typically limit the structure of a (join) query
tree to that of left-deep (or right-deep) trees.
◼ Left-deep tree : a binary tree where the right child of each non-leaf
node is always a base relation.
❑ Amenable to pipelining
❑ Could utilize any access paths on the base relation (the right child) when
executing the join.

115
Using Selectivity and Cost Estimates in Query
Optimization (11)
◼ Example: 2 left-deep trees

116
10. Overview of Query Optimization in Oracle

◼ Oracle DBMS V8
❑ Rule-based query optimization: the optimizer chooses execution plans based
on heuristically ranked operations.
◼ (Currently it is being phased out)
❑ Cost-based query optimization: the optimizer examines alternative access
paths and operator algorithms and chooses the execution plan with lowest
estimate cost.
◼ The query cost is calculated based on the estimated usage of resources such as I/O,
CPU and memory needed.
❑ Application developers could specify hints to the ORACLE query optimizer.
❑ The idea is that an application developer might know more information about the
data.

117
11. Semantic Query Optimization
◼ Semantic Query Optimization:
❑ Uses constraints specified on the database schema in order to modify one query into
another query that is more efficient to execute.

◼ Consider the following SQL query,

SELECT E.LNAME, M.LNAME
FROM EMPLOYEE E M
WHERE E.SUPERSSN=M.SSN AND E.SALARY>M.SALARY

◼ Explanation:
❑ Suppose that we had a constraint on the database schema that stated that no employee
can earn more than his or her direct supervisor. If the semantic query optimizer checks for
the existence of this constraint, it need not execute the query at all because it knows that
the result of the query will be empty. Techniques known as theorem proving can be used
for this purpose.

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