Thread

1. hamilyon2 · 1789593005 · focus · HN ↗

   Optimal plan construction is math-heavy, algorithm-heavy and vary even by workload. There are options like creating just-in-time indexes, so solution space grows even faster than article presents. Sometimes it is the query planner which is the slow part of total execution time.

   LLM is kind of blunt weapon to use here. I am waiting rather for alphago style neural net heuristic.

   1. yipinwong · 1789595402 · focus · HN ↗

      What if we use a hybrid model of using both query optimizer and LLM? Whichever produces better result, the database can use?

      - a question from someone with lack of DB depth, me.

      1. Sesse__ · 1789595743 · focus · HN ↗

         The immediate problem: How do you know which one is better without running them?

         1. haroldl · 1789604743 · focus · HN ↗

            You create formulas to estimate the cost of running a given query plan. Use statistics collected about the tables (e.g. how many rows) to try to be accurate. The topic is "Cost Based Optimization".

            1. Sesse__ · 1789626014 · focus · HN ↗

               If you have formulas that actually match reality, what do you need the LLM for? An optimizer is perfectly capable of finding the optimal plan if it has a perfect estimator. In fact, if you could only estimate the number of rows in each subplan perfectly, you have as good as solved the problem already.

               1. locknitpicker · 1789634660 · focus · HN ↗

                  > If you have formulas that actually match reality, what do you need the LLM for?

                  That's the key question.

                  I think LLMs allow people with no context or background or know-how to dive into projects and see some results being presented to them, but they don't have the context or skillset to tell what they see before them.

                  This paves the way to people laying grand claims about achievements because of LLMs. Their claim is that LLMs know best primarily because LLMs knew more than them, not that the output is good or desirable.

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