Index-only scans (microfunding) Comments (0)
Open Source has some build in dilemmas when meeting traditional companies that purchase software, one of them is how to get future developments put into the projects. It is not uncommon to have some developers wanting to develop the features, given someone to fund them. It is also not uncommon to have someone who wants to pay for a feature if they could get it.
So all is perfect, right?
The dilemma is timing, since the one needing the feature probably need the feature “now” or “really soon” and if the time horizon is “in a year or more”, then it actually comes into question if you actually can wait for a feature to be developed, wait for it to be tested, mature and stable enough for putting into a production system. And, by the way, who can even forsee 2 years ahead in the world of software development.
Index only scan in PostgreSQL is a top-candidate for being a feature in that category. Software developers really NEEDING functionality like that would most likely go to alternative RDBMS’s to get the feature if they can design the software around one which has the feature allready, even if the cost of a single license might be sufficient to sponsor the development of that particular feature in their favorite database. Just by the fact that it would buy them the feature “now” and not in 1 or two years.
So the value is more of “how much would you like to pay now, to be able to use a feature in 1 or 2 years”, which is a question of a quite different type to a typical software purchasing company than: “how much is this feature worth for you now”
The wish is not particular to PostgreSQL, but the http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Index-only_scans is a perfect example. The list of big and long-wished features, at least for PostgreSQL is on this list: http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Todo
Jesper - Actually just trying to make a bit of advertising of the “Microfunding” section of above page, hoping that all things will end happily.
When the feature is “small” or the feature set just simply “does the job”, then everything works excellent.