Improve comment for tricky aspect of index-only scans.

jeff-davis · jeff-davis · commit 35c0cd3b05b0 · 2014-05-06T19:27:43.000-07:00
Index-only scans avoid taking a lock on the VM buffer, which would
cause a lot of contention. To be correct, that requires some intricate
assumptions that weren't completely documented in the previous
comment.

Reviewed by Robert Haas.
diff --git a/src/backend/executor/nodeIndexonlyscan.c b/src/backend/executor/nodeIndexonlyscan.c
@@ -88,15 +88,31 @@ IndexOnlyNext(IndexOnlyScanState *node)
 		 * Note on Memory Ordering Effects: visibilitymap_test does not lock
 		 * the visibility map buffer, and therefore the result we read here
 		 * could be slightly stale.  However, it can't be stale enough to
-		 * matter.  It suffices to show that (1) there is a read barrier
-		 * between the time we read the index TID and the time we test the
-		 * visibility map; and (2) there is a write barrier between the time
-		 * some other concurrent process clears the visibility map bit and the
-		 * time it inserts the index TID.  Since acquiring or releasing a
-		 * LWLock interposes a full barrier, this is easy to show: (1) is
-		 * satisfied by the release of the index buffer content lock after
-		 * reading the TID; and (2) is satisfied by the acquisition of the
-		 * buffer content lock in order to insert the TID.
+		 * matter.
+		 *
+		 * We need to detect clearing a VM bit due to an insert right away,
+		 * because the tuple is present in the index page but not visible. The
+		 * reading of the TID by this scan (using a shared lock on the index
+		 * buffer) is serialized with the insert of the TID into the index
+		 * (using an exclusive lock on the index buffer). Because the VM bit
+		 * is cleared before updating the index, and locking/unlocking of the
+		 * index page acts as a full memory barrier, we are sure to see the
+		 * cleared bit if we see a recently-inserted TID.
+		 *
+		 * Deletes do not update the index page (only VACUUM will clear out
+		 * the TID), so the clearing of the VM bit by a delete is not
+		 * serialized with this test below, and we may see a value that is
+		 * significantly stale. However, we don't care about the delete right
+		 * away, because the tuple is still visible until the deleting
+		 * transaction commits or the statement ends (if it's our
+		 * transaction). In either case, the lock on the VM buffer will have
+		 * been released (acting as a write barrier) after clearing the
+		 * bit. And for us to have a snapshot that includes the deleting
+		 * transaction (making the tuple invisible), we must have acquired
+		 * ProcArrayLock after that time, acting as a read barrier.
+		 *
+		 * It's worth going through this complexity to avoid needing to lock
+		 * the VM buffer, which could cause significant contention.
 		 */
 		if (!visibilitymap_test(scandesc->heapRelation,
 								ItemPointerGetBlockNumber(tid),
