Update obsolete row compare preprocessing comments.

We have some limited ability to detect redundant and contradictory
conditions involving an nbtree row comparison key following commits
f09816a0 and bd3f59fd: we can do so in simple cases involving IS NULL
and IS NOT NULL keys on a row compare key's first column.  We can
likewise determine that a scan's qual is unsatisfiable given a row
compare whose first subkey's arg is NULL.  Update obsolete comments that
claimed that we merely copied row compares into the output key array
"without any editorialization".

Also update another _bt_preprocess_keys header comment paragraph: add a
parenthetical remark that points out that preprocessing will generate a
skip array for the preceding example qual.  That will ultimate lead to
preprocessing marking the example's lower-order y key required -- which
is exactly what the example supposes cannot happen.  Keep the original
comment, though, since it accurately describes the mechanical rules that
determine which keys get marked required in the absence of skip arrays
(which can occasionally still matter).  This fixes an oversight in
commit 92fe23d9, which added the nbtree skip scan optimization.

Author: Peter Geoghegan <pg@bowt.ie>
Backpatch-through: 18

1 files changed, 16 insertions, 7 deletions

diff --git a/src/backend/access/nbtree/nbtpreprocesskeys.c b/src/backend/access/nbtree/nbtpreprocesskeys.c
index a871bf62cab..5b251c5058d 100644
--- a/src/backend/access/nbtree/nbtpreprocesskeys.c
+++ b/src/backend/access/nbtree/nbtpreprocesskeys.c
@@ -122,6 +122,10 @@ static int	_bt_compare_array_elements(const void *a, const void *b, void *arg);
  * For the first attribute without an "=" key, any "<" and "<=" keys are
  * marked SK_BT_REQFWD while any ">" and ">=" keys are marked SK_BT_REQBKWD.
  * This can be seen to be correct by considering the above example.
+ * (Actually, the z key _will_ be marked SK_BT_REQFWD, since preprocessing
+ * will generate a skip array on y -- except when DEBUG_DISABLE_SKIP_SCAN.
+ * See below description of how and why we generate skip array = keys in the
+ * presence of a "contradictory" condition such as "y < 4".)
  *
  * If we never generated skip array scan keys, it would be possible for "gaps"
  * to appear that make it unsafe to mark any subsequent input scan keys
@@ -177,13 +181,18 @@ static int	_bt_compare_array_elements(const void *a, const void *b, void *arg);
  * array will generate its array elements from a range that's constrained by
  * any merged input inequalities (which won't get output in so->keyData[]).
  *
- * Row comparison keys currently have a couple of notable limitations.
- * Right now we just transfer them into the preprocessed array without any
- * editorialization.  We can treat them the same as an ordinary inequality
- * comparison on the row's first index column, for the purposes of the logic
- * about required keys.  Also, we are unable to merge a row comparison key
- * into a skip array (only ordinary inequalities are merged).  A key that
- * comes after a Row comparison key is therefore never marked as required.
+ * Row compares are treated as ordinary inequality comparisons on the row's
+ * first index column whenever possible.  We treat their first subkey as if it
+ * was a simple scalar inequality for the purposes of the logic about required
+ * keys.  This also gives us limited ability to detect contradictory/redundant
+ * conditions involving a row compare: we can do so whenever it involves an
+ * SK_ISNULL condition on a row compare's first column (the same rules used
+ * with simple inequalities work just as well here).  We have no ability to
+ * detect redundant/contradictory conditions in any other row compare case.
+ * Note in particular that we are unable to merge a row comparison key into a
+ * skip array (only ordinary inequalities are merged).  Any so->keyData[] key
+ * on a column that comes after a row comparison's first column can therefore
+ * never be marked as required at present.
  *
  * Note: the reason we have to copy the preprocessed scan keys into private
  * storage is that we are modifying the array based on comparisons of the