That's it - I found a more simple statement which has the same problem (0.02 seconds vs. 6 seconds): With cursor (6 seconds): appcooelakdb2=> explain DECLARE curs_1 CURSOR FOR SELECT DISTINCT t2.objid FROM atobjval t2 WHERE t2.aggrid = 0 AND t2.attrid = 281479288455385 ORDER BY t2.objid; QUERY PLAN ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------- Unique (cost=0.00..1404823.63 rows=538 width=8) -> Index Scan using atobjvalix on atobjval t2 (cost=0.00..1404751.32 rows=28925 width=8) Index Cond: ((attrid = 281479288455385::bigint) AND (aggrid = 0)) Without cursor (0.02 seconds) appcooelakdb2=> explain SELECT DISTINCT t2.objid FROM atobjval t2 WHERE t2.aggrid = 0 AND t2.attrid = 281479288455385 ORDER BY t2.objid; QUERY PLAN ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------- Unique (cost=151717.85..151862.48 rows=538 width=8) -> Sort (cost=151717.85..151790.17 rows=28925 width=8) Sort Key: objid -> Bitmap Heap Scan on atobjval t2 (cost=1692.40..149574.51 rows=28925 width=8) Recheck Cond: (attrid = 281479288455385::bigint) Filter: (aggrid = 0) -> Bitmap Index Scan on ind_atobjval (cost=0.00..1685.16 rows=59402 width=0) Index Cond: (attrid = 281479288455385::bigint) What's the difference between plan calculation for cursors and straight queries? Kind regards, Robert -----Original Message----- From: Tom Lane [mailto:tgl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Dienstag, 01. April 2008 17:30 To: Hell, Robert Cc: pgsql-performance@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: Cursors and different settings for default_statistics_target "Hell, Robert" <Robert.Hell@xxxxxxxxxxxx> writes: > When we use 20 as default_statistics_target the retrieval of the data > takes 7.5 seconds - with 25 as default_statistics_target (with restart > and analyze) it takes 0.6 seconds. > The query plan is identical in both situations (row estimation differs a > little bit) - the query is always fast when it is executed without a > cursor. A cursor doesn't necessarily use the same plan as a straight query does. Try "EXPLAIN DECLARE curs_285058224 CURSOR FOR ..." and see if you aren't getting different plans in these two cases. regards, tom lane -- Sent via pgsql-performance mailing list (pgsql-performance@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx) To make changes to your subscription: http://www.postgresql.org/mailpref/pgsql-performance