All: This got posted to pgsql-bugs, but got no attention there[1], so I'm sending it to this list. Test case: createdb bench pgbench -i -s bench \c bench bench=# explain select * from pgbench_accounts where aid = 2; QUERY PLAN --------------------------------------------------------------- Index Scan using pgbench_accounts_pkey on pgbench_accounts (cost=0.42..8.44 rows=1 width=97) Index Cond: (aid = 2) (2 rows) bench=# explain select * from pgbench_accounts where aid = 2 and false; QUERY PLAN ------------------------------------------------- Result (cost=0.00..26394.00 rows=1 width=97) One-Time Filter: false -> Seq Scan on pgbench_accounts (cost=0.00..26394.00 rows=1 width=97) (3 rows) This seems like a special case of the "aborted plan cost", that is, when the planner expects to abort a plan early, it nevertheless returns the full cost for the non-aborted version of the query, rather than the working cost, which is based on the abort. For example: bench=# create index on pgbench_accounts(bid); CREATE INDEX bench=# explain select * from pgbench_accounts where bid = 2; QUERY PLAN ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Index Scan using pgbench_accounts_bid_idx on pgbench_accounts (cost=0.42..4612.10 rows=102667 width=97) Index Cond: (bid = 2) (2 rows) bench=# explain select * from pgbench_accounts where bid = 2 limit 1; QUERY PLAN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Limit (cost=0.00..0.28 rows=1 width=97) -> Seq Scan on pgbench_accounts (cost=0.00..28894.00 rows=102667 width=97) Filter: (bid = 2) (3 rows) So in this case, the top-level node returns a lower cost because the planner knows that it will find a row with bid=2 fairly quickly in the seq scan. But in the WHERE FALSE example, that scan *is* the top-level node, so the planner returns a fictitious cost for the whole query. Or is there something else at work here? [1] http://www.postgresql.org/message-id/20150225194953.2546.86836@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx -- Josh Berkus PostgreSQL Experts Inc. http://pgexperts.com -- Sent via pgsql-performance mailing list (pgsql-performance@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx) To make changes to your subscription: http://www.postgresql.org/mailpref/pgsql-performance