Phil Endecott <spam_from_postgresql_general@xxxxxxxxxxxx> writes: > I don't see anything in there about LEFT OUTER JOIN though. Any ideas? Oh, I missed that part of your message. Hmm, I think the issue is that in >> D join (M join G on (M.g=G.id)) on (D.id=M.b) where D.id=nnn the planner deduces M.b=nnn by transitivity, but when the join is an outer join it can't make the same deduction. [ thinks some more... ] If we distinguished conditions that hold below the join from those that hold above it, we could deduce that M.b=nnn can be enforced below the join even though it might not be true above it. There's no such mechanism in existence now, though. A possible workaround is to generate your query like D left join (M join G on (M.g=G.id)) on (D.id=M.b AND M.b=nnn) where D.id=nnn but I don't know how practical that is for you. regards, tom lane ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- TIP 5: Have you checked our extensive FAQ? http://www.postgresql.org/docs/faq