Shane Ambler <pgsql@xxxxxxxxxx> writes: > SELECT generate_series(1,1000000) AS idx > , substring('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789' from > cast((random()*36)as integer) for 1) > ||substring('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789' from > cast((random()*36)as integer) for 1) > ||substring('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789' from > cast((random()*36)as integer) for 1) > ||substring('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789' from > cast((random()*36)as integer) for 1) > ||substring('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789' from > cast((random()*36)as integer) for 1) > ||substring('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789' from > cast((random()*36)as integer) for 1) > ||substring('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789' from > cast((random()*36)as integer) for 1) > AS pincode > If I change the generate_series to 10M rows it gets an out of memory > error at about 3.5GB (VSZ) and a bit under 300MB(RSS) Seems to be the same issue recently discussed here: http://archives.postgresql.org/pgsql-performance/2008-01/msg00031.php For the moment I'd suggest recasting it to avoid having the SRF in the SELECT target list (which is pretty darn weird anyway, in this usage --- I don't see any very good SQL-semantics argument why the substring expression would get evaluated more than once here). Something like INSERT INTO codes SELECT substring('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789' from cast((random()*36)as integer) for 1) ||substring('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789' from cast((random()*36)as integer) for 1) ||substring('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789' from cast((random()*36)as integer) for 1) ||substring('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789' from cast((random()*36)as integer) for 1) ||substring('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789' from cast((random()*36)as integer) for 1) ||substring('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789' from cast((random()*36)as integer) for 1) ||substring('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789' from cast((random()*36)as integer) for 1) FROM generate_series(1,1000000) AS idx; regards, tom lane ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- TIP 3: Have you checked our extensive FAQ? http://www.postgresql.org/docs/faq