Genetic Query Optimization (GEQO) in Postgres

The GEQO module is intended for the solution of the query optimization problem similar to a traveling salesman problem (TSP). Possible query plans are encoded as integer strings. Each string represents the join order from one relation of the query to the next. E. g., the query tree

       /\
      /\ 2
     /\ 3
    4  1
is encoded by the integer string '4-1-3-2', which means, first join relation '4' and '1', then '3', and then '2', where 1, 2, 3, 4 are relids in Postgres.

Parts of the GEQO module are adapted from D. Whitley's Genitor algorithm.

Specific characteristics of the GEQO implementation in Postgres are:

The GEQO module gives the following benefits to the Postgres DBMS compared to the Postgres query optimizer implementation: