Order active window clauses for greater reuse of Sort nodes.

By sorting the active window list lexicographically by the sort clause
list but putting longer clauses before shorter prefixes, we generate
more chances to elide Sort nodes when building the path.

Author: Daniel Gustafsson (with some editorialization by me)
Reviewed-by: Alexander Kuzmenkov, Masahiko Sawada, Tom Lane
Discussion: https://postgr.es/m/124A7F69-84CD-435B-BA0E-2695BE21E5C2%40yesql.se

Author: RhodiumToad

src/backend/nodes/list.c

@@ -1011,8 +1011,11 @@ list_append_unique_oid(List *list, Oid datum)
  * via equal().
  *
  * This is almost the same functionality as list_union(), but list1 is
- * modified in-place rather than being copied.  Note also that list2's cells
- * are not inserted in list1, so the analogy to list_concat() isn't perfect.
+ * modified in-place rather than being copied. However, callers of this
+ * function may have strict ordering expectations -- i.e. that the relative
+ * order of those list2 elements that are not duplicates is preserved. Note
+ * also that list2's cells are not inserted in list1, so the analogy to
+ * list_concat() isn't perfect.
  */
 List *
 list_concat_unique(List *list1, List *list2)

src/backend/optimizer/plan/planner.c

@@ -110,6 +110,17 @@ typedef struct
 	int		   *tleref_to_colnum_map;
 } grouping_sets_data;
 
+/*
+ * Temporary structure for use during WindowClause reordering in order to be
+ * be able to sort WindowClauses on partitioning/ordering prefix.
+ */
+typedef struct
+{
+	WindowClause *wc;
+	List	   *uniqueOrder;	/* A List of unique ordering/partitioning
+								 * clauses per Window */
+} WindowClauseSortData;
+
 /* Local functions */
 static Node *preprocess_expression(PlannerInfo *root, Node *expr, int kind);
 static void preprocess_qual_conditions(PlannerInfo *root, Node *jtnode);
@@ -236,6 +247,7 @@ static void create_partitionwise_grouping_paths(PlannerInfo *root,
 static bool group_by_has_partkey(RelOptInfo *input_rel,
 					 List *targetList,
 					 List *groupClause);
+static int	common_prefix_cmp(const void *a, const void *b);
 
 
 /*****************************************************************************
@@ -5259,67 +5271,119 @@ postprocess_setop_tlist(List *new_tlist, List *orig_tlist)
 static List *
 select_active_windows(PlannerInfo *root, WindowFuncLists *wflists)
 {
-	List	   *result;
-	List	   *actives;
+	List	   *windowClause = root->parse->windowClause;
+	List	   *result = NIL;
 	ListCell   *lc;
+	int			nActive = 0;
+	WindowClauseSortData *actives = palloc(sizeof(WindowClauseSortData)
+										   * list_length(windowClause));
 
-	/* First, make a list of the active windows */
-	actives = NIL;
-	foreach(lc, root->parse->windowClause)
+	/* First, construct an array of the active windows */
+	foreach(lc, windowClause)
 	{
 		WindowClause *wc = lfirst_node(WindowClause, lc);
 
 		/* It's only active if wflists shows some related WindowFuncs */
 		Assert(wc->winref <= wflists->maxWinRef);
-		if (wflists->windowFuncs[wc->winref] != NIL)
-			actives = lappend(actives, wc);
+		if (wflists->windowFuncs[wc->winref] == NIL)
+			continue;
+
+		actives[nActive].wc = wc;	/* original clause */
+
+		/*
+		 * For sorting, we want the list of partition keys followed by the
+		 * list of sort keys. But pathkeys construction will remove duplicates
+		 * between the two, so we can as well (even though we can't detect all
+		 * of the duplicates, since some may come from ECs - that might mean
+		 * we miss optimization chances here). We must, however, ensure that
+		 * the order of entries is preserved with respect to the ones we do
+		 * keep.
+		 *
+		 * partitionClause and orderClause had their own duplicates removed in
+		 * parse analysis, so we're only concerned here with removing
+		 * orderClause entries that also appear in partitionClause.
+		 */
+		actives[nActive].uniqueOrder =
+			list_concat_unique(list_copy(wc->partitionClause),
+							   wc->orderClause);
+		nActive++;
 	}
 
 	/*
-	 * Now, ensure that windows with identical partitioning/ordering clauses
-	 * are adjacent in the list.  This is required by the SQL standard, which
-	 * says that only one sort is to be used for such windows, even if they
-	 * are otherwise distinct (eg, different names or framing clauses).
+	 * Sort active windows by their partitioning/ordering clauses, ignoring
+	 * any framing clauses, so that the windows that need the same sorting are
+	 * adjacent in the list. When we come to generate paths, this will avoid
+	 * inserting additional Sort nodes.
 	 *
-	 * There is room to be much smarter here, for example detecting whether
-	 * one window's sort keys are a prefix of another's (so that sorting for
-	 * the latter would do for the former), or putting windows first that
-	 * match a sort order available for the underlying query.  For the moment
-	 * we are content with meeting the spec.
-	 */
-	result = NIL;
-	while (actives != NIL)
-	{
-		WindowClause *wc = linitial_node(WindowClause, actives);
-		ListCell   *prev;
-		ListCell   *next;
-
-		/* Move wc from actives to result */
-		actives = list_delete_first(actives);
-		result = lappend(result, wc);
-
-		/* Now move any matching windows from actives to result */
-		prev = NULL;
-		for (lc = list_head(actives); lc; lc = next)
-		{
-			WindowClause *wc2 = lfirst_node(WindowClause, lc);
+	 * This is how we implement a specific requirement from the SQL standard,
+	 * which says that when two or more windows are order-equivalent (i.e.
+	 * have matching partition and order clauses, even if their names or
+	 * framing clauses differ), then all peer rows must be presented in the
+	 * same order in all of them. If we allowed multiple sort nodes for such
+	 * cases, we'd risk having the peer rows end up in different orders in
+	 * equivalent windows due to sort instability. (See General Rule 4 of
+	 * <window clause> in SQL2008 - SQL2016.)
+	 *
+	 * Additionally, if the entire list of clauses of one window is a prefix
+	 * of another, put first the window with stronger sorting requirements.
+	 * This way we will first sort for stronger window, and won't have to sort
+	 * again for the weaker one.
+	 */
+	qsort(actives, nActive, sizeof(WindowClauseSortData), common_prefix_cmp);
 
-			next = lnext(lc);
-			/* framing options are NOT to be compared here! */
-			if (equal(wc->partitionClause, wc2->partitionClause) &&
-				equal(wc->orderClause, wc2->orderClause))
-			{
-				actives = list_delete_cell(actives, lc, prev);
-				result = lappend(result, wc2);
-			}
-			else
-				prev = lc;
-		}
-	}
+	/* build ordered list of the original WindowClause nodes */
+	for (int i = 0; i < nActive; i++)
+		result = lappend(result, actives[i].wc);
+
+	pfree(actives);
 
 	return result;
 }
 
+/*
+ * common_prefix_cmp
+ *	  QSort comparison function for WindowClauseSortData
+ *
+ * Sort the windows by the required sorting clauses. First, compare the sort
+ * clauses themselves. Second, if one window's clauses are a prefix of another
+ * one's clauses, put the window with more sort clauses first.
+ */
+static int
+common_prefix_cmp(const void *a, const void *b)
+{
+	const WindowClauseSortData *wcsa = a;
+	const WindowClauseSortData *wcsb = b;
+	ListCell   *item_a;
+	ListCell   *item_b;
+
+	forboth(item_a, wcsa->uniqueOrder, item_b, wcsb->uniqueOrder)
+	{
+		SortGroupClause *sca = lfirst_node(SortGroupClause, item_a);
+		SortGroupClause *scb = lfirst_node(SortGroupClause, item_b);
+
+		if (sca->tleSortGroupRef > scb->tleSortGroupRef)
+			return -1;
+		else if (sca->tleSortGroupRef < scb->tleSortGroupRef)
+			return 1;
+		else if (sca->sortop > scb->sortop)
+			return -1;
+		else if (sca->sortop < scb->sortop)
+			return 1;
+		else if (sca->nulls_first && !scb->nulls_first)
+			return -1;
+		else if (!sca->nulls_first && scb->nulls_first)
+			return 1;
+		/* no need to compare eqop, since it is fully determined by sortop */
+	}
+
+	if (list_length(wcsa->uniqueOrder) > list_length(wcsb->uniqueOrder))
+		return -1;
+	else if (list_length(wcsa->uniqueOrder) < list_length(wcsb->uniqueOrder))
+		return 1;
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
 /*
  * make_window_input_target
  *	  Generate appropriate PathTarget for initial input to WindowAgg nodes.

src/test/regress/expected/window.out

@@ -504,9 +504,9 @@ SELECT sum(salary),
 FROM empsalary GROUP BY depname;
   sum  | row_number |  sum  
 -------+------------+-------
- 14600 |          3 | 14600
-  7400 |          2 | 22000
  25100 |          1 | 47100
+  7400 |          2 | 22000
+ 14600 |          3 | 14600
 (3 rows)
 
 -- identical windows with different names
@@ -2994,9 +2994,9 @@ SELECT sum(salary), row_number() OVER (ORDER BY depname), sum(
 FROM empsalary GROUP BY depname;
   sum  | row_number | filtered_sum |  depname  
 -------+------------+--------------+-----------
- 14600 |          3 |              | sales
-  7400 |          2 |         3500 | personnel
  25100 |          1 |        22600 | develop
+  7400 |          2 |         3500 | personnel
+ 14600 |          3 |              | sales
 (3 rows)
 
 -- Test pushdown of quals into a subquery containing window functions
@@ -3008,13 +3008,13 @@ SELECT * FROM
           min(salary) OVER (PARTITION BY depname || 'A', depname) depminsalary
    FROM empsalary) emp
 WHERE depname = 'sales';
-                             QUERY PLAN                              
----------------------------------------------------------------------
+                                QUERY PLAN                                
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Subquery Scan on emp
    ->  WindowAgg
-         ->  Sort
-               Sort Key: (((empsalary.depname)::text || 'A'::text))
-               ->  WindowAgg
+         ->  WindowAgg
+               ->  Sort
+                     Sort Key: (((empsalary.depname)::text || 'A'::text))
                      ->  Seq Scan on empsalary
                            Filter: ((depname)::text = 'sales'::text)
 (7 rows)
@@ -3027,19 +3027,53 @@ SELECT * FROM
           min(salary) OVER (PARTITION BY depname) depminsalary
    FROM empsalary) emp
 WHERE depname = 'sales';
-                        QUERY PLAN                         
------------------------------------------------------------
+                      QUERY PLAN                       
+-------------------------------------------------------
  Subquery Scan on emp
    Filter: ((emp.depname)::text = 'sales'::text)
    ->  WindowAgg
          ->  Sort
-               Sort Key: empsalary.depname
+               Sort Key: empsalary.enroll_date
                ->  WindowAgg
                      ->  Sort
-                           Sort Key: empsalary.enroll_date
+                           Sort Key: empsalary.depname
                            ->  Seq Scan on empsalary
 (9 rows)
 
+-- Test Sort node collapsing
+EXPLAIN (COSTS OFF)
+SELECT * FROM
+  (SELECT depname,
+          sum(salary) OVER (PARTITION BY depname order by empno) depsalary,
+          min(salary) OVER (PARTITION BY depname, empno order by enroll_date) depminsalary
+   FROM empsalary) emp
+WHERE depname = 'sales';
+                              QUERY PLAN                              
+----------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Subquery Scan on emp
+   ->  WindowAgg
+         ->  WindowAgg
+               ->  Sort
+                     Sort Key: empsalary.empno, empsalary.enroll_date
+                     ->  Seq Scan on empsalary
+                           Filter: ((depname)::text = 'sales'::text)
+(7 rows)
+
+-- Test Sort node reordering
+EXPLAIN (COSTS OFF)
+SELECT
+  lead(1) OVER (PARTITION BY depname ORDER BY salary, enroll_date),
+  lag(1) OVER (PARTITION BY depname ORDER BY salary,enroll_date,empno)
+FROM empsalary;
+                         QUERY PLAN                          
+-------------------------------------------------------------
+ WindowAgg
+   ->  WindowAgg
+         ->  Sort
+               Sort Key: depname, salary, enroll_date, empno
+               ->  Seq Scan on empsalary
+(5 rows)
+
 -- cleanup
 DROP TABLE empsalary;
 -- test user-defined window function with named args and default args

src/test/regress/sql/window.sql

@@ -892,6 +892,22 @@ SELECT * FROM
    FROM empsalary) emp
 WHERE depname = 'sales';
 
+-- Test Sort node collapsing
+EXPLAIN (COSTS OFF)
+SELECT * FROM
+  (SELECT depname,
+          sum(salary) OVER (PARTITION BY depname order by empno) depsalary,
+          min(salary) OVER (PARTITION BY depname, empno order by enroll_date) depminsalary
+   FROM empsalary) emp
+WHERE depname = 'sales';
+
+-- Test Sort node reordering
+EXPLAIN (COSTS OFF)
+SELECT
+  lead(1) OVER (PARTITION BY depname ORDER BY salary, enroll_date),
+  lag(1) OVER (PARTITION BY depname ORDER BY salary,enroll_date,empno)
+FROM empsalary;
+
 -- cleanup
 DROP TABLE empsalary;