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THE FASTEST DATABASE QUERY WAS THE ONE THAT WASN’T EXECUTED

Nobody can have control over the ever-expanding datasets and increasingly complex queries at any organization. The role of materialized views in database management for solving these scenarios is paramount. This proposed session, "Incremental Materialized Views 101" aims to equip PostgreSQL enthusiasts with a deep understanding of materialized views, the challenges posed by traditional implementations, and the latest approach to addressing these issues through incremental materialized views using the pg_ivm extension.

The session will begin with a primer on materialized views, discussing its significance in database query optimization. Attendees will gain insights into the benefits of pre-computing and storing the results of complex queries, enhancing query performance and reducing computational overhead. I am planning to provide a hands-on example where I will create a table and insert millions of fake data in it. I will then demonstrate the optimization materialized view offers by comparing normal query run time with MV query.

The presentation will then shift its focus to the limitations of traditional materialized view implementations, particularly the challenges associated with refreshing large datasets. Attendees will discover the pitfalls of full refreshes and the impact on database performance, prompting the need for a more efficient and scalable solution.

This will lead to the introduction of incremental materialized views. The session will explore how this approach addresses the shortcomings of traditional methodologies. Attendees will learn about the principles behind incremental refreshing, where only the changes in the source data are propagated to the materialized view, resulting in significant performance improvements.

The spotlight will then turn to the pg_ivm extension, a powerful tool designed to simplify the implementation of incremental materialized views in PostgreSQL. I will create a MV using pg_ivm to demonstrate how easy it is to create something which reduces the db queries multifold.

Furthermore, the presentation will highlight the advantages of adopting incremental materialized views, including reduced computational costs, faster query response times, and improved scalability.