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Evaluate Efficiency of Aggregation Operations


Analyzing Aggregation Queries with EXPLAIN ANALYZE

Write a PostgreSQL query to analyze the performance of a query that groups and aggregates data using EXPLAIN ANALYZE.

Solution:

-- Analyze the execution plan of a query that groups employees by department.
EXPLAIN ANALYZE 
SELECT department, COUNT(*) AS total_employees 
FROM Employees 
GROUP BY department;

Explanation:

  • Purpose of the Query:
    • To inspect the performance of aggregation and grouping operations.
    • Reveals how PostgreSQL handles grouping and counting operations.
  • Key Components:
    • GROUP BY department : Groups data for aggregation.
    • EXPLAIN ANALYZE : Provides both the query plan and actual execution times.
  • Real-World Application:
    • Useful when optimizing reporting queries that involve heavy aggregation.

Notes:

  • Look for details on whether parallel processing is utilized in the plan.

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

  • Write a PostgreSQL query using EXPLAIN ANALYZE to analyze a query that groups by "department" in the "Employees" table and counts the number of employees.
  • Write a PostgreSQL query using EXPLAIN ANALYZE to evaluate the performance of an aggregation query that sums "sales" in the "Sales" table, grouped by "region".
  • Write a PostgreSQL query using EXPLAIN ANALYZE to display the execution plan for a query that calculates the average "price" from the "Products" table grouped by "category".
  • Write a PostgreSQL query using EXPLAIN ANALYZE to analyze a query that performs multiple aggregations (SUM, AVG, COUNT) on the "Orders" table grouped by "customer_id".


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Previous PostgreSQL Exercise: Analyzing INSERT Performance with EXPLAIN ANALYZE.
Next PostgreSQL Exercise: Analyzing Subquery Performance with EXPLAIN ANALYZE.

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