Re: why does count take so long?

Greg Stark <gsstark@mit.edu> writes:
> Things like count(*) could use int4 until it overflows though.

I don't see a reasonable way for an aggregate to change state datatype
on the fly; otherwise this would be a great solution.

> Is int4 a pass-by-value datatype on 32-bit machines?

Yeah.  Not too long ago, count() used int4, but we got some complaints
about it overflowing on big tables.

            regards, tom lane