lance-format / lance-format/lance

PQ storage should be sorted by row ID

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A-index enhancement
Dominant language
Rust
Stars
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Forks
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Avg merge
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

When we store PQ data (e.g. in an IVF_PQ index) I do not believe it is sorted by row ID. However, there is no downside to doing so, we just need to sort before we write during the shuffling process.

If we can do that, and guarantee that the PQ data is sorted by row ID, then we can speed up prefiltering. The slowest part of prefiltering currently is not the secondary index search to get the matching row IDs. The slowest part is actually applying that prefilter to the PQ search. This is because we have to sort the PQ data by row ID and then filter it. If the PQ data is already sorted we can skip that step and speed up prefiltering.

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Research direction

Start by tracing the IVF_PQ shuffling process where PQ data is written. Confirm how row IDs are ordered before storage, then ensure the stored PQ data remains sorted by row ID so prefiltering no longer needs to sort it before filtering.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
databases
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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