> I need to write a function which inserts a log entry in a log table and
> only
> keeps the last 30 records.  I was thinking of using a subquery similar to
> the
> following:
> 
> insert into log (account_id, message) values (1, 'this is a test);
> delete from log where account_id = 1 and id not in ( select id from log
>    where account_id = 1 order by timestamp desc limit 30);
> 
> I'm wondering if there is a more performance oriented method of doing the
> delete that I'm not thinking of.
>

Depending on whether id is a kind of auto-incremented column that never cycles, 
I would suggest something like:

DELETE FROM log
  WHERE account_id = 1
    AND id < (
      SELECT MIN(id)
        FROM log
        WHERE account_id = 1
        ORDER BY timestamp DESC
        LIMIT 30);

I think there will be a performance difference with your method when the number 
of records to be deleted is huge.

--
Daniel


---------------------------(end of broadcast)---------------------------
TIP 3: Have you checked our extensive FAQ?

               http://www.postgresql.org/docs/faq

Reply via email to