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In a row-store database engine, rows are stored in units called pages. Each page has a fixed header and contains multiple rows, with each row having a record header followed by its respective columns. When the database fetches a page and places it in the shared buffer pool, we gain access to all rows and columns within that page. So, the question arises: if we have all the columns readily available in memory, why would SELECT * be slow and costly? Is it really as slow as people claim it to be? And if so why is it so? In this post, we will explore these questions and more.

0:00 Intro

1:49 Database Page Layout

5:00 How SELECT Works

10:49 No Index-Only Scans

18:00 Deserialization Cost

21:00 Not All Columns are Inline

28:00 Network Cost

36:00 Client Deserialization

https://medium.com/@hnasr/how-slow-is-select-8d4308ca1f0c