AdvancedAdvanced PostgreSQL

Theory: What is VACUUM?

The query

SQL
-- Q: Why is VACUUM necessary in PostgreSQL?
-- A: Because of MVCC, when a row is UPDATED or DELETED, PostgreSQL doesn't 
-- instantly remove the old data. It marks it as "dead" (a dead tuple).
-- VACUUM reclaims storage occupied by these dead tuples so the space 
-- can be reused. Autovacuum usually handles this automatically in the background.
Tested against PostgreSQL 16

Note

Without Vacuum, tables would experience "bloat" and performance would degrade rapidly.