Learned Cardinalities: Estimating Correlated Joins with Deep Learning

Summary: Proposes MSCN, a multi-set convolutional network that encodes relational query plans with set semantics to learn cardinalities and capture join-crossing correlations. Combines deep learning with sampling to handle zero-sample cases, yielding much better estimates on real-world data. (summarized by gpt-5-mini on Feb 09 2026)

Paper ID: 315
Venue: CIDR
Year: 2019
Pagerank: 0.00034784455
Overall Rank: 204 | 98.59%
DOI: -

Incoming Non-self Citations Over Time

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Incoming Citations (Sorted by Pagerank)

Showing 50 of 176 citing papers.

Rank	Citing Paper	Year	Venue	Pagerank
7,753	Rethinking Learned Cost Models: Why Start from Scratch?	2023	SIGMOD	4.660151e-05
7,828	Modeling Shifting Workloads for Learned Database Systems	2024	SIGMOD	4.6407986e-05
7,854	dbET: Execution Time Distribution-based Plan Selection	2023	SIGMOD	4.6350172e-05
7,989	RCRank: Multimodal Ranking of Root Causes of Slow Queries in Cloud Database Systems	2025	VLDB	4.6124681e-05
8,127	Robust Query Processing: Mission Possible	2020	VLDB	4.579056e-05
8,207	SQLStorm: Taking Database Benchmarking into the LLM Era	2025	VLDB	4.5583637e-05
8,220	PerfGuard: Deploying ML-for-Systems without Performance Regressions, Almost!	2021	VLDB	4.5557328e-05
8,384	Consistent and Flexible Selectivity Estimation for High-Dimensional Data	2021	SIGMOD	4.5304673e-05
8,417	The Case for Learned In-Memory Joins	2023	VLDB	4.5194164e-05
8,448	PARQO: Penalty-Aware Robust Plan Selection in Query Optimization	2024	VLDB	4.5100508e-05
8,502	Conditional Cuckoo Filters	2021	SIGMOD	4.4972336e-05
8,615	The Case for NLP-Enhanced Database Tuning: Towards Tuning Tools that "Read the Manual"	2021	VLDB	4.484683e-05
8,650	HAP: An Efficient Hamming Space Index Based on Augmented Pigeonhole Principle	2022	SIGMOD	4.4761716e-05
8,659	Learned Offline Query Planning via Bayesian Optimization	2025	SIGMOD	4.4722928e-05
8,680	A Practical Approach to Groupjoin and Nested Aggregates	2021	VLDB	4.4694927e-05
8,775	SkinnerMT: Parallelizing for Efficiency and Robustness in Adaptive Query Processing on Multicore Platforms	2023	VLDB	4.4553047e-05
8,834	ByteCard: Enhancing ByteDance’s Data Warehouse with Learned Cardinality Estimation	2024	SIGMOD	4.4394021e-05
8,847	Towards Foundation Database Models	2025	CIDR	4.4371897e-05
8,956	T3: Accurate and Fast Performance Prediction for Relational Database Systems With Compiled Decision Trees	2025	SIGMOD	4.4214154e-05
8,990	Towards Enhancing Database Education: Natural Language Generation Meets Query Execution Plans	2021	SIGMOD	4.413295e-05
9,095	AirIndex: Versatile Index Tuning Through Data and Storage	2023	SIGMOD	4.3975034e-05
9,107	NeuroSketch: Fast and Approximate Evaluation of Range Aggregate Queries with Neural Networks	2023	SIGMOD	4.3950706e-05
9,187	POLAR: Adaptive and Non-invasive Join Order Selection via Plans of Least Resistance	2024	VLDB	4.3780059e-05
9,194	Phoebe: A Learning-based Checkpoint Optimizer	2021	VLDB	4.3761777e-05
9,213	PACE: Poisoning Attacks on Learned Cardinality Estimation	2024	SIGMOD	4.3721075e-05
9,345	LIMAO: A Framework for Lifelong Modular Learned Query Optimization	2025	VLDB	4.3536343e-05
9,380	Small Selectivities Matter: Lifting the Burden of Empty Samples	2021	SIGMOD	4.3461329e-05
9,388	CEDA: Learned Cardinality Estimation with Domain Adaptation	2023	VLDB	4.3443083e-05
9,587	Low Rank Learning for Offline Query Optimization	2025	SIGMOD	4.3215645e-05
9,621	ShadowAQP: Efficient Approximate Group-by and Join Query via Attribute-oriented Sample Size Allocation and Data Generation	2023	VLDB	4.3167167e-05
9,628	Approximate Sketches	2024	SIGMOD	4.3143499e-05
9,662	Efficient Query Re-optimization with Judicious Subquery Selections	2023	SIGMOD	4.3097631e-05
9,691	Selectivity Estimation for Queries Containing Predicates over Set-Valued Attributes	2023	SIGMOD	4.3035354e-05
9,693	ROME: Robust Query Optimization via Parallel Multi-Plan Execution	2024	SIGMOD	4.3027391e-05
9,726	Cardinality Estimation of LIKE Predicate Queries using Deep Learning	2025	SIGMOD	4.2943379e-05
9,728	SPACE: Cardinality Estimation for Path Queries Using Cardinality-Aware Sequence-based Learning	2025	SIGMOD	4.2942813e-05
9,747	Still Asking: How Good Are Query Optimizers, Really?	2025	VLDB	4.2897489e-05
9,812	A Practical Theory of Generalization in Selectivity Learning	2025	VLDB	4.2783272e-05
9,819	Generating Application-Specific Data Layouts for In-memory Databases	2019	VLDB	4.2774401e-05
9,825	Athena: An Effective Learning-based Framework for Query Optimizer Performance Improvement	2025	SIGMOD	4.2751057e-05
9,845	Path-centric Cardinality Estimation for Subgraph Matching	2025	VLDB	4.2721228e-05
9,852	Machine Unlearning in Learned Databases: An Experimental Analysis	2024	SIGMOD	4.2714575e-05
9,869	Turbo-Charging SPJ Query Plans with Learned Physical Join Operator Selections	2022	VLDB	4.2675361e-05
9,878	PRICE: A Pretrained Model for Cross-Database Cardinality Estimation	2025	VLDB	4.2656547e-05
9,892	DBMS Fitting: Why should we learn what we already know?	2020	CIDR	4.261445e-05
9,945	SSCard: Substring Cardinality Estimation using Suffix Tree-Guided Learned FM-Index	2026	SIGMOD	4.2432653e-05
9,960	An Elephant Under The Microscope: Analyzing The Interaction Of Optimizer Components In PostgreSQL	2025	SIGMOD	4.2294678e-05
10,018	GenJoin: Conditional Generative Plan-to-Plan Query Optimizer that Learns from Subplan Hints	2026	SIGMOD	4.1945683e-05
10,032	Rainbow: Risk-aware Index Benefit Estimation Facing Out Of Distribution Workloads	2026	SIGMOD	4.1945683e-05
10,096	NeuSO: Neural Optimizer for Subgraph Queries	2026	SIGMOD	4.1945683e-05

Outgoing Citations (Sorted by Pagerank)

Showing 14 of 14 cited papers.

Citations counted here include only citations to other VLDB/SIGMOD/CIDR/PODS papers in this database.

Rank	Cited Paper	Year	Venue	Pagerank
71	How Good Are Query Optimizers, Really?	2016	VLDB	0.00059038975
102	The Case for Learned Index Structures	2018	SIGMOD	0.00049545203
141	Selectivity Estimation Without the Attribute Value Independence Assumption	1997	VLDB	0.00041786333
183	Automatic Database Management System Tuning Through Large-scale Machine Learning	2017	SIGMOD	0.00036721403
629	Preventing Bad Plans by Bounding the Impact of Cardinality Estimation Errors	2009	VLDB	0.00018942366
1,019	Robust Estimation of Resource Consumption for SQL Queries using Statistical Techniques	2012	VLDB	0.00014625603
1,105	Cardinality Estimation Done Right: Index-Based Join Sampling	2017	CIDR	0.00013990395
1,193	Join Size Estimation Subject to Filter Conditions	2015	VLDB	0.00013414989
1,619	Adaptive Optimization of Very Large Join Queries	2018	SIGMOD	0.00011111678
1,758	Sampling-Based Query Re-Optimization	2016	SIGMOD	0.00010655546
1,981	Improved Selectivity Estimation by Combining Knowledge from Sampling and Synopses	2018	VLDB	9.8687545e-05
2,254	Two-Level Sampling for Join Size Estimation	2017	SIGMOD	9.1897043e-05
2,669	A Black-Box Approach to Query Cardinality Estimation	2007	CIDR	8.3389856e-05
2,841	Selectivity Estimation in Extensible Databases - A Neural Network Approach	1998	VLDB	8.0287389e-05

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