Setting hints in annotated queries

The hints in a directed query's annotated query provide the optimizer with instructions how to execute an input query.

The hints in a directed query's annotated query provide the optimizer with instructions how to execute an input query. Annotated queries support the following hints:

Join hints specify join order, join type, and join data distribution: SYNTACTIC_JOIN, DISTRIB, JTYPE, UTYPE.
Table hints specify which projections to include and exclude in the query plan: PROJS, SKIP_PROJS.
:v and its alias IGNORECONSTANT marks predicate string constants that you want the optimizer to ignore when it decides whether to use a directed query for a given input query. For details, see Ignoring constants in directed queries.
:c hints mark predicate constants that must not be ignored.
VERBATIM enforces execution of an annotated query exactly as written.

Other hints in annotated queries such as DIRECT or LABEL have no effect.

You can use hints in a vsql query the same as in an annotated query, with two exceptions: :v (IGNORECONSTANT) and VERBATIM.