>I'm not claiming to be all knowing, but I don't think there are many people having in depth knowledge of the SQL optimizer in the first place. I've spend almost 3 decades optimizing database access, so yes, I like to think I have at least a reasonable level of understanding of what it does,
>
>>2 queries get different query plans. Each plan may have different optimization.
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>Ok, I'll bite here.
>
>

SELECT *  FROM sometable
>and 
><Pre>SELECT ...full field list ... FROM

>
>Will most likely share the same execution plan as
>1. In both cases the whole table is scanned because there is no WHERE clause
>2. The same field output is requested
>
That was my almost identical 1st thought. Then I began to wonder if this only holds true to "normal", row saving tables or if a columnar data store might introduce differences...