Asynchronous handling hint bits on index pages using garbage collection

A system comprising:

• data processing hardware;
• and
• memory hardware in communication with the data processing hardware, the memory hardware storing instructions that when executed on the data processing hardware cause the data processing hardware to:
• obtain one or more hint bits for a B-tree index page of a database, each hint bit of the one or more hint bits representing a status of a corresponding tuple of the B-tree index page;
• determine, using the one or more hint bits, that a threshold amount of tuples of the B-tree index page are dead;
• responsive to the determination that the threshold amount of tuples of the B-tree index page are dead:
• generate, using the B-tree index page, a list of dead tuples;
• determine, based on each tuple in the list of dead tuples, a transaction identifier;
• delete, from the B-tree index page, each tuple in the list of dead tuples;
• and
• generate, using the transaction identifier, a write-ahead logging record for the deletion of each tuple in the list of dead tuples;
• and
• propagate the write-ahead logging record to one or more secondary nodes of the database to enable the one or more secondary nodes to delete each tuple in the list of dead tuples.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a computing system, cause the one or more processors to:

• obtain one or more hint bits for a B-tree index page of a database, each hint bit of the one or more hint bits representing a status of a corresponding tuple of the B-tree index page;
• determine, using the one or more hint bits, that a threshold amount of tuples of the B-tree index page are dead;
• responsive to the determination that the threshold amount of tuples of the B-tree index page are dead:
• generate, using the B-tree index page, a list of dead tuples;
• determine, based on each tuple in the list of dead tuples, a transaction identifier;
• delete, from the B-tree index page, each tuple in the list of dead tuples;
• and
• generate, using the transaction identifier, a write-ahead logging record for the deletion of each tuple in the list of dead tuples;
• and
• propagate the write-ahead logging record to one or more secondary nodes of the database to enable the one or more secondary nodes to delete each tuple in the list of dead tuples.