Which statement describes the data stored in micro-partitions related to value ranges and distinct values?

• A. They store the range of values for each column, the number of distinct values, and additional properties for optimization.
• B. They store only the range of values.
• C. They store only the number of distinct values.
• D. They store only metadata, not actual values.

Answer: (A)

Micro-partitions carry statistics that the query optimizer uses to prune data quickly. For each column, they record the range of values (the minimum and maximum) and how many distinct values appear in that partition. These per-column statistics, along with other optimization metadata, let the engine decide which partitions can be skipped for a given predicate, improving performance. That combination—range of values, number of distinct values, and additional optimization properties—best describes what’s stored.

Other options are too narrow or miss the practical purpose: focusing only on the range misses the cardinality; focusing only on distinct values misses the value range; and claiming only metadata without the actual data would not reflect how pruning relies on these statistics to filter partitions.