{"id":"compaction-buffers-all-entries","text":"`lsm.py:compact` collects all merged entries into an in-memory list before writing the output SSTable, requiring O(n) memory proportional to total data rather than O(k) proportional to number of input SSTables","truth_value":"IN","source":"entries/2026/05/28/topic-merge-iterator-vs-dict-merge.md","source_url":"","source_hash":"","justifications":[],"dependents":[],"metadata":{},"explanation":{"steps":[{"node":"compaction-buffers-all-entries","truth_value":"IN","reason":"premise"}]}}