what is flinksql hint？

In the context of Apache Flink, a "hint" typically refers to a directive or suggestion provided to the Flink optimizer to influence how it executes a given data processing job. These hints are used to guide Flink's optimization process, potentially improving the performance or resource utilization of the job.

There are different types of hints in Apache Flink, such as:

1. Parallelism Hint: This hint suggests the desired parallelism level for operators in the Flink job. Setting appropriate parallelism can improve job performance by utilizing available resources more efficiently.

2. Resource Hint: It provides information about the resources required by certain operators or tasks within the Flink job. This can include memory, CPU, or other resources. Flink can use this information for resource allocation and scheduling.

3. Optimization Hint: These hints provide guidance to Flink's optimization process regarding how to execute certain parts of the job. For example, it can suggest which join strategy to use or whether to perform certain operations asynchronously.

4. State Management Hint: For stateful operations, such as windowed computations or stateful operators, hints can guide how Flink manages and distributes the state across the cluster.

By providing hints, developers can fine-tune the behavior of their Flink jobs to better match the characteristics of their data and the available resources. This can lead to better performance, resource utilization, and overall efficiency in data processing tasks. However, it's important to note that hints should be used judiciously and based on an understanding of the job's requirements and the underlying Flink architecture.

give a simple example：

-- Define a Flink SQL job with hints
INSERT INTO output_table
SELECT /*+ PARALLELISM(4) */
    field1,
    SUM(field2) as total
FROM input_table
GROUP BY field1;

In this Flink SQL example:

• We're inserting data into an output table based on a query result.
• The hint /*+ PARALLELISM(4) */ is provided to suggest a parallelism level of 4 for the execution of this query. This hint instructs Flink to execute the query with a parallelism of 4, distributing the processing load across multiple instances to potentially improve performance.

This hint influences the execution plan generated by Flink's optimizer, instructing it to use a parallelism level of 4 for the query execution. It's important to note that the effectiveness of the hint may depend on various factors such as the underlying data distribution, available resources, and the specific characteristics of the Flink cluster.

And in the beginning，i can't understand the syntax of ‘/*+’：

In Apache Flink's SQL, hints are provided in SQL comments with the /*+ */ syntax. This format is similar to other SQL databases like Oracle, where hints are specified within comments.

So, to provide a hint in Flink SQL, you typically use the /*+ */ syntax as shown in the example I provided earlier. The hint is enclosed within these comment markers.

Why do some use 'OPTIONS' when reading official documents？

Because it is a table configuration.

Reference documents：Hints | Apache Flink