Boto's DynamoDB API returns wrong value when using item_count

Question

I'm using the python framework Boto to interact with AWS DynamoDB. But when I use "item_count" it returns the wrong value. What's the best way to retrieve the number of items in a table? I know it would be possible using the Scan operation, but this is very expensive on resources and can take a long time if the table is quiet large.

Answer 1

The item_count value is only updated every six hours or so. So, I think boto is returning you the value as it is returned by the service but that value is probably not up to date.