final boolean sparseon = metadata.sparseEnabled();
final int expthresh;
if(metadata.explicitAuto()) {
expthresh = -1;
} else if(metadata.explicitOff()) {
expthresh = 0;
} else {
// NOTE: take into account that the postgres-compatible constructor
// subtracts one before taking a power of two.
expthresh = metadata.log2ExplicitCutoff() + 1;