public int getLiveCount(ColumnFamily cf, long now) {
    // Note: we could use columnCounter() but we save the object allocation as it's simple enough

    if (countCQL3Rows) return cf.hasOnlyTombstones(now) ? 0 : 1;

    int count = 0;
    for (Cell cell : cf) {
      if (cell.isLive(now)) count++;
    }
    return count;
  }