A Volunteer Business : PostgreSQL
Today, I will introduce PostgreSQL, The first part of my article series that will consist of three parts. Due to the low number of Turkish resources about PostgreSQL, I will prepare my series in both Turkish and English. If you want to read my article in Turkish, you can click the LINK. In this first article, I will write the topics “What is PostgreSQL, What are its features, what are the advantages / disadvantages of this query language?”
PostgreSQL is an open source and completely free object relational database system. The story of the birth of PostgreSQL begins in 1986. Born in 1986 at the University of California at Berkeley as part of the POSTGRES project, PostgreSQL has been continuing its development for nearly 30 years.
The most important change in terms of database in PostgreSQL, which has been introduced many versions before, occurred in the 1996 version of PostQUEL when it switched to SQL. Thus, the PostQUEL database system has been revised with its current name “PostgreSQL”. PostgreSQL is one of the most widely accepted database management systems in the industry today. Because it offers users the advantages of successful data architecture, data accuracy, powerful feature set, open source. PostgreSQL is supported by many major operating systems such as UNIX, Linux, MacOS and Windows.
As an open source PostgreSQL, has been developed independently since 1996 and only with the efforts of volunteers. PostgreSQL is not developed by any institution or organization. Donations and collected aids are the only source of income so far, which makes PostgreSQL independent and free software.
Features of PostgreSQL
You can also use PostgreSQL, which is supported by many programming languages in many major operating systems, with PostgreSQL: C (libpq), Embedded C (ecpg), Python (PyGreSQL), Java (jdbc) and TCL (libpgtcl).
In terms of performance, PostgreSQL has been found to be more successful compared to other commercial or open source databases. While it is fast in some areas against some database systems, it is slow in some areas.
Compared to PostgreSQL, MySQL and databases of the same class, it is slower in INSERT / UPDATE operations because it runs on a transaction basis. In some cases, PostgreSQL and MySQL are behind the databases of the same class, but they have significant advantages in terms of features, reliability and flexibility.
Apart from the prominent features of PostgreSQL, this service has been offered completely free of charge by developers who are passionate about open source. As it is the product of a community of volunteers, it is very easy to find answers to possible problems with PostgreSQL. Thanks to developer groups, help boards, and mailing lists, anyone who needs help with PostgreSQL can solve their problem.
Advantages and Disadvantages of PostgreSQL
If we take a closer look at PostgreSQL, we can say that it provides ease of license since PostgreSQL is an open source database. It is also considered as the most reliable and stable database by database users. It has the capability to hold 64 TB of data for each table. This feature is advantageous for large-scale solutions. However, with this advantage, it may be difficult to access regular information about this software, and therefore PosgreSQL is not supported by some hosting companies.
Thank you for taking the time to read it. See you at the next article, “How to install PostgreSQL?”
Linkedin : Esin Seçil Yılmaz
