What is PostgreSQL?
PostgreSQL Features, Advantages and Differences from SQL
PostgreSQL is considered the most advanced and powerful SQL compatible and open source RDBMS.
Thanks to its powerful underlying technology, it has become the first choice of businesses that perform complex and high-volume data transactions. It uses multi-version concurrency control (MVCC), which allows several writers and readers to work on the system at the same time.
PostgreSQL is extremely capable of multitasking simultaneously and efficiently. As a result, it is used by companies such as Apple, Yahoo!, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as telecom firms, financial and government agencies.
The PostgreSQL is framed with the goal of being standards-compliant, extensible and highly programmable. Despite the compelling nature of this DBMS, many third-party tools and libraries simplify working with PostgreSQL.
Other features include high concurrency, ACID compliance (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability), object relationship, SQL compatibility (mostly), and support from an active developer community.
What are the Advantages of PostgreSQL?
Below are some of the advantages of PostgreSQL :
1. Open source
It is open source and free, but a very powerful relational database management system.
2. A strong community
Supported 24/7 by a large community.
3. Strong third-party support
It is equipped with many great and open source third party tools to design, manage and use the management system regardless of the highly advanced features.
4. Extensibility
It is possible to extend it programmatically with stored procedures, as an advanced RDBMS should be.
Where is PostgreSQL Used?
Thanks to its open source nature and extensive feature list, PostgreSQL is freely available and technically the same as any other commercial database management system. This makes Postgres databases attractive to both large businesses and small businesses.
The PostgreSQL is regularly used in financial industry as it can be used to store terabytes or even petabyte of informations. Also, since all database transactions are fully ACID compliant, Postgres databases can be used to power ATMs and perform other online transaction processing (OLTP) tasks.
In addition to financing, you can also find Postgres databases used in the scientific field. Mathematical software such as Matlab and R can be integrated with PostgreSQL. In this way, the database is often used for data analysis.
Postgres databases are also used to social networks. Some of the best known brands like Reddit, Instagram, and Disqus rely on PostgreSQL to store their users' data and interactions.
Also, thanks to the PostGIS extension, PostgreSQL can also be used to store geographic objects and geographic data. This makes it a great database for companies involved in travel and navigation. Some real-world examples using Postgres databases include TripAdvisor, FlightAware, and OpenStreetMap.
PostgreSQL can also be used to support many more types of websites and online services. For example, the Guardian newspaper uses a Postgres database, as do Sony Online and Afilias, which are domain registrants for .org and .info domains. Moreover, PostgreSQL is also perfectly suited for running dynamic websites and web-based applications.
6 Differences Between PostgreSQL and SQL
PostgreSQL and SQL are the most popular relational database management systems (RDBMSs). It is a SQL server, a DBMS, and an analytics system and is mostly used for various data warehouse solutions and e-commerce businesses. PostgreSQL is an advanced version of SQL. It offers support for different functions of SQL, including subqueries, operations, triggers, foreign keys, and various user-defined functions.
So what are the differences between PostgreSQL and SQL ?
1. Cross-Platform
We are in a digital world. That's why it's so important for a platform or language to be cross-platform. It is also important to be accessible via open source systems such as UNIX and Linux as the IT industry progresses. SQL is a Microsoft and vendor locked product. So it can only be accessed via Microsoft systems. PostgreSQL is accessible on Solaris, Windows, BSD, and Linux. For PHP developers, you can use PostgreSQL and SQL both with Laravel to deploy web applications.
2. CSV Support
PostgreSQL offers different commands such as “copy” that help with fast data processing. It also provides important error messages. If there is a minor problem, PostgreSQL will show an error message and immediately stop the import. On the other hand, SQL does not support exporting or importing data.
3. Replication
SQL server can replicate any type of data. This is a snapshot, mirroring, log posting, defragmentation, transactional etc. it could be. PostgreSQL replication is in the form of reports and there are different third-party options to choose from. Also, all PostgreSQL versions higher than 8.3 have built-in replication features.
4. Dynamic actions in SQL
PostgreSQL provides dynamic actions in SQL. This means you can perform all operations, undo and all other work easily just using select statements. This feature is not available in SQL server. However, you can use the stored procedure and call dynamic actions from select statements. Its make SQL much more limiting than PostgreSQL.
5. Updatable Skins
In SQL, the views are updated automatically if the tables contain different keys, and the update statement does not contain two or more tables. You can also update complex views using triggers. View updates are possible in PostgreSQL, but not automatically. To update you need to write rules against views. Complex views are also easy to update in PostgreSQL.
6. Calculated Columns
SQL offers the calculated columns feature. But views are preferred to calculated columns. This is because the calculated columns cannot hold different aggregations and therefore are of little help. The calculated columns feature is not available in PostgreSQL. Instead, it provides functional indexes that work just like views.
In development for over 30 years, PostgreSQL has evolved into a powerful and feature-rich object-relational database management system during that time. It was built with stability, compatibility, and extensibility in mind, making it an excellent choice for many computing activities. Whether it's compiling scientific data, processing financial transactions, or simply powering a web-based application, PostgreSQL is a good choice for both large businesses and small companies.
