PostgreSQL: Up and Running

If you’re thinking about migrating to the PostgreSQL open source database system, this guide provides a concise overview to help you quickly understand and use PostgreSQL’s unique features. Not only will you learn about the enterprise class features in the 9.2 release, you’ll also discover that PostgeSQL is more than just a database system—it’s also an impressive application platform.

With numerous examples throughout this book, you’ll learn how to achieve tasks that are difficult or impossible in other databases. If you’re an existing PostgreSQL user, you’ll pick up gems you may have missed along the way.

• Learn basic administration tasks, such as role management, database creation, backup, and restore
• Apply the psql command-line utility and the pgAdmin graphical administration tool
• Explore PostgreSQL tables, constraints, and indexes
• Learn powerful SQL constructs not generally found in other databases
• Use several different languages to write database functions
• Tune your queries to run as fast as your hardware will allow
• Query external and variegated data sources with Foreign Data Wrappers
• Learn how to replicate data, using built-in replication features

Chapter 1 The Basics

• Where to Get PostgreSQL
• Administration Tools
• What’s New in Latest Versions of PostgreSQL?
• Database Drivers
• Server and Database Objects
• Where to Get Help

Chapter 2 Database Administration

• Configuration Files
• Setting Up Groups and Login Roles (Users)
• Databases and Management
• Extensions and Contribs
• Backup
• Restore
• Managing Disk Space with Tablespaces
• Verboten

Chapter 3 psql

• Interactive psql
• Non-Interactive psql
• Session Configurations
• psql Gems
• Importing and Exporting Data
• Basic Reporting

Chapter 4 Using pgAdmin

• Getting Started
• pgAdmin Features
• pgScript
• Graphical Explain
• Job Scheduling with pgAgent

Chapter 5 Data Types

• Numeric Data Types
• Arrays
• Character Types
• Temporal Data Types
• XML
• Custom and Composite Data Types

Chapter 6 Of Tables, Constraints, and Indexes

• Tables
• Constraints
• Indexes

Chapter 7 SQL: The PostgreSQL Way

• SQL Views
• Window Functions
• Common Table Expressions
• Constructions Unique to PostgreSQL

Chapter 8 Writing Functions

• Anatomy of PostgreSQL Functions
• Writing Functions with SQL
• Writing PL/pgSQL Functions
• Writing PL/Python Functions
• Trigger Functions
• Aggregates

Chapter 9 Query Performance Tuning

• EXPLAIN and EXPLAIN ANALYZE
• Writing Better Queries
• Guiding the Query Planner
• Caching

Chapter 10 Replication and External Data

• Replication Overview
• Setting Up Replication
• Foreign Data Wrappers (FDW)

Appendix Install, Hosting, and Command-Line Guides

• Installation Guides and Distributions
• Where to Host PostgreSQL
• PostgreSQL Packaged Command-Line Tools