What is PostgreSQL? What is it Used For?

Feature-rich PostgreSQL:

PostgreSQL is robust in features that make it one of the most advanced databases being used today:

• Its multi-version concurrency control is an advanced technique used in PostgreSQL for improving the database performance in the multi-user environment.


• Point-in-time-recovery (PITR) is PostgreSQL’s ability to restore the full backup and then fetch and apply the WAL (Write-Ahead Log) files, the metadata, for a certain time.


• PostgreSQL helps in accessing the granular controls as it helps in setting up fine-grained access control to users and roles.


• Tablespaces in PostgreSQL help the administrators in storing the file systems by defining the locations where the files related to the database objects can be stored.


• PostgreSQL allows for hot backups. The hot backups are the backups made when the normal working operations are taking place. Applications can carry out the regular read and write operation during the backup process, unlike the cold backup which happens when no file is active.


• PostgreSQL comes with a refined query planner/optimizer which creates an optimal execution plan. It chooses the execution plan after examining the possible execution plans and executes the one that is expected to run the fastest.


• PostgreSQL supports WAL or write-ahead logging, a feature that ensures data integrity. The concept of WAL is that the changes to the data files, tables, and indexes, should be made only after they are logged and flushed to permanent storage.


• PostgreSQL is a highly scalable database in terms of the quantity of data and number of users it can accommodate at a particular point in time.


• PostgreSQL supports international character sets, multi-byte character encodings, and Unicode.