PostgreSQL
The applications we build often process large amounts of data. That means you need a system that can store, query, and update all that information properly.
That means: it has to keep that data truly safe.
You must be able to add types, functions, and extensions, so it grows with what you need.
From a one-person business to a large company, it adapts.
The table: a data management system in miniature
In the simplest form, data management can look a bit like a spreadsheet such as Excel, where you enter numbers and text and run a few calculations. But a loose Excel file quickly becomes hard to manage once data piles up or a single piece of information belongs in multiple categories with their own attributes. Then you quickly end up in a maze of tabs and duplicate entries.
Even more data? Not needed!
That is one reason we use PostgreSQL. It is an object-relational Glossary · In briefdatabaseA database is a structured collection of data that software can store, retrieve and modify. A database management system controls access to that data.Read more management system, or ORDBMS. Put more simply: a system that lets you connect data across different tables without the mess of duplicate values. That keeps data quality high, helps prevent information from slipping through the cracks, and makes it much faster to retrieve the specific information you need.
Reliable and innovative
We have worked with it for more than 10 years now, at different scales, and it is certainly not the only relational database out there. But what Postgres does especially well is keep evolving with features that fit modern software needs. That makes it broadly applicable.
Data is stored according to current standards, which means the system works smoothly with other software, across systems, and across operating systems. Communication stays clean and you can run it in many places.
The popularity of PostgreSQL
In the Stack Overflow survey of 2021, PostgreSQL ranked second among the most popular database technologies. So there is no shortage of large organizations using it. A good example is IMDb, the world's largest online database for films, actors, directors, screenwriters, and others in the film industry. If you want to examine that data yourself, you can. The IMDb Datasets are publicly available, and PostgreSQL is a strong tool for working with that kind of structured data.
More reasons to use PostgreSQL?
Yes. PostgreSQL is an Glossary · In briefopen sourceOpen source is software whose source code is available under a licence that allows others to use, study, modify and redistribute it.Read more database developed by a global community of developers and companies. There are no licence fees for using it. Migration tools are also available to help move an existing database to PostgreSQL.
Key takeaways
That PostgreSQL is open source makes extensions simple and an upgrade is usually very smooth to do.
PostgreSQL lets you write code in another programming language, such as Python, without the database needing to be recompiled.
As for costs you need not worry: you simply stay away from all mandatory licenses or ever more expensive subscriptions. PostgreSQL is free to use.
Complex searching directly in your database is not PostgreSQL's specialty. If there is serious need for 'full-text search' or 'faceted search', then combine PostgreSQL with Elasticsearch.