PostgreSQL The Road Behind and Ahead

Welcome to PostgreSQL OnLine Journal.

PostgreSQL is an extremely rich object relational database system and has a regal lineage that dates back almost to the beginning of the existence of relational databases.

If we were to look at the family tree of PostgreSQL it would look something like this

(Ingres, System-R) 
          Postgres
              Illustra
                 Informix
                     IBM Informix
              Postgres95
                 PostgreSQL
 

In fact PostgreSQL is a cousin of the databases Sybase and Microsoft SQL Server because the people that started Sybase came from UC Berkeley and worked on the Ingres and/or Postgres projects with Michael Stonebraker. Later on the source code of Sybase SQL Server was later licensed to Microsoft to produce Microsoft SQL Server.

Here is an interesting diagram done by Oleg Bartunov that shows the various relational database pedigrees.

The main focus of this journal is to educate users and potential users about the numerous capabilities and uses of this powerful database management system.

Over the years we have watched PostgreSQL grow and reach a wider audience. Each day brings newer features, more stability, more environments supported and more Off-the-Shelf (OTS) applications that support this DBMS.

This Journal is a bit of a literary experiment for us. Technology is very fast-paced and we find that most of the new information we ingest these days comes via fast-paced sources such as Blogs and Magazine/Periodical channels. I like the free form of the blog structure and ability to comment, but I also appreciate the more disciplined, carefully categorized, walk away with a booklet format of the Periodical. Our hope is to combine these two literary instruments into a blogo-periodical that has 2 faces:

• the face of a blog
• the face of an online magazine

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Since this is what we call a blogo-periodical rather than a plain blog, we shall continually make edits to prior entries that are within the span of our editing issue in progress. So you may find if you are viewing it as a blog, that entries you have already read suddenly change.

After we complete each issue, we hope to provide each journal issue as a downloadable PDF magazine/periodical. Issues in progress or completed will always be available as html ebooks.

In each issue of this journal, we hope to cover the following areas

1. Editor's Note - We will provide general comments we would like.
2. What's New and Upcoming In PostgreSQL - Will outline items targeted for next release as well as new features in current release.
3. PostgreSQL Q&A - Common questions and answers we have curled from newsgroups as well as user submitted questions
4. Basics - Articles that pose a basic problem or explain something
5. PL Programming - Using PL languages in PostgreSQL - e.g. Plpgsql, PLR, PlPython, PLPHP, PLPerl, PLPerlU, PLProxy etc.
6. PostgreSQL Contribs Spotlight - Using PostgreSQL contribs or advanced features - e.g. PostGIS, PgCrypto, PgSphere, TSearch etc.
7. Application Development - Using PostgreSQL in an Application e.g. with PHP, Python, Perl, Java, Ruby, .NET, MS Access, OpenOffice etc.
8. Product Showcase - a commercial or opensource product for managing PostgreSQL databases or that supports PostgreSQL as a backend