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The PostgreSQL 17 database has officially launched, heralding a significant advancement in the long-standing legacy of this open-source technology. With over 35 years of development rooted in the University of California at Berkeley, PostgreSQL, often referred to as Postgres, has become a cornerstone in the database landscape.
The development of PostgreSQL is overseen by The PostgreSQL Global Development Group, a collaborative effort involving numerous volunteers and corporate contributors. The latest release boasts contributions from more than 450 individuals across various organizations, including major cloud providers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. Additionally, companies like EDB, Percona, Instaclustr, and Aiven offer commercial support and technologies for PostgreSQL.
This update is the first major release since PostgreSQL 16 debuted in 2023. As with previous versions, the emphasis is on enhancing performance, particularly for enterprise users. The new features aim to simplify database management while integrating advanced JSON document capabilities, a functionality often associated with MongoDB Atlas.
Jonathan Katz, a core team member of the PostgreSQL Global Development Group, highlighted the focus on performance, scalability, and ease of development. “There’s a heavy focus on improving foundational operations and user-facing operations,” Katz noted. “These enhancements build on scale, particularly with the logical replication features that enhance data distribution reliability for production environments.”
Improved memory management and query execution in PostgreSQL 17
Memory management has long been a challenge for database users, as administrators constantly seek more efficient solutions. PostgreSQL 17 introduces a revamped memory management system for its vacuum operation, which cleans up space after row deletions. Katz explained that this new system can significantly reduce memory usage during vacuum processes, enhancing overall performance.
Query execution is another area where users will see marked improvements. PostgreSQL 17 offers notable performance gains for queries utilizing the ‘IN’ clause with B-tree indexes, the standard index type in PostgreSQL. Additionally, enhancements in query planning further optimize performance without requiring database administrators to rewrite queries. “The only thing the database administrator has to do is upgrade to PostgreSQL 17 and run an ANALYZE, which they need to do after upgrading,” Katz stated. “PostgreSQL 17 will automatically optimize the execution of queries with ‘IN’ clauses that use a B-tree index.”
How PostgreSQL 17 will help enterprises and their database operations
Enterprise database administrators will find several new features in PostgreSQL 17 designed to streamline operations. Key highlights include incremental backups, logical replication enhancements, and SQL: JSON functionality. While third-party tools for incremental backup have existed, PostgreSQL 17 integrates this capability directly into the core database, simplifying operations for organizations. Jozef de Vries, chief product engineering officer at EDB, emphasized the importance of standardizing these functionalities to enhance deployment and ongoing management.
Logical replication has also seen significant improvements. Tom Kincaid, senior VP of database server and tools at EDB, explained that previous challenges with failover scenarios have been addressed. “One big problem PostgreSQL has had for years with logical replication is if you failover to a standby, you have to resync the replication,” Kincaid said. PostgreSQL 17 eliminates the need for this resync process, easing the burden on database administrators.
Furthermore, the update allows DBAs to convert physical database replicas into logical replicas more efficiently, with the new capability called PG create subscriber expected to accelerate overall database replication.
Why JSON in PostgreSQL simplifies enterprise database deployment
In recent years, PostgreSQL has progressively incorporated support for the SQL: JSON standard, a format favored by developers and foundational to document databases like MongoDB. PostgreSQL 17 now supports JSON tables, enabling database administrators to transform JSON documents into tables within PostgreSQL. Kincaid remarked, “JSON is still very popular for developers, and PostgreSQL has won StackOverflow’s most loved database by developers. We believe this will enhance their appreciation for it even further.”
