performance optimizations Archives

Tech Optimizer

March 27, 2025

PostgreSQL Database Lands Initial Support For IO_uring: “Can Be Considerably Faster”

Initial support for IO_uring has been merged into the PostgreSQL Git repository as of March 26, enhancing asynchronous I/O capabilities. This feature is part of the upcoming PostgreSQL 18 release. To use it, developers must compile PostgreSQL with the --with-liburing option and set the I/O method to io_method=io_uring in the configuration. Recent commits included adding the liburing build dependency and integrating the io_method=io_uring option. Using IO_uring can significantly improve performance, especially for small I/O operations, due to reduced context-switch overhead and limitations of worker-based AIO. IO_uring is Linux-specific and requires the liburing library. Further performance optimizations are anticipated before the PostgreSQL 18.0 release in September.

Tech Optimizer

March 18, 2025

Use pgactive for rolling major version upgrades in Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL

pgactive enables rolling major version upgrades for Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL, allowing for a smoother transition with reduced impact on applications. Amazon RDS supports both minor and major version upgrades, with minor upgrades being backward-compatible and major upgrades introducing non-backward-compatible features. Downtime during minor upgrades can be minimized using Amazon RDS Proxy or PgBouncer. For major upgrades, a blue/green deployment option is available, which involves provisioning a new DB instance and validating the upgrade. The pgactive extension allows for active-active replication, enabling all nodes to handle read and write operations simultaneously. It includes features like conflict detection and resolution. Key benefits of using pgactive for database upgrades include multi-tenant support, minimal downtime, and seamless rollback capabilities. To perform a major version upgrade using pgactive, the process involves setting up source and target databases, configuring pgactive parameters, and verifying data replication. Specific commands are provided for creating and modifying databases, setting up user mappings, and initializing the replication group. Limitations of pgactive include handling sequences, materialized views, DDL replication, existing logical replication, and tables without primary keys. Monitoring replication lag is crucial for diagnosing potential issues, and alerts should be set up for active status and pending WAL files. In case of a rollback, the application can be pointed back to the old primary database. After the upgrade, resources should be cleaned up to avoid incurring charges.

AppWizard

March 14, 2025

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 PC Patch 5 Released, Bringing Various Performance & Optimization Improves

Nixxes has released Title Update 5 for the PC version of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, which includes performance enhancements and optimizations. Key updates include: - Upgrade of DirectStorage to version 1.2.3 to reduce stuttering during city traversal, especially for GPUs with less than 8GB of VRAM. - Optimized performance when playing as Venom, fighting Symbiotes, and in related cinematics. - Improved DLSS Ray Reconstruction to reduce noise in shadows of facial details. - Fixes for UI issues during Prowler side quests when frame generation and upscaling were enabled. - Resolved issues with the Hunter Blinds minigame controls and Photo Mode responsiveness. - Improvements to screen space reflections to prevent flickering when viewing large bodies of water. - Various crash fixes, stability improvements, and performance optimizations. - Enhancements related to ray-traced reflections, ambient occlusion, and shadows. - General user interface bug fixes and improvements.

Tech Optimizer

February 21, 2025

PostgreSQL 18: Part 2 or CommitFest 2024-09

September's CommitFest for version 18 has seen a wealth of accepted patches and new features, including: - Conflict detection and logging in logical replication - Removal of the constant 10000000000 in the planner to improve sequential scan cost assessment - Enhanced memory management and usage monitoring for temporary tuple storage - Asynchronous operations support in pg_upgrade for multiple databases - Speed improvements for Hash Joins - Faster text value processing in JSON - Optimized numeric-type multiplication and division - Introduction of ANALYZE ONLY and VACUUM ONLY commands - Improved checkpointer statistics - Normalization of SET commands in pg_stat_statements - Reporting of remote connection status in postgres_fdw_get_connections - Ignoring format conversion errors in file_fdw - New function has_largeobject_privilege - Functions crc32 and crc32c added - Client-server protocol updates to report search_path changes - Support for named prepared statements in psql - Integrity verification for tar backups in pg_verifybackup

BetaBeacon

February 19, 2025

aPS3e: Best Android PS3 Emulator – Play PS3 Games on Your Phone Now!

aPS3e is an Android PS3 emulator designed to bring PlayStation 3 gaming to mobile devices.

AppWizard

February 14, 2025

Ubisoft Releases Assassin’s Creed Shadows PC & New-Gen Features Trailer

Ubisoft has announced that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be released on March 20, 2025, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, set in 16th-century feudal Japan. The game features two protagonists: Yasuke, a historical African samurai, and Naoe, a skilled shinobi. It will not be available on older consoles like PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Key features include uncapped frame rates on PC, multiple performance modes on consoles, ray tracing, AI-driven upscaling techniques, and spatial audio technology. The game is powered by the new Anvil engine, designed exclusively for current-generation hardware, and will run at 60 FPS on consoles. Minimum and recommended system requirements for PC have been specified, and the game requires a constant internet connection for activation and online features. Pre-orders are open with multiple editions available.

AppWizard

February 7, 2025

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 receives first full patch for PC after problems at launch

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 was released on PC on January 30 and faced technical issues leading to mixed reviews on Steam. A major patch was released to address these problems, which included: - Resolution of multiple crash triggers based on player feedback and crash data. - Enhancement of the crash reporting system with screenshot support. - Addition of an option to toggle between Film Style Animation and Comic SFX in settings. - Revamping of the interface for easier initiation of New Game+ mode. - Implementation of a backup system for autosaves at critical narrative points. - Enabling mouse scrolling in the manual load/save menu. - Correction of visual and interface glitches related to DLSS Ray Reconstruction and ray tracing. The developers acknowledged that not all issues were resolved but committed to ongoing updates for further improvements.

AppWizard

February 6, 2025

Spider-Man 2’s first PC patch is live with ‘several crash fixes,’ UI improvements, and an auto-save backup

Spider-Man 2 has received its first substantial patch aimed at addressing crash issues and bugs after a challenging debut with a "mixed" user rating on Steam. The patch includes various crash fixes based on player feedback, improvements to crash reporting, user interface enhancements, and new features such as toggling Film Style Animation and Comic SFX. Additionally, it implements autosave backups, adds mouse scrolling to the manual load/save menu, and reduces noise in character hair when using DLSS Ray Reconstruction. Other fixes include resolving a bug related to ray-traced reflections and ensuring that settings for Subtitle Text Size and other options are no longer synchronized between devices. Players are encouraged to keep their GPU drivers updated and contact Nixxes support for ongoing performance issues.

AppWizard

December 25, 2024

How to play Minecraft Bedrock on Steam Deck

Minecraft Bedrock Edition can be played on the Steam Deck using a third-party application called Prism Launcher, despite it not being natively supported. To play, users must switch the Steam Deck to Desktop Mode, install Prism Launcher from the Discover Software Center, and log in with their Microsoft account. After setting up the desired game version and optimizing settings, users can integrate Prism Launcher into Steam by adding it as a non-Steam game. Finally, they can switch back to Gaming Mode to launch Minecraft.

Tech Optimizer

December 16, 2024

7 GitHub Open Source You Need to See

Open-source tools are enhancing productivity and streamlining processes for developers and organizations. Notable projects include: - **Olshansk/postgres_for_everything**: Extends PostgreSQL's capabilities with resources for JSON/JSONB types, TimescaleDB for time-series data, full-text search, pgRouting for graph data, and advanced SQL analytics. - **Biggest Shell Programs in the World**: Analyzes large shell scripts and systems, including the Linux Kernel Build System, Android Build System, and Debian Packaging Tools. - **Pulumi**: An infrastructure-as-code platform that allows management of cloud infrastructure using languages like Python, JavaScript, and Go, with features like multi-cloud support and Kubernetes integration. - **yorukot/superfile**: A Python library for file operations, offering high-level methods for file handling and cross-platform compatibility. - **soci-snapshotter**: An AWS Labs project for optimizing container image management through lazy loading and snapshotting technology. - **Spark UI**: Enhances management and monitoring of Apache Spark applications with live metrics, interactive visualizations, and integration with event logs. - **LFI.dev**: A framework for developing real-time collaborative web applications with offline functionality and synchronization. - **WrenAI**: A tool for creating intelligent chatbots and virtual assistants with prebuilt NLU and NLG capabilities. - **Astro 5.0**: A framework for building content-focused websites with server-side rendering, static site generation, and improved Markdown handling. - **Outerbase Studio**: An open-source database management tool with a browser-accessible UI and compatibility with various relational databases. - **Undici**: A high-performance HTTP client for Node.js, featuring advanced connection pooling, a promise-based interface, and support for streaming requests.