Learn PostgreSQL: Use, manage, and build secure and scalable databases with PostgreSQL 16

Using this boom to transitjon from sql server to postgresql

Learn PostgreSQL Second Edition, written by giants in the PostgreSQL industry, Luca Ferrari and Enrico Pirozzi is a large book spanning 19 chapters, but definitely worth the time to ingest the material which covers specific topics of all things PostgreSQL relational database management from the history of PostgreSQL to installation, configuration, maintenance, operations and replication. The authors begin with the history starting from Ingres in 1986 to Post Ingres in the mid nineties to eventually PostgreSQL. This book largely covers PostgreSQL 16, an open source, yet robust RDBMS which can amass a tremendous amount of data in a single instance; up to 32TB. Although it's Open Source in design, PostgreSQL is also capable for closed source environments for specific applications. Each chapter is written with specific and concise examples that are easy to follow along. I recommend that reader, user or administrator have some basic knowledge of Linux, Unix and SQL experience to successfully follow along in this book. Unlike some materials, the authors didn't bother to compare PostgreSQL to SQL Server, Oracle, NOSQL or other relational database applications, but rather win you over with explaining its ease of use and robust architecture.The authors makes no assumption that the reader is an experienced database administrator but rather do a great job in opening the hood of the PostgreSQL architecture, providing concise definitions for PostgreSQL's Cluster, Postmaster, BackEnd Process, Catalogs, WALS (Write-Ahead-Logs, Docker Image container and PGDATA file structure. The pg_ctl command is great for performing system operations on the cluster like starts, stops, restart and maintenance tools similar to how other software servers recommend their management in the absence of a GUI. There are other command clients and GUIs that are available to manage PostgreSQL but, PostgresSQL recommends and uses PSQL as its' native command line client which allows for connection, interaction and administration of the database and cluster. Learn PostgreSQL begins with the installation from binary files to configuration, creation of template databases, configuration of log files, filesystem, client connections and thoroughly explains how the Postmaster is responsible for executing other backend processes in sequence and orderly fashion. There are a lot of useful tools and configuration files that PSQL accesses to accommodate everything from connectivity of a particular user, referencing an IP address or host server name, managing indexes, disaster recovery, replication, table cleanups, system monitoring and performance tuning.I've read many SQL Server books and although there are some great ones out there, very few will give you an exhaustive body of work that will explain the functionality as well as this book does. After completing each chapter and corresponding examples in this book, the reader will not only become an expert at PostgreSQL, but also an RDBMS expert because the principles discussed in this body of work are universal and key to also understanding SQL Server and Oracle as well. This is a must read for all database administrators and developers interested in learning PostgreSQL I suggest that you have your Linux machine ready to go for the examples. Great book overall.

"This book presents a thorough theory on PostgreSQL, spanning from its foundational concepts to the development of highly available database applications. Across its 19 chapters, the authors guide readers through the installation process, manipulation statements, function manipulation, and database management, among other essential topics. Upon completing the book, readers will have acquired the knowledge and skills necessary to become experts in PostgreSQL."

Once again thanks so much to <packt>, for giving me an opportunity to review this book Learn PostgreSQL by Luca Ferrari. Before going into the my observations on the book, I need to mention about author Luca Ferrari who is passionated about building capabilities around creating such learning platform to all level of readers who is willing to learn a technology by envisioning the practical outcomes and apply them in real world scenarios. Coming to book, it's pretty comprehensive with detailed content covering all the dimensions, from knowing about PostgreSQL in understanding background and going into the depth. If individual just going to start their database journey without any database background, this book helps them to understand all those nitty gritty details.Chapters like - Query Tuning, Indexes and Performance Optimization & Replication approaches (Physical & Logical) along with Logging & Monitoring are very much can be used as reference manual for experienced & seasoned engineers

I am more of a Microsoft SQL Server guy. 20+ years working with it, and now more on cloud deployments. With Microsoft bringing into their cloud databases offerings more options than just SQL Server, I've decided to jump in PostgreSQL. This book is more into the product than to the Azure offering, but I learned a lot and was able to run almost all exercises. It was fun. And I also realized that, even though I know SQL, I didn't know PostgreSQL. The fundamentals section helped me out learning the specifics of Postgres SQL language.Installing the product is something I don't do in the cloud. With Windows 11 WSL support I was able to try that out using the Linux book's instructions. Again, it was fun to practice and learn things I don't deal with in every basis. I guess I am a real geek.I highly recommend this book. Clear language. Good exercises.

Disclaimer: I was sent an advanced copy of this book for review.Luca Ferrari and Enrico Pirozzi set out to create an updated edition to their October 2020 book. I didn't read the first edition, so this review is based on seeing this material for the first time. I do have some previous SQL experience, so this book was something I wanted to read. The book is based on PostgreSQL 16.I love how the book is laid out. It starts with a quick history and then goes over how to install it on several operating systems. It discusses how to create users and then goes over commands and syntax that anyone who has used SQL would recognize. There are also a few sections on database security and operations.I enjoyed reading this book and working along with the code exercises. I found it easy to follow and very informative. For anyone who is interested in PostgreSQL and learning the ins and outs of it, this book is highly recommended.