Last week, open-source fans were given a reason to be happy, when PostgreSQL 14 was released. This iteration of the RDBMS features performance enhancements for heavy, distributed workloads. The seasonal autumn release was announced last week.
In PostgreSQL 14, users should expect big new features and more than 220 updates that improve high-end systems, according to Umai Shahid, the head of PostgreSQL at open-source tech-consultant Percona.
Shahid said the number of additional features is larger, adding that no single feature carries the entire release, as it focuses on the performance of the database (not just its internals), but also running faster SQL queries and focusing on parallelism.
What changed?
PostgreSQL’s design makes it suited to a vertically scaling database. However, the open-source community focuses on implementing a feature that aids horizontal stability. That makes it easier to scale apps and improve database performance.
Foreign data wrappers, formerly relegated to supporting federated workloads across PostgreSQL for some time, can now perform parallel table scans. The developers have the freedom to create foreign tables in horizontally scaling or distributed databases to run queries in parallel, making performance noticeable faster, according to Shahid.
There’s also the bulk data insert, implemented for the foreign-data wrapper, enhancing performance on distributed workloads.
A need for distributed systems
If you are shopping around for a distributed relational database, check out options like Yugabyte, a distributed system inspired by Google’s Spanner and compatible with PostgreSQL on the top half, for instance.
There are other systems on the market distributed by design that cater to specific uses, according to Shahid. He added that PostgreSQL (with an OSI-approved PostgreSQL License) is an ACID-compliant general-purpose database designed for a broad range of uses.
The PostgreSQL Global Development Group said it sees reports from Russia, Europe, Japan, and the US, where people are pushing the system to the limit, adding it is fortunate to have the developers to raise the ceiling a bit.