PgConf.Russia 2016

In the speech we consider the current PostgreSQL planner model, then the possibilities of applying machine learning methods for planner improvement and the obtained results.

When new versions of Postgres are released most of the attention is focused on new features. Inevitably a release note claiming speed improvements seems relatively mundane and doesn't provide the compelling argument for upgrading. However the reality is that these speed improvements represent pain points that have been identified and solved.

Reviewing the changes to the sort code in Postgres over the last 10 years clearly shows the kinds of problems users have run into. As usage patterns changed over years, databases scaled up, and hardware changed new problems arose and drove further development to solve them.

Upcoming changes in 9.5 and 9.6 will dramatically change the experience further. Making sorting UTF8 and other encodings less of a problem and handling scaling to larger machines with many processors and memory cache more effectively.

Unlike most other databases, PostgreSQL is developed by a community, and not by a company or even a foundation. Those who have been members of this community for a long time generally consider this a strength, but it can often be confusing to outsiders who are more used to dealing with traditional organization. For those who are not already on the inside, this talk will give an introduction to how the PostgreSQL community works and how the different parties interact, as well as how this has evolved over the years.

Method of automated refresh of preprocessed results of analytis reports is provided. Preprocessing and caching of reports allows ability for fast response for big data reports. Author describes the way of reports cache refreshing with minimum server loads and tuned actualization rate.