September 20th, 2011 | Published in Database, Tech Talk | 4 Comments
Well, that was an interesting couple of days. Unfortunately my birthday came right after and I didn’t feel like writing anything for the duration. Now though? Why not!
July 19th, 2011 | Published in Database, Tech Talk | No Comments
A few months ago, Greg Smith of PostgreSQL fame suggested I submit a proposal to the new Postgres Open conference here in Chicago. Some of us residents of the Midwest have long waited for a PostgreSQL-related conference of our very own, and now the glorious day has finally arrived. I was asked to submit proposals to other conferences, but the travel involved quickly put me off; now I can be lazy and still help spread The Word.
March 1st, 2011 | Published in Database, Tech Talk | No Comments
Ah, query hints. For all those times when the database isn’t doing what you want, they’re a useful tool for forcing the query optimizer to perform your bidding. But in this case, not only is the road to Hell paved with good intentions, it’s paved with a frictionless slide directly into a wood chipper that empties handily into an active volcano. With query hints, be careful what you wish for, because—to the detriment of all you hold dear—you just might get it.
February 28th, 2011 | Published in Database, Tech Talk | No Comments
Ok, so I’ve already corrected gaudy and horrible behavior [intlink id="postgresql-for-newbs"]part and parcel[/intlink] with default PostgreSQL installs, but what about that… other open-source SQL database? Is it wrong too? Sure is!
February 13th, 2011 | Published in Database, Tech Talk | 2 Comments
So you’ve decided to use PostgreSQL as the database for your sparkly new website running some variant of a LAMP stack. Or maybe you just got a new job and must now administer a PostgreSQL install so you excitedly did your research. You’ve read the install docs, tinkered on a VM, and you think you’ve got everything ready.
