We’re finally at the end of the 10-part Postgres (PostgreSQL) performance series I use to initiate new developers into the database world. To that end, we’re going to discuss something that affects everyone at one point or another: index criteria. Or to put it another way: Why isn’t the database using an index? It’s a fairly innocuous question, but one that may have a surprising answer: the index was created using erroneous assumptions.

An easy way to give Postgres (PostgreSQL) a performance boost is to judiciously use indexes based on queries observed in the system. For most situations, this is as simple as indexing columns that are referenced frequently in WHERE clauses. Postgres is one of the few database engines that takes this idea even further with partial indexes. Unfortunately as a consequence of insufficient exposure, most DBAs and users are unfamiliar with this extremely powerful functionality.

I apologize for putting this series on a short hiatus last week for the 4th of July. But worry not, for this week is something special for all the developers out there! I’m going to try to make your life easier for a change. Screw the database! As a Postgres (PostgreSQL) DBA, it’s easy to get tied up in performance hints, obscure syntax, and mangled queries, but it’s really all about the people.

As a database, Postgres (PostgreSQL) is fairly standard in its use of SQL. Developers of all colors however, might have trouble switching gears and thinking in set operations, since so many language constructs focus on conditionals and looping. Last week in the performance pitfalls series, we discussed a bit of Set Theory, and how ignorance of its implications can be disastrous. But what about the more mundane? What happens, for instance, when we treat a database like a programming language?

Well, I’ve returned from PGCon 2015 in Canada, and after a couple days to decompress, it’s time to share. I wrote about the PGCon 2014 unconference after returning to Chicago last year, so I felt it was only fitting that I start there. I feel as strongly now as I did a year ago, that directly interacting with the PostgreSQL maintainers at this level helps the community thrive. Even though PGCon is generally a more developer-focused conference, being able to brainstorm with the bigwigs, even if nothing comes of it, means the ideas have been given a fair shake.