PostgreSQL 9.0 is entering its final development stage with many new features planned for inclusion. Some key features include hot standby replication for high availability, synchronous replication for data integrity, and performance improvements. Developers are seeking community testing and feedback to ensure quality and identify issues prior to the beta release. The presentation encourages contributions to help shape PostgreSQL's future and highlights ways for developers to get involved.

1. PostgreSQL
Development
TODAY
Josh Berkus
PostgreSQL Experts Inc.
LCA2010

2. BREAKING NEWS: January 15, 2010 ...
PostgreSQL 9.0 Enters Final Commitfest ...
“many landmark features planned”,
says developer ...

3. ... wait, 9.0?!?

4. ... landmark features ...
Hot standby ... synchronous replication ...
exclusion constraints ... JSON/XML EXPLAIN
output ... Windows 64-bit ... writeable CTEs* ...
permissions enhancements ...GRANT ON
ALL/DEFAULT ... SQL enhancements ... Ordered
aggregates ... DO () statement ... performance
improvements ... PL/Perl enhancements ...
PL/Python enhancements ... new
LISTEN/NOTIFY*
* = not committed yet

5. ... landmark features ...
Hot standby ... synchronous replication ...
exclusion constraints ... JSON/XML EXPLAIN
output ... Windows 64-bit ... writeable CTEs* ...
permissions enhancements ...GRANT ON
ALL/DEFAULT ... SQL enhancements ... Ordered
aggregates ... DO () statement ... performance
improvements ... PL/Perl enhancements ...
PL/Python enhancements ... new
LISTEN/NOTIFY*
* = not committed yet

6. Postgres 9

7. ... wait, commitfest?!?

8. scarce committer time

10. new review
1. review patches faster
2. review patches sooner
3. review every patch
4. train new reviewers

11. 8.5 (9.0) RC and Branch July 1 2009
Development Period
CommitFest 1 July 15 2009
Development Period August 15 2009
CommitFest 2 September 15 2009
Development Period October 15 2009
CommitFest 3 November 15 2009
Development Period December 15 2009
CommitFest 4 January 15 2010
Cleanup February 15 2010
Integration & Review
(2-4 weeks)
Beta Beta Testing
(2-3 months)
9.1 RC and Branch June-July, 2010

12. … back to hot standby

13. 8.0: Point-In-Time Recovery
(PITR)

14. 8.0: Point-In-Time Recovery
(PITR)

15. 8.0: Point-In-Time Recovery
(PITR)

16. 8.0: Point-In-Time Recovery
(PITR)
10 minutes to hours

17. 8.3: Warm Standby

18. 8.3: Warm Standby

19. 8.3: Warm Standby
seconds to minutes

20. 8.3: Warm Standby

21. Alvaro Herrera

22. 8.3 Ghost XID
writ
e
19
34 521
read
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451
29/2
1 10
01

23. 9.0: Hot Standby

24. Problems
with Hot Standby

25. Problems
with Hot Standby
x

26. max_standby_delay

27. max_standby_delay

29. different problems
1. Zero data loss
2. Seconds of downtime (or less)
3. Single-node performance
4. Scalability: not important

30. Fujii Masao
Itagaki Takahiro

31. pgCon 2008:
Synchronous Log-Shipping
Replication

32. after 18 months:
“streaming replication”

33. after 18 months:
“streaming replication”
walreciever

34. after 18 months:
“streaming replication”
walsender
walreciever

35. Greg Sabino-Mullaine
Robert Haas

36. ?

37. PostgreSQL Needs YOU

38. Many Patches == Lots of Testing
● Bug Testing
– can you make 9.0 crash?
● Specif cation Testing
i
– do the features do what the docs say they do?
● Performance Testing
– is 9.0 really faster? How much?
● Combinational Testing
– what happens when you put several new features
together?

39. Many Patches == Lots of Testing
1. Take a copy of your production applications
2. Port them to 9.0
3. Report breakage and issues
4. Play with implementing new features
Do It Now!
We're counting on you!

40. Why contribute?
● PostgreSQL is a community project
– owned by the community, run by the community
– if you contribute, you are a full participant
● Tinker with cool database stuff
– we are hard-core database geeks
– learn a lot from top database hackers
● Improve your employment prospects
– database engineers are always in demand

41. Mailing Lists
● Hackers list
– pgsql-hackers
– main list for development discussion
– submit patches here until we move off CVS
● Testers list
– pgsql-testers
– submit test reports here
● Specif c feature lists
i
– pgsql-jdbc, pgsql-performance, pgsql-sql, etc.
– subscribe at www.postgresql.org/community/lists

42. Web Sites
● www.postgresql.org
– main site
● git.pgfoundry.org
– branches, feature forks, snapshots
● wiki.postgresql.org
– community wiki, including TODO lists
– feature specs & testing info
● archives.postgresql.org
– mailing list archives -- search for your idea here

43. Documentation
● www.postgresql.org/docs
– main documentation
– internals:/docs/current/static/internals.html
– code conventions: /docs/current/static/source.html
● doxygen.postgresql.org
– annotated source code
● www.postgresql.org/docs/faqs.FAQ_DEV.html
– developer FAQ

44. Tips on submitting code
● Don't get discouraged.
– Be prepared to argue.
– One hacker rejecting your idea doesn't mean everyone
does.
– Committers (esp. Tom Lane) are often more concerned
about maintainability than cool stuff.
● Be f exible: you will have to make changes.
l
– Corporate and academic coding standards are generally
lower than the project's.

45. Other tips on submitting
● Don't use the wrong arguments
– “MySQL/Oracle does it this way.”
– “Based on this hot academic trend.”
● Some things make a patch harder to accept
– New syntax
– Backwards compatibility issues
– High code counts
● Don't get discouraged.

46. Also: switching to git
● 9.0 was developed with both CVS and git
● Probably just git in the future

47. Contact Information
● Josh Berkus ● Upcoming Events:
– josh@postgresql.org – PG East: March,
– blogs.ittoolbox.com/ Philadelphia
database/soup – pgCon: May 19,
– www.pgexperts.com Ottawa Canada
CfP Open!
● User Groups – OSCON: July,
– pugs.postgresql.org Portland OR
– Wellington CfP Open!
– Sydney
– Adelaide
– Canberra
This talk is copyright 2010 Josh Berkus, and is licensed under the creative commons attribution license