Editing PostgreSQL (section)

{{Short description|Free and open-source object relational database management system}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Infobox software
| name                   = PostgreSQL
| logo                   = Postgresql elephant.svg
| logo caption           = ''The World's Most Advanced Open Source Relational Database''<ref>{{cite web|title=PostgreSQL|quote=PostgreSQL: The World's Most Advanced Open Source Relational Database|url=https://www.postgresql.org|access-date=2019-09-21}}</ref>
<!-- | screenshot             = PostgreSQL 13.2 screenshot.png  -->
| developer              = PostgreSQL Global Development Group<ref name="contributors" />
| released               = {{Start date and age|1996|07|08|br=yes|df=yes}}<ref name="birthday" />
| latest release version = {{wikidata|property|edit|reference|P548=Q2804309|P348}}
| latest release date    = {{wikidata|qualifier|P548=Q2804309|P348|P577}}
| latest preview version = {{wikidata|property|edit|reference|P548=Q3295609|P348}}
| latest preview date    = {{start date and age|{{wikidata|qualifier|P548=Q3295609|P348|P577}}}}
| programming language   = [[C (programming language)|C]] (and [[C++]] for the [[LLVM]] dependency)
| genre                  = [[Relational database|RDBMS]]
| license                = PostgreSQL License ([[free and open-source]], [[Permissive software licence|permissive]])<ref name="about/licence" /><ref name="approved by OSI" /><ref name="OSI" />
}}
{{Infobox software license
| name            = PostgreSQL License<ref name="about/licence" />
| image           =
| caption         = PostgreSQL License
| author          =
| version         =
| publisher       = PostgreSQL Global Development Group<br />Regents of the University of California
| date            =
| OSI approved    = Yes<ref name="OSI" />
| Debian approved = Yes<ref>{{Cite web|title=Debian -- Details of package postgresql in sid|url=https://packages.debian.org/unstable/postgresql|access-date=2021-01-25|website=packages.debian.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Licensing:Main?rd=Licensing |title=Licensing:Main |work=FedoraProject}}</ref>
| FSF approved    = Yes<ref>{{cite web |url=https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/PostgreSQL |title=PostgreSQL |work=fsf.org}}</ref>
| GPL compatible  = Yes
| copyleft        = No
| linking         = Yes
| website         = {{URL|postgresql.org/about/licence}}
}}

'''PostgreSQL''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|p|oʊ|s|t|ɡ|ɹ|ɛ|s|k|j|u|ˈ|ɛ|l}} {{respell|POHST|gres|kew|EL}})<ref>{{cite web | url=https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/FAQ#What_is_PostgreSQL.3F_How_is_it_pronounced.3F_What_is_Postgres.3F | title=FAQ: What is PostgreSQL? How is it pronounced? What is Postgres? | work=PostgreSQL Wiki | publisher=PostgreSQL community | access-date=October 2, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Audio sample" /> also known as '''Postgres''', is a [[free and open-source software|free and open-source]] [[relational database management system]] (RDBMS) emphasizing [[extensibility]] and [[SQL]] compliance. PostgreSQL features [[transaction processing|transactions]] with [[atomicity (database systems)|atomicity]], [[consistency (database systems)|consistency]], [[isolation (database systems)|isolation]], [[durability (database systems)|durability]] ([[ACID]]) properties, automatically updatable [[view (SQL)|view]]s, [[materialized view]]s, [[database trigger|triggers]], [[foreign key]]s, and [[stored procedure]]s.<ref name="intro-whatis" />
It is supported on all major [[operating system]]s, including [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[Linux]], [[macOS]], <!-- those former are officially tested/supported; list Windows first, then Unix-like. --> [[FreeBSD]], and [[OpenBSD]], and handles a range of workloads from single machines to [[data warehouse]]s, [[data lake]]s,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-03 |title=Parquet and Postgres in the Data Lake {{!}} Crunchy Data Blog |url=https://www.crunchydata.com/blog/parquet-and-postgres-in-the-data-lake |access-date=2024-09-19 |website=Crunchy Data |language=en}}</ref> or [[web service]]s with many [[concurrent user]]s.

The PostgreSQL Global Development Group focuses only on developing a [[database engine]] and closely related components.
This core is, technically, what comprises PostgreSQL itself, but there is an extensive developer community and ecosystem that provides other important feature sets that might, traditionally, be provided by a proprietary software vendor. These include special-purpose database engine features, like those needed to support a [[spatial database|geospatial]]<ref>
{{cite web
|url=https://postgis.net/
|title=PostGIS
|author=<!--Not stated-->
|date=2023-12-18
|website=postgis.net
|access-date=2023-12-18
|quote=PostGIS extends the capabilities of the PostgreSQL relational database by adding support for storing, indexing, and querying geospatial data.}}
</ref> or [[temporal database|temporal]]<ref name="temporal-extensions">
{{cite web
|url=https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Temporal_Extensions
|title=Temporal Extensions
|author=<!--Not stated-->
|date=2023-12-18
|website=PostgreSQL Wiki
|access-date=2023-12-18
|quote=Postgres can be extended to become a Temporal Database. Such databases track the history of database content over time, automatically retaining said history and allowing it to be altered and queried.}}
</ref> database or features which emulate other database products.<ref>
{{cite web
|url=https://github.com/orafce/orafce
|title=Orafce - Oracle's compatibility functions and packages
|author=<!--Not stated-->
|date=2023-12-17
|website=GitHub.com
|access-date=2023-12-18
|quote=Functions and operators that emulate a subset of functions and packages from the Oracle RDBMS.}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|url=https://github.com/MigOpsRepos/pg_dbms_job#readme
|title=pg_dbms_job
|author=<!--Not stated-->
|date=2023-11-08
|website=GitHub.com
|access-date=2023-12-18
|quote=PostgreSQL extension to schedules and manages jobs in a job queue similar to Oracle DBMS_JOB package.}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|url=https://wiltondb.com/
|title=WiltonDB
|author=<!--Not stated-->
|date=2023
|website=WiltonDB
|access-date=2023-12-18
|quote=WiltonDB [is] packaged for Windows. It strives to be usable as a drop-in replacement to Microsoft SQL Server.}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|url=https://babelfishpg.org/
|title=Babelfish for PostgreSQL
|author=<!--Not stated-->
|website=babelfishpg.org
|access-date=2023-12-18
|quote=Babelfish for PostgreSQL ... provides the capability for PostgreSQL to understand queries from applications written for Microsoft SQL Server.}}
</ref> 
Also available from third parties are a wide variety of user and machine interface features, such as [[graphical user interface]]s<ref>
{{cite web
|url=https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/PostgreSQL_Clients
|title=PostgreSQL Clients
|author=<!--Not stated-->
|date=2023-10-18
|website=wiki.postgresql.org
|access-date=2023-12-18
|quote=This page is a partial list of interactive SQL clients (GUI or otherwise) ... that you can type SQL in to and get results from them.}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|url=https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Design_Tools
|title=Design Tools
|author=<!--Not stated-->
|date=2023-10-23
|website=wiki.postgresql.org
|access-date=2023-12-18
|quote=Tools to help with designing a schema, via creating Entity-Relationship diagrams and similar. Most are GUI.}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|url=https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Community_Guide_to_PostgreSQL_GUI_Tools
|title=Community Guide to PostgreSQL GUI Tools
|author=<!--Not stated-->
|date=2023-12-01
|website=wiki.postgresql.org
|access-date=2023-12-18
|quote=This page is a list of miscellaneous utilities that work with Postgres (ex: data loaders, comparators etc.).}}
</ref> or [[Load balancing (computing)|load balancing]] and [[high availability]] toolsets.<ref>
{{cite web
|url=https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Replication,_Clustering,_and_Connection_Pooling
|title=Replication, Clustering, and Connection Pooling
|author=<!--Not stated-->
|date=2020-07-13
|website=wiki.postgresql.org
|access-date=2023-12-18
|quote=There are many approaches available to scale PostgreSQL beyond running on a single server. ... There is no one-size fits all...}}
</ref>
The large third-party PostgreSQL support network of people, companies, products, and projects, even though not part of The PostgreSQL Development Group, are essential to the PostgreSQL database engine's adoption and use and make up the PostgreSQL ecosystem writ large.<ref>This is recognized by the liberal permission to use the PostgreSQL name, as approved (for fair use, when '''not''' confusing people about a legal relationship with the actual PostgreSQL project) when used in support of PostgreSQL, subject to the PostgreSQL Trademark Policy:
{{cite web 
|url=https://www.postgresql.org/about/policies/trademarks/
|title=Trademark Policy 
|author=<!--Not stated-->
|website=PostgreSQL.org
|date=2020-12-08
|access-date=2023-12-17 
|quote=We will try to work with you to permit uses [of the PostgreSQL name] that support the PostgreSQL project and our Community.}}</ref>

PostgreSQL was originally named POSTGRES, referring to its origins as a successor to the [[Ingres (database)|Ingres]] database developed at the [[University of California, Berkeley]].<ref name="design" /><ref name="about/history" /> In 1996, the project was renamed <q>PostgreSQL</q> to reflect its support for [[SQL]]. After a review in 2007, the development team decided to keep the name PostgreSQL and the alias Postgres.<ref name="Project name" />