PostgreSQL 7.x good enough? [LWN.net]

PostgreSQL 7.x good enough?

Posted May 24, 2007 15:09 UTC (Thu) by rwmj (subscriber, #5474)
Parent article: Where have the reviewers gone?

I'm an avid user of PostgreSQL ... 7.4. It does everything I want, and my needs run to a few popular but not huge websites. I understand how it works, it's reliable to the point where it "just works" provided I schedule a vacuum once in a while.

I wonder if the problem is that it's just good enough, and these patches represent features which by and large people don't need?

Rich.

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PostgreSQL 7.x good enough?

Posted May 24, 2007 17:45 UTC (Thu) by Dom2 (guest, #458) [Link]

I've found good speed ups by migrating to newer releases. Mind you, we have a moderately substantial amount of data. The other reason to upgrade is to get bug fixes. I'm not sure if 7.4.x is still supported…

PostgreSQL 7.x good enough?

Posted May 24, 2007 23:50 UTC (Thu) by giraffedata (subscriber, #1954) [Link]

Good point. If someone submits a patch and nobody reviews it, that's like a motion without a second. Maybe they should just ship the release without the unreviewed patches. And maybe patch submitters should line up a partner/sponsor before spending much time preparing a patch.

PostgreSQL 7.x good enough?

Posted May 25, 2007 23:00 UTC (Fri) by decibel (guest, #45434) [Link]

"I wonder if the problem is that it's just good enough, and these patches represent features which by and large people don't need?"

Yes, because all the PostgreSQL hackers are so bored that they just dream up useless features. ;)

Actually, if you look at what's in the patch queue, the issue is that these patches are extremely large and complex. Most of the easy to improve things have already been done, so making further improvements to the database becomes increasingly more difficult. But these improvements are very valuable. Probably the most important one is "HOT", which greatly reduces the need for vacuuming. There are lots of users that want that capability.

If 7.4 fits the bill for you, there's no huge reason to upgrade, though you should at least run the latest 7.4 version. You should also keep an eye on the announce list since 7.4 will likely be de-supported in the next few years.