I'd just like to congratulate the team on the excellent job that they've
done on Postgresql 8.1.
Yet again I'm amazed by the progress made in each and every major release
of this product I've seen since I started using it (around version 7.0).
To single out the changes that jump out at me the most:
* I see the shared row locking as being a massive feature. I've had to
remove foreign keys in the past on high-volume databases because of FKeys
causing locks. This makes Postgres' already-excellent locking even better.
* The Bitmap scans are also a major improvement. Something that will have
a positive effect on existing databases and queries without re-writing
them, and will allow DBAs to reduce the number of multi-columns indices on
their tables.
* The last_id function is a very small addition but has a massive impact
on how easy it is to migrate applications from MySQL. I actually used this
myself the other day. I converted one application is a few hours whereas
it would have taken days without it (restructuring how new IDs are
returned).
* Faster aggregates is another area in which a huge gain has been made.
* I also see the GiST improvements as being very important.
I would like to make one suggestion regarding release notes. I would find
it extremely useful if the release notes contained links to the relevant
parts of the documentation that explain the new features. I often read
about a new feature and want to read more about it for more detail or to
find out how to use the new feature, but I then need to search through the
manual to find the relevant sections.
Once again: well done and thank you.
--
Russ
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TIP 9: In versions below 8.0, the planner will ignore your desire to
choose an index scan if your joining column's datatypes do not
match
