Database on PIGSTY

Why PostgreSQL Won in the AI Era

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Boring technology won the wildest era. A look at extensibility, agent choice, database cloning, and the future of the DBA. Read more

New Programmers in the AI Era: Where Do You Go?

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Should we still hire fresh grads? Squeezed between AI and senior devs, what’s the play for new programmers? Master the right tools, take initiative, find the right mentor. Read more

Data 2025: Year in Review with Mike Stonebraker

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A conversation between Mike Stonebraker (Turing Award Winner, Creator of PostgreSQL), Andy Pavlo (Carnegie Mellon), and the DBOS team. Read more

What Database Does AI Agent Need?

Sun, 21 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The bottleneck for AI agents isn’t in database engines but in upper-layer integration. Muscle memory, associative memory, and trial-and-error courage will be key. Read more

MySQL and Baijiu: The Internet’s Obedience Test

Sat, 20 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

MySQL is to the internet what baijiu is to China: harsh, hard to swallow, yet worshipped because culture demands obedience. Both are loyalty tests—will you endure discomfort to fit in? Read more

MinIO Is Dead. Who Picks Up the Pieces?

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

MinIO just entered maintenance mode. What replaces it? Can RustFS step in? I tested the contenders so you don’t have to. Read more

MinIO is Dead

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

MinIO announces that it is entering maintenance mode: the dragon-slayer has become the dragon. This is how MinIO transformed from an open-source S3 alternative into just another commercial software company. Read more

Why PostgreSQL Will Dominate the AI Era

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Context window economics, the polyglot persistence problem, and the triumph of zero-glue architecture make PostgreSQL the database king of the AI era. Read more

Column: Database Guru

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The database world is full of hype and marketing fog. This column cuts through it with blunt commentary on industry trends and product reality. Read more

Dongchedi Just Exposed “Smart Driving.” Where’s Our Dongku-Di?

Sat, 26 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Imagine a “closed-course” shootout for domestic databases and clouds, the way Dongchedi just humiliated 30+ autonomous cars. This industry needs its own stress test. Read more

Google AI Toolbox: Production-Ready Database MCP is Here?

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Google recently launched a database MCP toolbox, perhaps the first production-ready solution. Read more

Where Will Databases and DBAs Go in the AI Era?

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Who will be revolutionized first - OLTP or OLAP? Integration vs specialization, how to choose? Where will DBAs go in the AI era? Feng’s views from the HOW 2025 conference roundtable, organized and published. Read more

Stop Arguing, The AI Era Database Has Been Settled

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The database for the AI era has been settled. Capital markets are making intensive moves on PostgreSQL targets, with PG having become the default database for the AI era. Read more

Open Data Standards: Postgres, OTel, and Iceberg

Tue, 27 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Author: Paul Copplestone (Supabase CEO) | Original: Open Data Standards: Postgres, OTel, and Iceberg

Three emerging standards in the data world: Postgres, OpenTelemetry, and Iceberg. Postgres is already the de facto standard. Read more

The Lost Decade of Small Data

Fri, 23 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Author: Hannes Mühleisen (DuckDB Labs) | Original: The Lost Decade of Small Data

If DuckDB had launched in 2012, the great migration to distributed analytics might never have happened. Data isn’t that big after all. Read more

How Many Shops Has etcd Torched?

Wed, 07 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Plenty. If you’re rolling your own Kubernetes, odds are you’ll crash because etcd ships with a 2 GB time bomb. Read more

In the AI Era, Software Starts at the Database

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Future software = Agent + Database. No middle tiers, just agents issuing CRUD. Database skills age well, and PostgreSQL is poised to be the agent-era default. Read more

MySQL vs. PostgreSQL @ 2025

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A 2025 reality check on where PostgreSQL stands relative to MySQL across features, performance, quality, and ecosystem. Read more

Database Planet Collision: When PG Falls for DuckDB

Wed, 12 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

If you ask me, we’re on the brink of a cosmic collision in database-land, and Postgres + DuckDB is the meteor we should all be watching. Read more

Comparing Oracle and PostgreSQL Transaction Systems

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The PG community has started punching up: Cybertec’s Laurenz Albe breaks down how Oracle’s transaction system stacks against PostgreSQL. Read more

7 Databases in 7 Weeks (2025)

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Is PostgreSQL the king of boring databases? Here are seven databases worth studying in 2025: PostgreSQL, SQLite, DuckDB, ClickHouse, FoundationDB, TigerBeetle, and CockroachDB—each deserving a week of deep exploration. Read more

Solving Poker 24 with a Single SQL Query

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

An interesting but tricky puzzle: solving the 24 game with SQL. The PostgreSQL solution. Read more

Self-Hosting Supabase on PostgreSQL

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Supabase is great, but owning your own Supabase is even better. A tutorial for self-hosting production-grade Supabase on local or cloud VMs/BMs.

Modern Hardware for Future Databases

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Author: Alex Miller (Snowflake, Apple, Google) | Original: Modern Hardware for Future Databases

A survey on how hardware developments affect database design, covering key advancements in networking, storage, and computing. Read more

Can MySQL Still Catch Up with PostgreSQL?

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Author: Peter Zaitsev (Percona Founder) | Original: Can MySQL Catch Up with PostgreSQL?

Percona founder Peter Zaitsev discusses whether MySQL can still keep up with PostgreSQL. His views largely represent the MySQL community’s perspective. Read more

Optimize Bio Cores First, CPU Cores Second

Sat, 07 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Programmers are expensive, scarce biological computing cores, the anchor point of software costs — please prioritize optimizing biological cores before optimizing CPU cores. Read more

MongoDB: Now Powered by PostgreSQL?

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

MongoDB 3.2’s analytics subsystem turned out to be an embedded PostgreSQL database? A whistleblowing story from MongoDB’s partner about betrayal and disillusionment. Read more

MySQL is dead, Long live PostgreSQL!

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This July, MySQL 9.0 was finally released—a full eight years after its last major version, 8.0 (@2016-09). Read more

Can Oracle Still Save MySQL?

Fri, 21 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Author: Peter Zaitsev (Percona Founder) | Original: Can Oracle Save MySQL?

Percona founder Peter Zaitsev publicly expressed disappointment with MySQL and Oracle, criticizing the declining performance with newer versions. Read more

Oracle Finally Killed MySQL

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Author: Peter Zaitsev (Percona Founder) | Original: Is Oracle Finally Killing MySQL?

Peter Zaitsev, founder of Percona, criticizes how Oracle’s actions and inactions have killed MySQL. About 15 years after acquiring Sun and MySQL. Read more

MySQL Performance Declining: Where is Sakila Going?

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Author: Marco Tusa (Percona) | Original: Sakila, Where Are You Going?

Higher MySQL versions mean worse performance? Percona monitoring shows slow migration from 5.7 to 8.x. PostgreSQL is pulling ahead. Read more

Can Chinese Domestic Databases Really Compete?

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Friends often ask me, can Chinese domestic databases really compete? To be honest, it’s a question that offends people. So let’s try speaking with data - I hope the charts provided in this article can help readers understand the database ecosystem landscape and establish more accurate proportional awareness. Read more

The $20 Brother PolarDB: What Should Databases Actually Cost?

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Today we discuss the fair pricing of commercial databases, open-source databases, cloud databases, and domestic Chinese databases. Read more

Redis Going Non-Open-Source is a Disgrace to "Open-Source" and Public Cloud

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Redis “going non-open source” is not a disgrace to Redis, but a disgrace to “open source/OSI” and even more so to public cloud. What truly matters has always been software freedom, while open source is just one means to achieve software freedom. Read more

How Can MySQL's Correctness Be This Garbage?

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

MySQL’s transaction ACID has flaws and doesn’t match documentation promises. This may lead to serious correctness issues - use with caution. Read more

Database in K8S: Pros & Cons

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Whether databases should be housed in Kubernetes/Docker remains highly controversial. While Kubernetes (k8s) excels in managing stateless applications, it has fundamental drawbacks with stateful services, especially databases like PostgreSQL and MySQL.

Database in K8S: Pros & Cons

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Whether databases should be housed in Kubernetes/Docker remains highly controversial. While K8s excels in managing stateless applications, it has fundamental drawbacks with stateful services like databases. Read more

Are Specialized Vector Databases Dead?

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Vector storage and retrieval is a real need, but specialized vector databases are already dead. Small needs are solved by OpenAI directly, standard needs are captured by existing mature databases with vector extensions. The ecological niche left for specialized vector databases might support one company, but trying to build an industry around AI stories is impossible. Read more

Are Databases Really Being Strangled?

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Many “domestic databases” are just shoddy, inferior products that can’t be helped. Xinchuang domestic OS/databases are essentially IT pre-made meals in schools. Users hold their noses while migrating, developers pretend to work hard, and everyone plays along with leaders who neither understand nor care about technology. The infrastructure software industry isn’t being strangled by anyone - the real chokehold comes from the so-called “insiders.” Read more

Which EL-Series OS Distribution Is Best?

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

RHEL-series OS distribution compatibility level: RHEL = Rocky ≈ Anolis > Alma > Oracle » Euler. Recommend using RockyLinux 8.8, or Anolis 8.8 for domestic requirements. Read more

What Kind of Self-Reliance Do Infrastructure Software Need?

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

When we talk about self-reliance and control, what are we really talking about? Operational self-reliance vs. R&D self-reliance - what nations/users truly need is the former, not flashy “self-research”. Read more

Back to Basics: Tech Reflection Chronicles

Mon, 29 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The cost-cutting imperative has triggered a reevaluation of all technologies, including databases. This series critiques hot DB technologies and poses fundamental questions about their trade-offs: Are cloud databases, distributed databases, microservices, and containerization real needs or false hype? Read more

Database Demand Hierarchy Pyramid

Wed, 10 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Similar to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, user demands for databases also have a progressive hierarchy: physiological needs, safety needs, belonging needs, esteem needs, cognitive needs, aesthetic needs, self-actualization needs, and transcendence needs. Read more

NewSQL: Distributive Nonsense

Sun, 07 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

As hardware technology advances, the capacity and performance of standalone databases have reached unprecedented heights, which makes distributed (TP) databases appear utterly powerless, much like the “data middle platform” wearing the emperor’s new clothes. Read more

Is running postgres in docker a good idea?

Sun, 13 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Thou shalt not run a prod database inside a container Read more

Understanding Time - Leap Years, Leap Seconds, Time and Time Zones

Tue, 11 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

A proper understanding of time is very helpful for correctly handling time-related issues in work and life. For example, time representation and processing in computers, as well as time handling in databases and programming languages. Read more

Understanding Character Encoding Principles

Sun, 01 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Without understanding the basic principles of character encoding, even simple string operations like comparison, sorting, and random access can easily lead you into pitfalls. This article attempts to clarify these issues through a comprehensive explanation. Read more

Concurrency Anomalies Explained

Tue, 19 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Concurrent programs are hard to write correctly and even harder to write well. Many programmers simply throw these problems at the database… But even the most sophisticated databases won’t help if you don’t understand concurrency anomalies and isolation levels. Read more

Blockchain and Distributed Databases

Sat, 09 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The technical essence, functionality, and evolution of blockchain is distributed databases. Specifically, it’s a Byzantine Fault Tolerant (resistant to malicious node attacks) distributed (leaderless replication) database. Read more

Consistency: An Overloaded Term

Tue, 08 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The term “consistency” is heavily overloaded, representing different concepts in different contexts. For example, the C in ACID and the C in CAP actually refer to different concepts. Read more

Why Study Database Principles

Fri, 20 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Those who only know how to code are just programmers; learn databases well, and you can at least make a living; but for excellent engineers, merely using databases is far from enough. Read more