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PostgreSQL v10 at ElephantSQL

Written by ElephantSQL team

PostgreSQL v10 is now available at ElephantSQL

When it comes to modern object-relational database systems, PostgreSQL can be considered one of the best. On 5th October 2017, the PostgreSQL development group released the latest version for the database i.e. PostgreSQL v10.

There is an array of new features in the latest release and here’s a breakdown of some of the most exciting ones:

  1. Logical replication

    Streaming or physical replication has been a part of PostgreSQL since version 9.0, but it is inefficient as it requires complete database replication. With the introduction of logical replication in the latest version, which can be configured with ease and operates at table granularity, a huge improvement has been made.

  2. Declarative portioning

    In older versions, PostgreSQL only had support for table inheritance which could be employed for table partitioning simulation but it was difficult to put together. In the latest version, you can now perform range or list partitioning via dedicated syntax. Also the INSERT query performance has been enhanced significantly.

  3. SCRAM

    PostgreSQL has always provided developers with the ability to use modern authentication methods to protect their data like Kerberos and SSL etc. The newest version comes with support for SCRAM (Salted challenge response authentication mechanism). It’s a protocol that ensures safer and reliable storage and transfer of passwords by the provision of a rigorous password negotiation framework. The SCRAM-SHA-256 (defined in RFC7677) is a huge improvement over the previous MD5-based method for authenticating passwords.

  4. Parallel Query improvements

    PostgreSQL 9.6 did have support for parallel query execution but there has been a significant improvement made on the feature in the latest version. Newly added support for parallel index scan and parallel bitmap heap scan is worth-mentioning. By using parallel queries, developers were already getting speedups of 2-4x and with these new additions, the same speed boosts will be applicable to a wider query range.

  5. Hash indexing durability

    PostgreSQL has always been notorious for its hash indexing, however with the new version, we will see some improvements in this area. Alterations made to a hash index will now be made WAL (write-ahead logging) which will ensure that they are impervious to crashing and that their proper standby replications get made.

  6. Synchronous replication while committing:

    Lastly, the newest version has introduced the quorum commit feature for simultaneous replication. This basically means that you can now ensure that acknowledgements for every commit are made by any K of N fill-in synchronous servers. This new feature will bring about tangible improvements in performance and flexibility.

Not only were some previously present nuances removed, the PostgreSQL v10 also brought forth some highly beneficial features. A more detailed elaboration of what’s new in PostgreSQL v10 can be found here.