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PostgreSQL

Key Features​

FeatureDescription
ACID ComplianceStrong transactional integrity with multi-version concurrency control (MVCC).
Advanced Data TypesBuilt-in support for JSON, JSONB, ARRAY, UUID, HSTORE, etc.
Full-Text SearchPowerful search capabilities natively supported, customizable ranking and dictionaries.
CTEs & Window FunctionsCommon Table Expressions and advanced windowing operations out-of-the-box.
ExtensionsSupports extensions like PostGIS, pg_trgm, uuid-ossp.
Concurrency & MVCCAvoids locking via MVCC, enabling high performance in concurrent environments.
Write-Ahead Logging (WAL)Ensures data safety and replication consistency.
Streaming ReplicationNative replication support for HA/DR setups.
Security & RolesRole-based authentication, row-level security (RLS), SSL/TLS support.
Procedural LanguagesWrite functions in PL/pgSQL, Python, or others.

Connecting with Frameworks & ORMs​

NestJS (with TypeORM)​

npm install --save @nestjs/typeorm typeorm pg
app.module.ts
TypeOrmModule.forRoot({
  type: "postgres",
  host: "localhost",
  port: 5432,
  username: "postgres",
  password: "password",
  database: "your_db",
  autoLoadEntities: true,
  synchronize: true, // ⚠️ Disable in production
});

✅ Tip: Use @nestjs/config for environment-based configuration separation.

Prisma (Node.js)​

npm install prisma --save-dev
npm install @prisma/client pg
npx prisma init
.env
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://postgres:password@localhost:5432/your_db"
prisma/schema.prisma
datasource db {
  provider = "postgresql"
  url      = env("DATABASE_URL")
}

model User {
  id    Int    @id @default(autoincrement())
  name  String
  email String @unique
}

✅ Supports PostgreSQL-specific features like @db.Json, @db.Uuid, etc.

Sequelize (Node.js)​

npm install sequelize pg pg-hstore
db.js
import { Sequelize } from "sequelize";

const sequelize = new Sequelize("your_db", "postgres", "password", {
  host: "localhost",
  dialect: "postgres",
});

export default sequelize;

✅ Sequelize supports array, JSONB, and UUID types via DataTypes.ARRAY, DataTypes.JSONB, and DataTypes.UUID.

Spring Boot (with Spring Data JPA)​

pom.xml
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.postgresql</groupId>
  <artifactId>postgresql</artifactId>
  <scope>runtime</scope>
</dependency>
application.yml
spring:
  datasource:
    url: jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5432/your_db
    username: postgres
    password: password
  jpa:
    hibernate:
      ddl-auto: update
    show-sql: true

✅ Tip: Use Hibernate dialects like org.hibernate.dialect.PostgreSQLDialect for better support.

Laravel (with Eloquent ORM)​

DB_CONNECTION=pgsql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=5432
DB_DATABASE=your_db
DB_USERNAME=postgres
DB_PASSWORD=password
config/database.php
'pgsql' => [
    'driver' => 'pgsql',
    'host' => env('DB_HOST', '127.0.0.1'),
    ...
],

✅ Tip: Use Laravel’s native migrate, seed, and factory system for full DB lifecycle automation.

Managing PostgreSQL with Docker​

docker-compose.yml
version: "3.8"
services:
  postgres:
    image: postgres:15
    container_name: postgres-db
    restart: always
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: your_db
      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"
    volumes:
      - pg_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    networks:
      - backend

volumes:
  pg_data:

networks:
  backend:
# Use psql
docker exec -it postgres psql -U myuser -d mydatabase
tip
  • Use healthchecks and secret mounts for prod readiness.
  • Try GUI tools like pgAdmin, DBeaver, or TablePlus.

Deploying PostgreSQL with Kubernetes​

StatefulSet + PVC Example:

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: StatefulSet
metadata:
  name: postgres
spec:
  serviceName: postgres
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: postgres
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: postgres
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: postgres
          image: postgres:15
          ports:
            - containerPort: 5432
          env:
            - name: POSTGRES_PASSWORD
              valueFrom:
                secretKeyRef:
                  name: postgres-secret
                  key: password
          volumeMounts:
            - name: postgres-pvc
              mountPath: /var/lib/postgresql/data
  volumeClaimTemplates:
    - metadata:
        name: postgres-pvc
      spec:
        accessModes: ["ReadWriteOnce"]
        resources:
          requests:
            storage: 10Gi
tip
  • 🔐 Use Kubernetes Secrets for password management and ConfigMaps for tuning (postgresql.conf overrides).
  • 📦 Alternative: Use Bitnami Helm Chart for advanced production-ready deployment.

Best Practices​

⚙️ Configuration & Performance​

  • Enable shared_buffers, work_mem, effective_cache_size tuning.
  • Use EXPLAIN ANALYZE and pg_stat_statements for query optimization.
  • Add proper indexes for JOIN, WHERE, and ORDER BY fields.

🔐 Security​

  • Enforce SSL/TLS and role-based access (REVOKE ALL, GRANT SELECT).
  • Enable Row-Level Security (RLS) when needed.
  • Regularly rotate credentials and access tokens.

📈 Scaling Strategy​

  • Use read replicas for scaling reads.
  • Add connection pooling (e.g., PgBouncer).
  • Consider horizontal scaling with Citus for sharding if needed.

🧪 Dev Workflow​

  • Use Testcontainers, Docker Compose, or local Kubernetes to simulate production.
  • Always track schema with migrations — Flyway, Liquibase, or ORM-native.
  • Split environments via .env, application.yml, or secrets manager.

🔧 Monitoring & Maintenance​

  • Schedule backups (e.g., pg_dump, cron, or Velero).
  • Use Prometheus + Grafana or pgMonitor.
  • Watch for slow queries, connection leaks, bloat, and WAL segment overflows.

References​