In order to be a proficient user and administrator of a PostgreSQL cluster, you first have to know and understand how PostgreSQL works. A database system is a very complex beast, and PostgreSQL, being an enterprise-level Database Management System (DBMS), is in no way a simple software system. However, thanks to a very good design and implementation, once you understand the basic concepts and terminology of PostgreSQL, things will quickly become comprehensive and clear.
This chapter will introduce you to the main PostgreSQL terminology and concepts, as well as teach you how to connect to the cluster. This chapter will also introduce you to the psql client, which ships with PostgreSQL and is the recommended way to connect to your database. You can, of course, use any client that supports PostgreSQL to connect to the database, and the rules explained...
