Mastering PostgreSQL 17: Elevate your database skills with advanced deployment, optimization, and security strategies , Sixth Edition

Hans-Jürgen Schönig

$51.99

Paperback Dec 2024 474 pages 6th Edition

Hans-Jürgen Schönig

$51.99

Paperback Dec 2024 474 pages 6th Edition

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Mastering PostgreSQL 17

Understanding Transactions and Locking

Now that we’ve been introduced to PostgreSQL 17 and all the new shiny features it brings to the table, we want to focus our attention on the next important topic. Locking is a vital concept for any kind of database. It is not enough to understand how locking works just to write proper or better applications – it is also essential from a performance point of view and, therefore, proper locking behavior will directly translate to an excellent user experience. Without handling locks properly, your applications might not only be slow – they might also behave in very unexpected ways (for example, timeouts, unpredictable results, and a lot more). In my opinion, locking is the key to performance. Why is that the case? There is no slower form of execution than waiting on something. Even more CPUs will not speed up waiting. Therefore, understanding locking and transactions is important for administrators and developers alike.

In...

Understanding basic locking

In this section, you will learn about basic locking mechanisms. The goal is to understand how locking works in general and how to get simple applications right.

To show you how things work, we will create a simple table. For demonstrative purposes, I will add one row to the table using a simple INSERT command:

test=# CREATE TABLE  t_test (id int);
CREATE TABLE
test=# INSERT INTO t_test VALUES (0);
INSERT 0 1

The first important thing is that tables can be read concurrently. Many users reading the same data at the same time won’t block each other. This allows PostgreSQL to handle thousands of users without any problems.

The question now is what happens if reads and writes occur at the same time? Here is an example. Let’s assume that the table contains one row and id = 0:

Transaction 1	Transaction 2
`BEGIN;` ...

Understanding transaction isolation levels

Up until now, you have seen how to handle locking, as well as some basic concurrency. In this section, you will learn about transaction isolation. To me, this is one of the most neglected topics in modern software development. Only a small fraction of software developers are actually aware of this issue, which, in turn, leads to mind-boggling bugs.

Here is an example of what can happen:

...

Transaction 1	Transaction 2
`BEGIN;`
`SELECT sum(balance)` `FROM t_account;`	`BEGIN;`
User will see `300`	`INSERT INTO t_account (balance)` `VALUES (100);`
	`COMMIT;`
`SELECT sum(balance)` `FROM t_account;`
User will see `400`

Observing deadlocks and similar issues

Deadlocks are an important issue and can happen in every database. Basically, a deadlock will happen if two transactions have to wait on each other.

In this section, you will see how this can happen. Let’s suppose we have a table containing two rows:

CREATE TABLE t_deadlock (id int);
INSERT INTO t_deadlock VALUES (1), (2);

The following example shows what can happen:

...

Transaction 1	Transaction 2
`BEGIN;`	`BEGIN;`
`UPDATE t_deadlock SET id = id * 10 WHERE id =` `1;`	`UPDATE t_deadlock SET id = id * 10 WHERE id =` `2;`
`UPDATE t_deadlock SET id = id * 10 WHERE id =` `2;`
Waiting on transaction 2	`UPDATE t_deadlock SET id = id * 10 WHERE id =` `1;`

Utilizing advisory locks

PostgreSQL has highly efficient and sophisticated transaction machinery that is capable of handling locks in a really fine-grained and efficient way. A few years ago, people came up with the idea of using this code to synchronize applications with each other. Thus, advisory locks were born.

When using advisory locks, it is important to mention that they won’t go away on COMMIT as normal locks do. Therefore, it is really important to make sure that unlocking is done properly and in a totally reliable way.

If you decide to use an advisory lock, what you really lock is a number. So, this isn’t about rows or data; it is really just a number. Here’s how it works:

Transaction 1	Transaction 2
`BEGIN;`
`SELECT pg_advisory_lock(15);`
	`SELECT pg_advisory_lock...`

Key benefits

Optimize queries and performance for PostgreSQL installations
Secure databases with advanced access controls and encryption
Master replication, backups, and disaster recovery strategies
Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook

Description

Starting with new features introduced in PostgreSQL 17, the sixth edition of this book provides comprehensive insights into advanced database management, helping you elevate your PostgreSQL skills to an expert level. Written by Hans-Jürgen Schönig, a PostgreSQL expert with over 25 years of experience and the CEO of CYBERTEC PostgreSQL International GmbH, this guide distills real-world expertise from supporting countless global customers. It guides you through crucial aspects of professional database management, including performance tuning, replication, indexing, and security strategies. You’ll learn how to handle complex queries, optimize execution plans, and enhance user interactions with advanced SQL features such as window functions and JSON support. Hans equips you with practical approaches for managing database locks, transactions, and stored procedures to ensure peak performance. With real-world examples and expert solutions, you'll also explore replication techniques for high availability, along with troubleshooting methods to detect and resolve bottlenecks, preparing you to tackle everyday challenges in database administration. By the end of the book, you'll be ready to deploy, secure, and maintain PostgreSQL databases efficiently in production environments.

Who is this book for?

This book is for database administrators, PostgreSQL developers, and IT professionals who want to implement advanced functionalities and tackle complex administrative tasks using PostgreSQL 17. A foundational understanding of PostgreSQL and core database concepts is essential, along with familiarity with SQL. Prior experience in database administration will enhance your ability to leverage the advanced techniques presented in this book.

What you will learn

Deploy and manage PostgreSQL in production environments
Improve database throughput and ensure speedy responses from PostgreSQL
Utilize indexes, partitions, and full-text search
Handle transactions, locking, and concurrency issues
Secure PostgreSQL with encryption and access controls
Implement replication for high availability
Get to grips with handling redundancy and data safety
Fix the most common issues and real-world problems faced by PostgreSQL users

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Mastering PostgreSQL 17: Elevate your database skills with advanced deployment, optimization, and security strategies , Sixth Edition

What do you get with Print?

Mastering PostgreSQL 17

Understanding Transactions and Locking

Working with PostgreSQL transactions

Understanding basic locking

Making use of FOR SHARE and FOR UPDATE

Understanding transaction isolation levels

Observing deadlocks and similar issues

Utilizing advisory locks

Optimizing storage and managing cleanup

Summary

Page 1 of 9

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What do you get with Print?

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Mastering PostgreSQL 17: Elevate your database skills with advanced deployment, optimization, and security strategies , Sixth Edition

What do you get with Print?

Contact Details

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Key benefits

Description

Who is this book for?

What you will learn

Product Details

What do you get with Print?

Contact Details

Shipping Address

Billing Address

Product Details

Packt Subscriptions

Table of Contents

Recommendations for you

About the author

FAQs