Re: Next version: putting the pedal down

On Fri, 2005-09-30 at 05:58, Simon Riggs wrote:

thought I'd shoot off some thoughts before I figure out if I have commit
rights :-)

> *** pr81 2005-09-30 10:19:35.046121480 +0100
> --- pr81_sr1 2005-09-30 10:50:31.552889552 +0100
> ***************
> *** 1,16 ****
> ## November 2005, Sydney, Australia: The PostgreSQL Global Development Group
> ! proudly announces the release of PostgreSQL 8.1, the
> ! most advanced open source database management system. This new
> ! version, containing several new advanced database features as well
> ! as many performance enhancements, will push PostgreSQL into more
> ! high-demand and large database applications than ever before.
> !
> ! "PostgreSQL enjoys growing user interest, generating
> ! over 1 million downloads of version 8.0 in 7 months. This
> compares with about 300,000 over a similar period for the prior
> ! release, demonstrating the project's acceleration in the minds
> ! of database users," said Lance Obermeyer, ____________ of
> ! Pervasive Software. "Given that 8.1 has already had ___________
> downloads of the beta, I'm expecting that expansion to become
> even more rapid."
>
> --- 1,21 ----
> ## November 2005, Sydney, Australia: The PostgreSQL Global Development Group
> ! proudly announces the release of PostgreSQL 8.1, further extending
> ! PostgreSQL's lead as the most advanced open source database management system.
> ! This new version contains many new advanced database features as well as
> ! significant performance and scalability enhancements aimed at high-demand
> ! and large database applications.
> !
> ! PostgreSQL is designed, built and tested by a large and thriving community,
> ! backed by a growing number of corporate sponsors and support companies.
> ! PostgreSQL enjoys growing user interest, and has generated
> ! over 1 million downloads of version 8.0 in the last 7 months. This
> compares with about 300,000 over a similar period for the prior
> ! release.
> !
> ! "The project is clearly accelerating in the minds
> ! of database users," said Lance Obermeyer of Pervasive Software,
> ! the internal champion for his companies' sponsorship of PostgreSQL.
> ! "Given that 8.1 has already had ___________
> downloads of the beta, I'm expecting that expansion to become
> even more rapid."
>

I like how you separated the two concepts here, but didn't like how
titled Lance... how about:

"The project is clearly accelerating in the minds
of database users," said Lance Obermeyer, Director of Products at
Pervasive Software, one of the corporate sponsors for PostgreSQL's 8.1
release. "Given that 8.1 has already had ___________
downloads of the beta, I'm expecting that expansion to become
even more rapid."

> ***************
> *** 37,52 ****
> number of processors, leading to significant performance gains
> on 8-way, 16-way, dual-core and multi-core CPU servers.
>
> ! Bitmap Scan: some indexes will be automatically converted to
> bitmaps in memory, giving up to 20x faster index performance on
> ! complex queries against against very large tables, such as those
> ! found in data marts. Bitmap Scan also greatly reduces the need
> ! for multi-column indexes.
> !
> ! Table Partitioning: in version 8.1, the query planner's ability
> ! to select the correct table partitions for each query (called
> ! Constraint Exclusion) is expanded, making PostgreSQL's table
> ! partitioning useful to a broader range of applications.
>
> Shared Row Locking: PostgreSQL's "better than row-level
> locking" has been improved further through the addition of
> --- 42,56 ----
> number of processors, leading to significant performance gains
> on 8-way, 16-way, dual-core and multi-core CPU servers.
>
> ! Bitmap Scan: indexes can be dynamically converted to
> bitmaps in memory, giving up to 20x faster index performance on
> ! complex queries against against very large tables. Bitmap Scan
> ! also greatly reduces the need for multi-column indexes.
> !

> ! Bitmap Scan: indexes can be dynamically converted to
> bitmaps in memory, giving up to 20x faster index performance on
> ! complex queries against against very large tables. Bitmap Scan
> ! also greatly reduces the need for multi-column indexes.

I think we need to be a little more explicit about why this is a good
thing.

Bitmap Scan: indexes can be dynamically converted to
bitmaps in memory, giving up to 20x faster index performance on
complex queries against against very large tables. This helps simplify
database management by greatly reducing the need for multi-column
indexes.

> ! Table Partitioning: in version 8.1, the query planner is now
> ! able to avoid scanning whole sections of a large table without
> ! needing to utilise indexes using a technique known as
> ! Constraint Exclusion.
>

This seems a bit too technical to me. Either we need to be clearer in
how it works or we need to provide an example of who will benefit from
this.

Robert Treat
--
Build A Brighter Lamp :: Linux Apache {middleware} PostgreSQL