PostgreSQL 8.5alpha2 Now Available

The second alpha release for PostgreSQL version 8.5, 8.5alpha2, is now
available. This alpha contains several new major features added since
the previous alpha. Please download, install, and test it to give us
early feedback on the features being developed for the next version of
PostgreSQL.

Features added in Alpha2 include:

* DEFAULT PRIVILEGES and GRANT ALL ON to give DBAs easier management of
object permissions in their databases
* The DO statement so that you can run ad-hoc procedural language code
on the SQL command line
* Triggers on columns
* Named parameters in function calls
* Improved HStore, making this exotic type far more useful to
application developers
* Multiple administration and performance improvements

These new major features mean that we need you to participate in testing
them. If you are able to help with organized alpha testing, please see
the Alpha/Beta testing page:
http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/HowToBetaTest

Alphas are not stable and should never be used in production; they are
for testing new features only. There will be two more alphas, about
every 2 months, before an 8.5 beta release. There is no guarantee that
any features or APIs present in the alphas will be present, or the same,
in the final release.

More detail is available in the Release Notes included with each alpha:
http://developer.postgresql.org/pgdocs/postgres/release-8.5.html

Alpha information page:
http://www.postgresql.org/developer/alpha

Download the alpha here:
http://www.postgresql.org/ftp/source/8.5alpha2/

Alpha2 is currently available in source code form only. Binary packages
for some operating systems will be prepared in the coming days.