Re: Time to start the PR machine

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While I recognize that not everyone might agree with all of my previous
suggestions, at least fix the spelling error I pointed out! :)

Here's an edited version of my last message:

> the release of PostgreSQL 8.1. The new version, containing many advanced
> database features as well as performance enhancements, makes PostgreSQL

Might be nice to have a few words about what PostgreSQL is: we don't say
anywhere that we are a RDBMS, that we are BSD-licensed, and that we are
the most powerful (open source) db. At the very very least, add RDBMS.

> Improved Multiprocessor (SMP) Performance: the buffer manager for 8.1 has
> been enhanced to scale almost linearly with the number of processors,
> leading to significant performance gains on 8-way, 16-way and multicore
> servers.

Need a comma after "16-way"

Is "multicore" a commonly used word? We might want to tone down the technical
feel of the whole release a bit.

"has been enhanced" is too much of a passive voice, perhaps we can say something like
"..manager for 8.1 now scales almost linearly"

I'd put the word "CPU" in there somehow. Non-technical people will recognize
that more than SMP and "8-way"

> Two-Phase Commit (2PC): long in demand for WAN applications and
> heterogenous data centers using PostgreSQL, this feature allows
> ACID-compliant transactions across widely separated servers.

<*COUGH* HERE IT IS! (four "e"s) />

s/heterogenous/heterogeneous/

Insert "to be run" before "across"

> Bitmapscan: Some indexes will be automatically converted to bitmaps in
> memory, giving up to 20x faster index performance on complex queries
> against very large tables. Bitmapscan also greatly reduces the need for
> multi-column indexes.

I think bitmapscan should be two words, not one? And plural?

"will be" not quite right in lead sentence, change to "are now automatically converted"

s/20x/twenty times/

Is the above 20x figure backed up with data somewhere?

> Roles: PostgreSQL now supports database roles, which simplify
> the management of large user bases with complex overlapping
> database rights.

s/user bases/numbers of users/

> Shared Row Locking: PostgreSQL's "better than row-level
> locking" has been improved further through the addition of
> shared row locks for foreign keys. Shared locks will improve
> insert and update performance on some OLTP applications.

s/shared locks/shared row locks/

> 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.

Do we need to give the technical name in parens? We're not really going
into details for any of these items, after all.

I'd move this item up higher on the list.

> There are numerous other enhancements, which are detailed on our 8.1
> release page <link here>.

s/our/the/

Other stuff:

Mention something about the success of the Win32 version, e.g. how this is the second
major version with Win32, lots of downloads, no problems, everyone happy, etc.

Mention "hundreds of developers" as in the past?

Mention any companies by name?

Mention our high score in that bug-finder thing?

Mention the new options available (bizgres, enterprisedb, etc.) even if only generically?

Emphasize the freedom of the BSD license?

Anyone reading this far? :)

Thanks,

- --
Greg Sabino Mullane greg(at)turnstep(dot)com
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https://www.biglumber.com/x/web?pk=2529DF6AB8F79407E94445B4BC9B906714964AC8
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