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<book id="postgres">
<title>PostgreSQL &version; Documentation</title>
<bookinfo>
<corpauthor>The PostgreSQL Global Development Group</corpauthor>
&legal;
</bookinfo>
&intro;
<part id="tutorial">
<title>Tutorial</title>
<partintro>
<para>
Welcome to the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> Tutorial. The
following few chapters are intended to give a simple introduction
to <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>, relational database
concepts, and the SQL language to those who are new to any one of
these aspects. We only assume some general knowledge about how to
use computers. No particular Unix or programming experience is
required. This part is mainly intended to give you some hands-on
experience with important aspects of the
<productname>PostgreSQL</productname> system. It makes no attempt
to be a complete or thorough treatment of the topics it covers.
</para>
<para>
After you have worked through this tutorial you might want to move
on to reading <xref linkend="sql"> to gain a more formal knowledge
of the SQL language, or <xref linkend="client-interfaces"> for
information about developing applications for
<productname>PostgreSQL</productname>. Those who set up and
manage their own server should also read <xref linkend="admin">.
</para>
</partintro>
&start;
&query;
&advanced;
</part>
<part id="sql">
<title>The SQL Language</title>
<partintro>
<para>
This part describes the use of the <acronym>SQL</acronym> language
in <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>. We start with
describing the general syntax of <acronym>SQL</acronym>, then
explain how to create the structures to hold data, how to populate
the database, and how to query it. The middle part lists the
available data types and functions for use in
<acronym>SQL</acronym> commands. The rest treats several
aspects that are important for tuning a database for optimal
performance.
</para>
<para>
The information in this part is arranged so that a novice user can
follow it start to end to gain a full understanding of the topics
without having to refer forward too many times. The chapters are
intended to be self-contained, so that advanced users can read the
chapters individually as they choose. The information in this
part is presented in a narrative fashion in topical units.
Readers looking for a complete description of a particular command
should look into <xref linkend="reference">.
</para>
<para>
Readers of this part should know how to connect to a
<productname>PostgreSQL</> database and issue
<acronym>SQL</acronym> commands. Readers that are unfamiliar with
these issues are encouraged to read <xref linkend="tutorial">
first. <acronym>SQL</acronym> commands are typically entered
using the <productname>PostgreSQL</> interactive terminal
<application>psql</application>, but other programs that have
similar functionality can be used as well.
</para>
</partintro>
&syntax;
&ddl;
&dml;
&queries;
&datatype;
&func;
&typeconv;
&indices;
&textsearch;
&mvcc;
&perform;
</part>
<part id="admin">
<title>Server Administration</title>
<partintro>
<para>
This part covers topics that are of interest to a
<productname>PostgreSQL</> database administrator. This includes
installation of the software, set up and configuration of the
server, management of users and databases, and maintenance tasks.
Anyone who runs a <productname>PostgreSQL</> server, even for
personal use, but especially in production, should be familiar
with the topics covered in this part.
</para>
<para>
The information in this part is arranged approximately in the
order in which a new user should read it. But the chapters are
self-contained and can be read individually as desired. The
information in this part is presented in a narrative fashion in
topical units. Readers looking for a complete description of a
particular command should look into <xref linkend="reference">.
</para>
<para>
The first few chapters are written so that they can be understood
without prerequisite knowledge, so that new users who need to set
up their own server can begin their exploration with this part.
The rest of this part is about tuning and management; that material
assumes that the reader is familiar with the general use of
the <productname>PostgreSQL</> database system. Readers are
encouraged to look at <xref linkend="tutorial"> and <xref
linkend="sql"> for additional information.
</para>
</partintro>
&installation;
&installw;
&runtime;
&config;
&user-manag;
&manage-ag;
&client-auth;
&charset;
&maintenance;
&backup;
&high-availability;
&monitoring;
&diskusage;
&wal;
®ress;
</part>
<part id="client-interfaces">
<title>Client Interfaces</title>
<partintro>
<para>
This part describes the client programming interfaces distributed
with <productname>PostgreSQL</>. Each of these chapters can be
read independently. Note that there are many other programming
interfaces for client programs that are distributed separately and
contain their own documentation (<xref linkend="external-projects">
lists some of the more popular ones). Readers of this part should be
familiar with using <acronym>SQL</acronym> commands to manipulate
and query the database (see <xref linkend="sql">) and of course
with the programming language that the interface uses.
</para>
</partintro>
&libpq;
&lobj;
&ecpg;
&infoschema;
</part>
<part id="server-programming">
<title>Server Programming</title>
<partintro>
<para>
This part is about extending the server functionality with
user-defined functions, data types, triggers, etc. These are
advanced topics which should probably be approached only after all
the other user documentation about <productname>PostgreSQL</> has
been understood. Later chapters in this part describe the server-side
programming languages available in the
<productname>PostgreSQL</productname> distribution as well as
general issues concerning server-side programming languages. It
is essential to read at least the earlier sections of <xref
linkend="extend"> (covering functions) before diving into the
material about server-side programming languages.
</para>
</partintro>
&extend;
&trigger;
&rules;
&xplang;
&plsql;
&pltcl;
&plperl;
&plpython;
&spi;
</part>
&reference;
<part id="internals">
<title>Internals</title>
<partintro>
<para>
This part contains assorted information that might be of use to
<productname>PostgreSQL</> developers.
</para>
</partintro>
&arch-dev;
&catalogs;
&protocol;
&sources;
&nls;
&plhandler;
&geqo;
&indexam;
&gist;
&gin;
&storage;
&bki;
&planstats;
</part>
<part id="appendixes">
<title>Appendixes</title>
&errcodes;
&datetime;
&keywords;
&features;
&release;
&contrib;
&external-projects;
&cvs;
&docguide;
&acronyms;
</part>
&biblio;
&bookindex;
</book>