DOMAIN:DATABASE — THOUGHT LEADERS AND RESOURCES¶
OWNER: boris, yoanna
UPDATED: 2026-03-24
SCOPE: PostgreSQL community, key voices, essential learning resources
LEADERS:POSTGRESQL_CORE¶
BRUCE MOMJIAN¶
WHO: PostgreSQL core team member since 1996, EDB Vice President
WHY_FOLLOW: deep expertise in PostgreSQL internals, performance, and security
OUTPUT: talks at PostgreSQL conferences, blog posts, PostgreSQL administration book
URL: https://momjian.us/
RELEVANCE_TO_GE: performance tuning guidance, security best practices, internals understanding
TOM LANE¶
WHO: PostgreSQL core developer, most prolific committer in PostgreSQL history
WHY_FOLLOW: architect of many core PostgreSQL features
OUTPUT: PostgreSQL mailing list contributions
RELEVANCE_TO_GE: understanding WHY PostgreSQL works the way it does — essential for debugging
ROBERT HAAS¶
WHO: PostgreSQL committer, EDB Chief Architect
WHY_FOLLOW: parallel query execution, logical replication, PostgreSQL roadmap
OUTPUT: blog at https://rhaas.blogspot.com/
RELEVANCE_TO_GE: parallel query optimization, understanding new PG features
ANDRES FREUND¶
WHO: PostgreSQL committer, Microsoft
WHY_FOLLOW: performance improvements, storage engine, JIT compilation in PostgreSQL
OUTPUT: PostgreSQL mailing list, conference talks
RELEVANCE_TO_GE: performance optimization, understanding JIT and I/O improvements
LEADERS:POSTGRESQL_ECOSYSTEM¶
LUKAS FITTL¶
WHO: Founder of pganalyze, PostgreSQL contributor
WHY_FOLLOW: query performance analysis, PostgreSQL monitoring, EXPLAIN plan analysis
OUTPUT: pganalyze blog, conference talks, pg_query library
URL: https://pganalyze.com/blog
RELEVANCE_TO_GE: practical query optimization, monitoring strategies, automated performance analysis
KEY_RESOURCE: pganalyze Index Advisor — automated index recommendations
KEY_RESOURCE: pganalyze EXPLAIN visualizer — makes complex query plans readable
DIMITRI FONTAINE¶
WHO: PostgreSQL major contributor, author of "The Art of PostgreSQL"
WHY_FOLLOW: practical PostgreSQL usage, migration patterns, data modeling
BOOK: "The Art of PostgreSQL" — essential reading for Boris/Yoanna
URL: https://theartofpostgresql.com/
RELEVANCE_TO_GE: practical patterns for application developers using PostgreSQL
NOTE: this book bridges the gap between DBA knowledge and application development
MARKUS WINAND¶
WHO: Author of "SQL Performance Explained" / Use The Index Luke
WHY_FOLLOW: index design, query optimization, SQL anti-patterns
BOOK: "SQL Performance Explained" — database-agnostic but excellent on PostgreSQL
URL: https://use-the-index-luke.com/
RELEVANCE_TO_GE: index strategy education for Urszula/Maxim (backend devs)
NOTE: Use The Index Luke is the single best free resource for understanding database indexing
CRAIG KERSTIENS¶
WHO: Former Citus Data, Tembo, PostgreSQL advocate
WHY_FOLLOW: practical PostgreSQL operations, extensions, PostgreSQL as platform
OUTPUT: blog at https://www.craigkerstiens.com/
RELEVANCE_TO_GE: operational patterns, extension selection, practical advice
LEADERS:COMPANIES¶
CITUS DATA (MICROSOFT)¶
WHAT: Distributed PostgreSQL — horizontal sharding built into PostgreSQL
URL: https://www.citusdata.com/
WHY_RELEVANT: if any GE client project needs horizontal scaling beyond single-node PostgreSQL
PRODUCT: Citus extension (open source), Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL
KEY_CONCEPT: distributed tables, reference tables, colocation for multi-tenant
WHEN_TO_USE: >1TB database size, >10k transactions/second sustained
NOTE: evaluate ONLY when vertical scaling is exhausted — Citus adds significant operational complexity
LEARNING: their blog has excellent multi-tenant PostgreSQL content regardless of whether you use Citus
SUPABASE¶
WHAT: open-source Firebase alternative built on PostgreSQL
URL: https://supabase.com/
WHY_RELEVANT: demonstrates PostgreSQL as a full application platform (auth, storage, realtime, edge functions)
KEY_CONCEPTS: RLS-first architecture, PostgREST auto-generated API, realtime via logical replication
LEARNING: their documentation on RLS patterns is the best practical guide available
LEARNING: Supabase Studio (open source) shows excellent PostgreSQL management UI patterns
NOTE: GE does not use Supabase as a service — but their PostgreSQL patterns are directly applicable
PGANALYZE¶
WHAT: PostgreSQL monitoring and performance analysis SaaS
URL: https://pganalyze.com/
WHY_RELEVANT: query performance monitoring, index recommendations, schema analysis
PRODUCT: SaaS monitoring + open-source collector
EVALUATE_FOR_GE: when managing >5 production databases, manual monitoring becomes insufficient
LEARNING: their blog is one of the best PostgreSQL performance resources
KEY_ARTICLES: "Efficient Search in PostgreSQL", "Understanding PostgreSQL Query Planner"
TIMESCALE¶
WHAT: time-series extension for PostgreSQL
URL: https://www.timescale.com/
WHY_RELEVANT: if GE client project involves time-series data (IoT, metrics, event logging)
KEY_CONCEPT: hypertables — auto-partitioned time-series tables that look like regular tables
WHEN_TO_USE: >100M time-series rows, need automatic partition management, time-bucket queries
NOTE: evaluate alongside native PostgreSQL partitioning — Timescale is not always necessary
NEON¶
WHAT: serverless PostgreSQL with branching
URL: https://neon.tech/
WHY_RELEVANT: database branching concept — create instant copies for testing/staging
KEY_CONCEPT: copy-on-write storage, instant database branching, autoscaling
EVALUATE_FOR_GE: interesting for developer experience — branch database for each PR
NOTE: UpCloud is current provider — Neon is a future consideration, not immediate
LEADERS:DRIZZLE_ORM¶
DRIZZLE TEAM¶
WHO: Alex Blokh (CEO), team at Drizzle Team
URL: https://orm.drizzle.team/
WHY_RELEVANT: Drizzle is GE's application-layer ORM for all TypeScript/Next.js projects
DOCS: https://orm.drizzle.team/docs/overview
DISCORD: active community for troubleshooting
KEY_PHILOSOPHY: "If you know SQL, you know Drizzle" — SQL-like API, not abstraction over SQL
DRIZZLE KEY RESOURCES¶
MIGRATIONS: https://orm.drizzle.team/docs/migrations
SCHEMA: https://orm.drizzle.team/docs/sql-schema-declaration
QUERIES: https://orm.drizzle.team/docs/select
RELATIONS: https://orm.drizzle.team/docs/rqb (relational query builder)
DRIZZLE_KIT: https://orm.drizzle.team/docs/kit-overview (migration tooling)
NOTE: Drizzle documentation is good but PostgreSQL-specific features may not be fully covered
NOTE: for advanced PostgreSQL features (RLS, partitioning, extensions), refer to PostgreSQL docs directly
RESOURCES:ESSENTIAL_READING¶
BOOKS¶
BOOK_1: "The Art of PostgreSQL" by Dimitri Fontaine
LEVEL: intermediate to advanced
WHY: practical PostgreSQL patterns for application developers
PRIORITY: HIGH — Boris/Yoanna should have read this
BOOK_2: "SQL Performance Explained" by Markus Winand
LEVEL: beginner to intermediate
WHY: indexing and query optimization fundamentals
PRIORITY: HIGH — essential for all developers writing database queries
FREE_VERSION: https://use-the-index-luke.com/
BOOK_3: "PostgreSQL 14 Internals" by Egor Rogov (Postgres Professional)
LEVEL: advanced
WHY: deep understanding of MVCC, WAL, query planner, buffer cache
PRIORITY: MEDIUM — for Boris/Yoanna when debugging complex performance issues
FREE: https://postgrespro.com/community/books/internals
BOOK_4: "Designing Data-Intensive Applications" by Martin Kleppmann
LEVEL: intermediate
WHY: distributed systems, replication, partitioning, transactions — broader context
PRIORITY: MEDIUM — helps understand where PostgreSQL fits in system architecture
WEBSITES¶
SITE_1: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/
PRIORITY: REFERENCE — the authoritative source. When in doubt, check the official docs.
NOTE: PostgreSQL documentation is widely regarded as the best database documentation in existence.
SITE_2: https://use-the-index-luke.com/
PRIORITY: HIGH — interactive indexing tutorial
USE_FOR: learning and teaching index design to backend developers
SITE_3: https://pgexercises.com/
PRIORITY: MEDIUM — SQL practice exercises using PostgreSQL
USE_FOR: onboarding new developers, refreshing SQL skills
SITE_4: https://explain.depesz.com/
PRIORITY: TOOL — paste EXPLAIN output, get visual analysis
USE_FOR: understanding complex query plans
SITE_5: https://www.pgmustard.com/
PRIORITY: TOOL — alternative EXPLAIN visualizer with recommendations
USE_FOR: quick performance analysis of query plans
SITE_6: https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Don%27t_Do_This
PRIORITY: HIGH — official PostgreSQL anti-patterns list
USE_FOR: code review checklist, onboarding new developers
NEWSLETTERS AND BLOGS¶
NEWSLETTER_1: Postgres Weekly — https://postgresweekly.com/
FREQUENCY: weekly
WHY: curated PostgreSQL news, articles, tools, releases
NEWSLETTER_2: pganalyze blog — https://pganalyze.com/blog
FREQUENCY: monthly
WHY: deep technical articles on PostgreSQL performance
BLOG_1: https://www.cybertec-postgresql.com/en/blog/
WHY: practical PostgreSQL administration and optimization
BLOG_2: https://www.crunchydata.com/blog
WHY: PostgreSQL on Kubernetes, operations, extensions
BLOG_3: https://brandur.org/
WHY: Brandur Leach — practical PostgreSQL patterns, ACID transactions, idempotency
CONFERENCES¶
CONF_1: PGConf.EU — European PostgreSQL conference
CONF_2: PostgresConf (US) — talks available online
CONF_3: PGDay — regional events across Europe
NOTE: conference talk recordings are available on YouTube — search "PGConf" or "PostgresConf"
RESOURCES:TOOLS¶
DEVELOPMENT¶
TOOL: pgcli — https://www.pgcli.com/
WHY: better psql with autocompletion and syntax highlighting
TOOL: DBeaver — https://dbeaver.io/
WHY: free GUI database client, good for visual schema exploration
TOOL: Postico (macOS only) — https://eggerapps.at/postico2/
WHY: clean PostgreSQL GUI for macOS users
MONITORING¶
TOOL: pg_stat_statements — built into PostgreSQL
WHY: query performance tracking (see performance.md)
TOOL: pganalyze — https://pganalyze.com/
WHY: SaaS monitoring with automated recommendations
TOOL: pg_stat_monitor — https://github.com/percona/pg_stat_monitor
WHY: enhanced pg_stat_statements with query plan tracking and histograms
TOOL: pgBadger — https://github.com/darold/pgbadger
WHY: PostgreSQL log analyzer — generates HTML reports from log files
TESTING¶
TOOL: pgtap — https://pgtap.org/
WHY: unit testing framework for PostgreSQL — test schemas, functions, RLS policies in SQL
TOOL: pgTAP with pg_prove — run tests in CI pipeline
WHY: automated schema verification, constraint testing, RLS policy testing
RESOURCES:FOR_BACKEND_DEVS¶
Urszula and Maxim should prioritize these resources:
PRIORITY_1: Drizzle ORM documentation — daily reference
PRIORITY_2: Use The Index Luke — understand indexing fundamentals
PRIORITY_3: PostgreSQL wiki "Don't Do This" — avoid common mistakes
PRIORITY_4: "The Art of PostgreSQL" chapters on application queries
PRIORITY_5: pgexercises.com — practice complex SQL when needed
NOTE: backend devs do not need DBA-level knowledge — but they must understand indexes, query plans, and transactions
NOTE: Boris/Yoanna are available for query optimization review — use them