Schedule - PostgreSQL Development Conference 2024

The PostgreSQL Protocol: The Good, the Bad and the Future

Date: 2024-05-29
Time: 11:30–12:20
Room: Canfor(1600)
Level: Intermediate

Version 3.0 of the PostgreSQL protocol was introduced more than 20 years ago. PostgreSQL is still using this protocol version to this day. And not only PostgreSQL, but many other databases use it too. That obviously means PostgreSQL its protocol is pretty awesome! Sadly it's not perfect either and it's beginning to show its age in a few areas. Luckily multiple improvements to it are in the works.

This talk will be a deep-dive into the PostgreSQL protocol. It will answer the following questions and many more:

How does your query get to PostgreSQL and how do its results get back to you?
What is this "extended" protocol?
What happens when you cancel a long running query using Ctrl+C in psql?
What is query pipelining and why should you use it?
Why is building a connection pooler for PostgreSQL probably harder than you think?
What parts of the PostgreSQL protocol are showing their age?
What changes to the protocol are being proposed and why?

This talk is for you if:

You are a PostgreSQL hacker that has so far managed mostly to ignore the inner workings of the networking part of PostgreSQL and would like to learn about it
You are building or maintaining a PostgreSQL client library
You are building or maintaining a connection pooler
You have your own ideas on how to improve the PostgreSQL protocol

Talk recorded at https://youtu.be/nh62VgNj6hY.