mirror of
https://github.com/postgres/postgres.git
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Clean up pages. Add information for operator precedence.
Split introduction sections into separate files to allow the legal notice and notation sections appear in all documents without having the history show up everplace too. Add full list of reserved and non-reserved key words in syntax.sgml. Add a separate chapter to the admin guide on security.
This commit is contained in:
Thomas G. Lockhart
@@ -5,11 +5,13 @@
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This document is the user manual for the
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<Ulink url="http://postgresql.org/"><ProductName>PostgreSQL</ProductName></Ulink>
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database management system, originally developed at the University
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of California at Berkeley. <ProductName>PostgreSQL</ProductName> is based on
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of California at Berkeley.
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<ProductName>PostgreSQL</ProductName> is based on
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<Ulink url="http://s2k-ftp.CS.Berkeley.EDU:8000/postgres/postgres.html">
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<ProductName>Postgres release 4.2</ProductName></Ulink>.
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The <ProductName>Postgres</ProductName> project,
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led by Professor Michael Stonebraker, has been sponsored by the
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led by Professor Michael Stonebraker, was sponsored by the
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Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (<Acronym>DARPA</Acronym>), the
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Army Research Office (<Acronym>ARO</Acronym>), the National Science
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Foundation (<Acronym>NSF</Acronym>), and ESL, Inc.
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@@ -65,418 +67,13 @@ it is firmly in the relational database world. In fact, some commercial database
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have recently incorporated features pioneered by <ProductName>Postgres</ProductName>.
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</Sect1>
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<Sect1>
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<Title>A Short History of <ProductName>Postgres</ProductName></Title>
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<Sect2>
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<Title>The Berkeley <ProductName>Postgres</ProductName> Project</Title>
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&history;
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<Para>
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Implementation of the <ProductName>Postgres</ProductName> <Acronym>DBMS</Acronym> began in 1986. The
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initial concepts for the system were presented in
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<!--
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<XRef LinkEnd="STON86">
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-->
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<Citation>[STON86]</Citation>
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and the definition of the initial data model
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appeared in
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<!--
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<XRef LinkEnd="ROWE87">.
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-->
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<Citation>[ROWE87]</Citation>.
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The design of the rule system at
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that time was described in
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<!--
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<XRef LinkEnd="STON87a">.
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-->
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<Citation>[STON87a]</Citation>.
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The rationale
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and architecture of the storage manager were detailed in
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<!--
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<XRef LinkEnd="STON87b">.
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-->
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<Citation>[STON87b]</Citation>.
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</Para>
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&about;
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<Para>
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<ProductName>Postgres</ProductName> has undergone several major releases since
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then. The first "demoware" system became operational
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in 1987 and was shown at the 1988 <Acronym>ACM-SIGMOD</Acronym>
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Conference. We released Version 1, described in
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<!--
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<XRef LinkEnd="STON90a">,
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-->
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<Citation>[STON90a]</Citation>,
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to a few external users in June 1989. In response to a
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critique of the first rule system
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<!--
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(<XRef LinkEnd="STON89">),
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-->
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(<Citation>[STON89]</Citation>),
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the rule
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system was redesigned
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<!--
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(<XRef LinkEnd="STON90b">)
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-->
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(<Citation>[STON90b]</Citation>)
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and Version 2 was
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released in June 1990 with the new rule system.
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Version 3 appeared in 1991 and added support for multiple
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storage managers, an improved query executor, and a
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rewritten rewrite rule system. For the most part,
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releases since then have focused on portability and
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reliability.
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</Para>
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&info;
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<Para>
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<ProductName>Postgres</ProductName> has been used to implement many different
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research and production applications. These include: a
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financial data analysis system, a jet engine
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performance monitoring package, an asteroid tracking
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database, a medical information database, and several
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geographic information systems. <ProductName>Postgres</ProductName> has also been
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used as an educational tool at several universities.
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Finally, <Ulink url="http://www.illustra.com/">Illustra Information Technologies</Ulink> picked up
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the code and commercialized it.
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<ProductName>Postgres</ProductName> became the primary data manager for the
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<Ulink url="http://www.sdsc.edu/0/Parts_Collabs/S2K/s2k_home.html">Sequoia 2000</Ulink>
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scientific computing project in late 1992.
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Furthermore, the size of the external user community
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nearly doubled during 1993. It became increasingly
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obvious that maintenance of the prototype code and
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support was taking up large amounts of time that should
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have been devoted to database research. In an effort
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to reduce this support burden, the project officially
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ended with Version 4.2.
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</Para>
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</Sect2>
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<Sect2>
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<Title><ProductName>Postgres95</ProductName></Title>
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<Para>
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In 1994,
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<ULink url="mailto:ayu@informix.com">Andrew Yu</ULink>
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and
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<ULink url="http://http.cs.berkeley.edu/~jolly/">Jolly Chen</ULink>
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added a SQL language interpreter to <ProductName>Postgres</ProductName>, and the code was subsequently released to
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the Web to find its own way in the world. <ProductName>Postgres95</ProductName> was a public-domain, open source descendant
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of this original Berkeley code.
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</Para>
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<Para>
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<ProductName>Postgres95</ProductName> is a derivative of the last official release
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of <ProductName>Postgres</ProductName> (version 4.2). The code is now completely
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ANSI C and the code size has been trimmed by 25%. There
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are a lot of internal changes that improve performance
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and code maintainability. <ProductName>Postgres95</ProductName> v1.0.x runs about 30-50%
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faster on the Wisconsin Benchmark compared to v4.2.
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Apart from bug fixes, these are the major enhancements:
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<ItemizedList>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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The query language <ProductName>Postquel</ProductName> has been replaced with
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<Acronym>SQL</Acronym> (implemented in the server). We do not yet support
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subqueries (which can be imitated with user defined
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<Acronym>SQL</Acronym> functions). Aggregates have been
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re-implemented. We also added support for ``GROUP BY''.
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The <FileName>libpq</FileName> interface is still available for <Acronym>C</Acronym>
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programs.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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In addition to the monitor program, we provide a new
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program (<Application>psql</Application>) which supports <Acronym>GNU</Acronym> <FileName>readline</FileName>.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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We added a new front-end library, <FileName>libpgtcl</FileName>, that
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supports <Acronym>Tcl</Acronym>-based clients. A sample shell,
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pgtclsh, provides new Tcl commands to interface <Application>tcl</Application>
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programs with the <ProductName>Postgres95</ProductName> backend.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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The large object interface has been overhauled. We
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kept Inversion large objects as the only mechanism
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for storing large objects. (This is not to be
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confused with the Inversion file system which has been
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removed.)
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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The instance-level rule system has been removed.
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Rules are still available as rewrite rules.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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A short tutorial introducing regular <Acronym>SQL</Acronym> features as
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well as those of ours is distributed with the source
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code.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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<Acronym>GNU</Acronym> make (instead of <Acronym>BSD</Acronym> make) is used for the
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build. Also, <ProductName>Postgres95</ProductName> can be compiled with an
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unpatched <ProductName>gcc</ProductName> (data alignment of doubles has been
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fixed).
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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</ItemizedList>
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</Para>
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</Sect2>
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<Sect2>
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<Title><ProductName>PostgreSQL</ProductName></Title>
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<Para>
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By 1996, it became clear that the name <Quote>Postgres95</Quote> would not stand
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the test of time. A new name, <ProductName>PostgreSQL</ProductName>, was chosen to reflect the
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relationship between original <ProductName>Postgres</ProductName> and the more recent
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versions with <Acronym>SQL</Acronym> capability. At the same time, the version numbering
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was reset to start at 6.0, putting the numbers back into the sequence originally begun by
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the <ProductName>Postgres</ProductName> Project.
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<Para>
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The emphasis on development for the v1.0.x releases of <ProductName>Postgres95</ProductName>
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was on stabilizing the backend code.
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With the v6.x series of <ProductName>PostgreSQL</ProductName>, the emphasis has shifted from
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identifying and understanding existing problems in the backend to augmenting features and capabilities, although
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work continues in all areas.
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<Para>
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Major enhancements include:
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<ItemizedList>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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Important backend features, including subselects, defaults, constraints, and triggers, have been implemented.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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Additional <Acronym>SQL92</Acronym>-compliant language features have been added,
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including primary keys, quoted identifiers, literal string type coersion, type casting,
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and binary and hexadecimal integer input.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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Built-in types have been improved, including new wide-range date/time types and additional geometric type support.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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Overall backend code speed has been increased by approximately 20%, and backend startup time has decreased 80%.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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</ItemizedList>
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</Para>
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</Sect2>
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<Sect1>
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<Title>About This Release</Title>
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<Para>
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From now on, We will use <ProductName>Postgres</ProductName> to mean <ProductName>PostgreSQL</ProductName>.
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<Para>
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<ProductName>PostgreSQL</ProductName> is available without cost. This manual
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describes version 6.3 of <ProductName>PostgreSQL</ProductName>.
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<Para>
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Check the Administrator's Guide for a list of currently supported machines. In general,
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<ProductName>PostgreSQL</ProductName> is portable to any Unix/Posix-compatible system
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with full libc library support.
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</Sect1>
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<Sect1>
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<Title>Resources</Title>
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<Para>
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This manual set is organized into several parts:
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<VariableList>
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<VarListEntry>
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<Term>Tutorial</Term>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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An introduction for new users. Does not cover advanced features.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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</VarListEntry>
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<VarListEntry>
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<Term>User's Guide</Term>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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General information for users, including available commands and data types.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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</VarListEntry>
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<VarListEntry>
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<Term>Programmer's Guide</Term>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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Advanced information for application programmers. Topics include
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type and function extensibility, library interfaces, and application design issues.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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</VarListEntry>
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<VarListEntry>
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<Term>Administrator's Guide</Term>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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Installation and management information. List of supported machines.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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</VarListEntry>
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<VarListEntry>
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<Term>Developer's Guide</Term>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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Information for <ProductName>Postgres</ProductName> developers. This is intended
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for those who are contributing to the <ProductName>Postgres</ProductName>
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project; application development information should appear in the Programmer's Guide.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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</VarListEntry>
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<VarListEntry>
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<Term>Reference Manual</Term>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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Detailed reference information on command syntax.
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At the moment, this manual is very sparse, but eventually should contain
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information similar to that in the man pages.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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</VarListEntry>
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</VariableList>
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<Para>
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In addition to this manual set, there are other resources to help you with
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<ProductName>Postgres</ProductName> installation and use:
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<VariableList>
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<VarListEntry>
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<Term>man pages</Term>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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The man pages have general information on command syntax.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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</VarListEntry>
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<VarListEntry>
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<Term>FAQs</Term>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) documents address both general issues
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and some platform-specific issues.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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</VarListEntry>
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<VarListEntry>
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<Term>READMEs</Term>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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README files are available for some contributed packages.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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</VarListEntry>
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<VarListEntry>
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<Term>Web Site</Term>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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The <ULink url="postgresql.org"><ProductName>Postgres</ProductName></ULink> web site has some information
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not appearing in the distribution. There is a <ProductName>mhonarc</ProductName> catalog of mailing list traffic
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which is a rich resource for many topics.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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</VarListEntry>
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<VarListEntry>
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<Term>Mailing Lists</Term>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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The <ULink url="mailto:questions@postgresql.org"><ProductName>Postgres</ProductName> Questions</ULink>
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mailing list is a good place to have user questions answered. Other mailing lists are available; consult
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the web page for details.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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</VarListEntry>
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<VarListEntry>
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<Term>Yourself!</Term>
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<ListItem>
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<Para>
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<ProductName>Postgres</ProductName> is an open source product. As such, it depends on the user community for
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ongoing support. As you begin to use <ProductName>Postgres</ProductName>, you will rely on others
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for help, either through the documentation or through the mailing lists. Consider contributing your
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knowledge back. If you learn something which is not in the documentation, write it up and contribute it.
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If you add features to the code, contribute it. Even those without a lot of experience can provide
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corrections and minor changes in the documentation, and that is a good way to start.
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The <ULink url="mailto:docs@postgresql.org"><ProductName>Postgres</ProductName> Documentation</ULink>
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mailing list is the place to get going.
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</Para>
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</ListItem>
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</VarListEntry>
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</VariableList>
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</Sect1>
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<Sect1>
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<Title>Copyrights and Trademarks</Title>
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<Para>
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<ProductName>PostgreSQL</ProductName> is copyright (C) 1996-8 by the PostgreSQL Global Development Group,
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and is distributed under the terms of the Berkeley license.
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<Para>
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<ProductName>Postgres95</ProductName> is copyright (C) 1994-5 by the Regents of the University of California.
|
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Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its documentation
|
||||
for any purpose, without fee, and without a written agreement is hereby granted,
|
||||
provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph and the following two
|
||||
paragraphs appear in all copies.
|
||||
</Para>
|
||||
<Para>
|
||||
In no event shall the University of California be liable to
|
||||
any party for direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential
|
||||
damages, including lost profits, arising out of the use of this
|
||||
software and its documentation, even if the University of California
|
||||
has been advised of the possibility of such damage.
|
||||
</Para>
|
||||
<Para>
|
||||
The University of California specifically disclaims any
|
||||
warranties, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties
|
||||
of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
|
||||
The software provided hereunder is on an "as-is" basis, and
|
||||
the University of California has no obligations to provide
|
||||
maintainance, support, updates, enhancements, or modifications.
|
||||
</Para>
|
||||
|
||||
<Para>
|
||||
<Acronym>UNIX</Acronym> is a trademark of X/Open, Ltd. Sun4, SPARC, SunOS
|
||||
and Solaris are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. DEC,
|
||||
DECstation, Alpha AXP and ULTRIX are trademarks of Digital
|
||||
Equipment Corp. PA-RISC and HP-UX are trademarks of
|
||||
Hewlett-Packard Co. OSF/1 is a trademark of the Open
|
||||
Software Foundation.
|
||||
</Para>
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||||
&legal;
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|
||||
</Chapter>
|
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|
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Reference in New Issue
Block a user