postgres/doc/src/sgml/external-projects.sgml

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 <appendix id="external-projects">
  <title>External Projects</title>

  <para>
   <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> is a complex software project,
   and managing it is difficult. We have found that many
   enhancements to <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> can be more
   efficiently developed separately from the core project. Separate
   projects can
   have their own developer teams, email lists, bug tracking,
   and release schedules. While their independence makes
   development easier, it makes users' jobs harder. They have to hunt
   around looking for database enhancements to meet their needs.
   This section describes some of the more popular externally
   developed enhancements and guides you on how to find them.
  </para>

  <para>
   Many <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>-related projects are
   hosted at either 
   <ulink url="http://gborg.postgresql.org"><productname>GBorg</></ulink>
   or <ulink url="http://pgfoundry.org"><productname>pgFoundry</></ulink>.
   There are other <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>-related projects that are hosted
   elsewhere, but you will have to do an Internet search to find them.
  </para>

 <sect1 id="external-interfaces">
  <title>Externally Developed Interfaces</title>

  <indexterm>
   <primary>interfaces</primary>
  </indexterm>

  <para>
   <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> includes very few interfaces
   with the base distribution. <application>libpq</> is packaged because
   it is the primary <application>C</> interface and many other
   interfaces are built on top of it. <application>ecpg</> is packaged
   because it is tied to the server-side grammar so is very dependent
   on the database version. All the other interfaces are independent
   projects and must be installed separately.
  </para>

  <para>
   Some of the more popular interfaces are:

   <variablelist>
    <varlistentry>
     <term>psqlODBC</term>
     <listitem>
      <para>
       This is the most common interface for <application>Windows</>
       applications.
      </para>
     </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

    <varlistentry>
     <term>pgjdbc</term>
     <listitem>
      <para>
       A <application>JDBC</> interface.
      </para>
     </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

    <varlistentry>
     <term>Npgsql</term>
     <listitem>
      <para>
       <application>.Net</> interface for more recent
       <application>Windows</> applications.
      </para>
     </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

    <varlistentry>
     <term>libpqxx</term>
     <listitem>
      <para>
       A newer <application>C++</> interface.
      </para>
     </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

    <varlistentry>
     <term>libpq++</term>
     <listitem>
      <para>
       An older <application>C++</> interface.
      </para>
     </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

    <varlistentry>
     <term>pgperl</term>
     <listitem>
      <para>
       A <application>Perl</> interface with an <acronym>API</> similar
       to <application>libpq</>.
      </para>
     </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

    <varlistentry>
     <term>DBD-Pg</term>
     <listitem>
      <para>
       A <application>Perl</> interface that uses the
       <acronym>DBD</>-standard <application>API</>.
      </para>
     </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

    <varlistentry>
     <term>pgtclng</term>
     <listitem>
      <para>
       A newer version of the <application>Tcl</> interface.
      </para>
     </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

    <varlistentry>
     <term>pgtcl</term>
     <listitem>
      <para>
       The original version of the <application>Tcl</> interface.
      </para>
     </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

    <varlistentry>
     <term>PyGreSQL</term>
     <listitem>
      <para>
       A <application>Python</> interface library.
      </para>
     </listitem>
    </varlistentry>

   </variablelist>

   All of these can be found at
   <ulink url="http://gborg.postgresql.org"><productname>GBorg</></ulink>
   or <ulink url="http://pgfoundry.org"><productname>pgFoundry</></ulink>.
   </para>

 </sect1>
 
 <sect1 id="external-extensions">
 <title>Extensions</title>

  <indexterm>
   <primary>extensions</primary>
  </indexterm>

  <para>
   <productname>PostgreSQL</> was designed from the start to be
   extensible. For this reason, extensions loaded into the database can
   function just like features that are packaged with the database. The
   <filename>contrib/</> directory shipped with the source code
   contains a large number of extensions. The <filename>README</> file
   in that directory contains a summary. They include conversion tools,
   full-text indexing, <acronym>XML</> tools, and additional data types
   and indexing methods. Other extensions are developed independently,
   like <application>PostGIS</>. Even <application>PostgreSQL</>
   replication solutions are developed externally. For example,
   <application>Slony-I</> is a popular master/slave replication solution
   that is developed independently from the core project.
  </para>

  <para>
   There are several administration tools available for
   <productname>PostgreSQL</>. The most popular is
   <application>pgAdmin</>, and there are several commercially
   available ones.
  </para> 

 </sect1>
</appendix>

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