In order for this book to be useful, you need access to a PostgreSQL client that is allowed to execute queries on a server. Ideally, you’ll also be the server administrator. Full client and server packages for PostgreSQL are available for most popular operating systems at https://www.postgresql.org/download/. All the examples here are executed at the Command Prompt, usually running the psql program. This makes them applicable to most platforms. It’s straightforward to do most of these operations by using a GUI tool for PostgreSQL, such as pgAdmin:

• pgAdmin: https://www.pgadmin.org/download/

Download the color images

We also provide a PDF file that has color images of the screenshots/diagrams used in this book. You can download it here: https://packt.link/gbp/9781835460580.

Conventions used

There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book.

Code in text: Indicates code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles. Here is an example: “Many experienced PostgreSQL DBAs will prefer to execute their own VACUUM commands.”

A block of code is set as follows:

autovacuum = on
track_counts = on

Any command-line input or output is written as follows:

VACUUM (DISABLE_PAGE_SKIPPING);

Sections

In this book, you will find several headings that appear frequently (Getting ready, How to do it..., How it works..., There’s more..., and See also).

To give clear instructions on how to complete a recipe, use these sections as follows:

Getting ready

This section tells you what to expect in the recipe and describes how to set up any software or any preliminary settings required for the recipe.

How to do it…

This section contains the steps required to follow the recipe.

How it works…

This section usually consists of a detailed explanation of what happened in the previous section.

There’s more…

This section consists of additional information about the recipe in order to make you more knowledgeable about the recipe.

See also

This section provides helpful links to other useful information for the recipe.