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PostgreSQL Advanced Features

Advanced PostgreSQL techniques including performance optimization, JSONB operations, window functions, and database administration

15 min read
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New to SQL? Start Here First!

This sheet covers PostgreSQL-specific advanced features. If you're new to SQL or need a refresher on basic SQL commands, we recommend starting with our SQL fundamentals sheet first.

Start with SQL Fundamentals

PostgreSQL Data Types

Unique and powerful data types in PostgreSQL

Common Data Types

Frequently used PostgreSQL data types

📄 Codesql
🟢 Essential - Know your data types for efficient storage
💡 Use TEXT instead of VARCHAR when length is unknown
📌 SERIAL is PostgreSQL's AUTO_INCREMENT
⚡ TIMESTAMPTZ is preferred over TIMESTAMP
🔗 Related: pg_typeof() to check data types
datatypesbasics

Arrays

Store multiple values in a single column

📄 Codesql
💡 Arrays are 1-indexed in PostgreSQL, not 0-indexed
📌 Use ANY() and ALL() for array comparisons
⚡ Arrays can hurt performance if overused
⚠️ Consider normalization for complex array queries
🔗 Related: unnest() to convert array to rows
arraysdatatypes

JSONB

Store and query JSON data efficiently

📄 Codesql
🟢 Essential - JSONB is perfect for flexible schemas
💡 Use JSONB not JSON for better performance
📌 -> returns JSON, ->> returns text
⚡ Index JSONB fields for fast queries
🔗 Related: jsonb_set(), jsonb_insert() for updates
jsonjsonbnosql

UUID & Special Types

Unique identifiers and specialized data types

📄 Codesql
💡 UUID v4 is great for distributed systems
📌 CITEXT requires extension but very useful
⚡ INET type validates and stores IP efficiently
🔗 Related: PostGIS for advanced geographic types
⚠️ MONEY type has limitations, consider NUMERIC
uuidspecial-types

Window Functions

Perform calculations across rows without grouping

Ranking Functions

Assign ranks and row numbers to results

📄 Codesql
🟢 Essential - Window functions are PostgreSQL's superpower
💡 PARTITION BY is like GROUP BY for windows
📌 ROW_NUMBER always gives unique numbers
⚡ Window functions often faster than subqueries
🔗 Related: PERCENT_RANK, CUME_DIST for distributions
window-functionsranking

Aggregate Window Functions

Running totals, moving averages, and cumulative calculations

📄 Codesql
💡 ROWS BETWEEN defines the window frame
📌 LAG/LEAD access other rows without self-join
⚡ Running totals much faster than correlated subqueries
🟢 Essential for time-series analysis
🔗 Related: range-based windows with RANGE BETWEEN
window-functionsaggregates

CTEs & Advanced Queries

Common Table Expressions and recursive queries

Basic CTEs

Simplify complex queries with named subqueries

📄 Codesql
🟢 Essential - CTEs make complex queries readable
💡 CTEs are like named temporary tables
📌 Can reference other CTEs defined earlier
⚡ MATERIALIZED forces CTE to run once
🔗 Related: Views for permanent named queries
ctewithsubqueries

Recursive CTEs

Process hierarchical and graph data

📄 Codesql
🔴 Advanced - Powerful but can be complex
💡 Always have a termination condition
⚠️ Watch for infinite loops - use path tracking
📌 Great for trees, graphs, and hierarchies
⚡ Consider ltree extension for hierarchies
recursivectehierarchy

Indexes & Performance

Optimize query performance with proper indexing

Index Types

Different index types for various use cases

📄 Codesql
🟢 Essential - Indexes make queries fast
💡 B-tree good for most cases, GIN for arrays/JSON
⚡ Partial indexes save space and improve performance
⚠️ Too many indexes slow down writes
📌 Use CONCURRENTLY in production to avoid locks
indexesperformance

Query Analysis

Analyze and optimize query performance

📄 Codesql
💡 EXPLAIN ANALYZE shows actual execution times
📌 Look for Seq Scan on large tables
⚡ Cache hit ratio should be > 95%
🟢 Essential for performance tuning
🔗 Related: pg_stat_statements extension
performanceanalysis

Optimization Techniques

Improve query performance with PostgreSQL-specific features

📄 Codesql
💡 VACUUM reclaims dead tuple space
📌 Partitioning helps with large time-series data
⚡ Materialized views cache complex query results
⚠️ Don't disable seqscan in production
🔗 Related: pgpool, pgbouncer for connection pooling
optimizationperformance

Full-Text Search

Built-in full-text search capabilities

Text Search Basics

Set up and use PostgreSQL full-text search

📄 Codesql
🟢 Essential - Native FTS without external tools
💡 tsvector stores preprocessed searchable text
📌 Use appropriate language configuration
⚡ GIN index required for good performance
🔗 Related: pg_trgm for fuzzy text matching
searchfulltext

Transactions & Concurrency

ACID compliance and concurrent access control

Transaction Control

Manage transactions and isolation levels

📄 Codesql
🟢 Essential - Ensure data consistency
💡 Use transactions for related operations
⚠️ Long transactions can cause blocking
📌 Savepoints allow partial rollback
🔗 Related: pg_locks view for lock monitoring
transactionslocks