Return-Path: pg_adm@postgres.berkeley.edu Received: by postgres.Berkeley.EDU (5.61/1.29) id AA10010; Fri, 19 Mar 93 17:42:21 -0800 Message-Id: <9303200142.AA10010@postgres.Berkeley.EDU> From: Marc Teitelbaum Subject: POSTGRES Release 4 Version 1 To: postgres@postgres.berkeley.edu Sender: pg_adm@postgres.berkeley.edu Phone: +1 (510) 643-6448 Fax: +1 (510) 642-5775 Date: Fri, 19 Mar 93 17:42:32 PST Is officially released. If you picked up a version prior to this message you have a pre-release and should grab a fresh copy as there were bug fixes. === (skip this if you live in the united states) === For those of you that have problems ftp'ing such large files, I made two subdirectories in the "pub/postgres/postgres-v4r1" directory called "postgres-v4r1.sparc.split" and "postgres-v4r1.ultrix.split" which contain the ...tar.Z files split into 1 meg pieces. I'll mention it in the FAQ and README when the first person reples to me telling me they successfully grabbed it and constructed it back to the ...tar.Z file. In other words, I need feedback from our overseas friends telling me if the 1 meg split is small enough. Just cat the pieces back into a ...tar.Z file and continue with the installation instructions. === (continue) Here's a copy of the FAQ which, among other things, says where you get it. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Frequently Asked Questions about Postgres Q: What Is Postgres? Postgres is a database research project under Prof. Michael Stonebraker at U. C. Berkeley. To facilitate research efforts, a software test-bed was created; this is the "Postgres" DBMS software. The Postgres DBMS is extended relational or object oriented, depending on the buzzword du jour. The major purpose of this software is to provide a platform and a basis for the testing of implementations of new ideas in database research. Several graduate students, staff members, as well as undergraduate programmers have been working on the implementation of the Postgres software. After this paragraph, all references to "Postgres" refer to the software itself. Postgres Is: o Relational. One of the major goals of Postgres is to show that an essentially relational DBMS can be extended to handle complex objects, rules, and be highly extensible. o Highly extensible. Postgres allows user-defined operators, user-defined objects, and user-defined functions. o While Postgres is relational, object oriented ideas have been implemented in Postgres (inheritance, etc). o Numerous other features, such as query language procedures, rules, etc. which are beyond the scope of this discussion. For more info on the Postgres research itself, you can get the Postgres technical documentation described below. Q. What is the connection between Postgres and Ingres? A. There is none, aside from Prof. Stonebraker. There is no compatibility between the two software packages, and the research projects have differing objectives. We do not support University Ingres at all; questions about it should be sent to the USENET group "comp.databases". Q. How do I get the Postgres software package? A. In one of two ways: 1. Via anonymous FTP from postgres.berkeley.edu (Internet 128.32.149.1); the directory that contains relevent files is pub/postgres/postgres-v4r1 (Note: transmit .Z files in BINARY mode.) 2. If you don't have Internet access, you can get Postgres by sending a check for US $150 payable to Regents of the University of California This should be addressed to The Postgres Project 557 Evans Hall University of California Berkeley, CA 94720 Indicate in your accompanying letter whether you want the system on a 9-track tape at 1600 BPI, at 6250 BPI, on a Sun cartridge tape (QIC 24 format), or on a TK50 DEC cartridge tape. Sorry - we cannot deliver Postgres via e-mail, netnews, or in a finger .plan file. Q. What is the Postgres query language? A. Postquel, which is an incompatible superset of Quel. Q. What about SQL support? A. We do not support SQL at this time. Q. What does Postgres run on? A. Postgres 4.1 is supported on Sparc, and DECstations running Ultrix 4.2 or higher. The experience of outside developers indicates that Postgres is relatively easy to port to any system that supports: 1. Berkeley-style sockets 2. System V shared memory and semaphores 3. A K & R compatible C compiler 4. Other "normal" Unix system calls Some header file problems may be encountered; these are easily fixed by a programmer knowledgable with the local OS. The most difficult part of the port is porting the dynamic object code loader, which requires interpreting object file headers. Q. How do I get papers about Postgres? A. The documents and manpages are available directly in the POSTGRES source. At the top level there are pre-formatted manual pages and a reference manual. There a re a number of other documents in the src/old_doc directory and there is a directory in there that has pre-formatted postscript files. To order hard-copies of technical reports individually; for more details, send e-mail or call Sarah Burke at (510) 642-3417; her e-mail address is elisa@postgres.berkeley.edu Q. What is the status of the Postgres implementation? A. It is not up to commercial levels of reliability. I would not want _my_ payroll records in it :-) However, it is quite adaquate for managing scientific and experimental datasets and as an instructional system. Its speed on applications which stress transaction processing is not particularly good, but it is within about 50% of commercial systems on the more "report-oriented" Wisconsin benchmark, and is twice as fast as University Ingres on the Wisconsin. Q. Does Postgres have a user interface? A report generator? A. No and no, not as shipped. Q. What about a C-callable interface for writing applications? A. There most definitiely is one, called libpq. There is also an interface for referencing Postgres data from shell scripts. Get the Postgres reference manual for details. Q. Is there a BBS/discussion group about Postgres? A. Yes - the mailing list postgres@postgres.berkeley.edu has over two hundred readers and gateways; you can subscribe to the mailing list by sending mail to postgres-request@postgres.berkeley.edu with "ADD" as the Subject. You UNsubscribe from the mailing list by sending mail to postgres-request@postgres.berkeley.edu with "DEL" as the Subject. Q. How do I make a bug report? A. If you find a bug, send a description of your database schema, queries, and a stack dump (type "where" in DBX) if possible to bug-postgres@postgres.berkeley.edu Q. How do I find out about known bugs? A. The known bug list for version 4.1 does not exist yet, but will be placed in the file pub/postgres/postgres-v4r1/postgres.bugs as soon as we start getting feedback on the release. Q. Please summarize the important files on postgres.berkeley.edu A. Please see pub/postgres/postgres-v4r1/README Q. Please summarize the important Postgres mailing aliases A. Mailing Address Purpose postgres@postgres Postgres general discussion and announcements postgres-request@postgres Administrative requests (ADD/DEL) bug-postgres@postgres Postgres bug reports postgres-questions@postgres Questions to the developers of Postgres Q. Please summarize the main contacts at the Postgres group A. Address/Phone Role Marc Teitelbaum Postgres Chief Programmer marc@postgres.berkeley.edu (510) 643-6448 Elisa Kwon Assistant to the Postgres group elisa@postgres.berkeley.edu (510) 642-3417