November 2025
Beginner to intermediate
400 pages
11h 43m
English
Overview
You probably don’t need a collection of specialty databases. Just use Postgres instead!
Written for application developers and database pros, Just Use Postgres! shows you how to get the most out of the powerful Postgres database.
In Just Use Postgres! you’ll learn how to:
Over the decades, PostgreSQL, aka Postgres, has grown into the most powerful general-purpose database and has become the de facto standard for developers worldwide. Just Use Postgres! takes a modern look at Postgres, exploring the database’s most up-to-date features for AI, time-series, full-text search, geospatial, and other application workloads.
About the Technology
You know that PostgreSQL is a fast, reliable, SQL compliant RDBMS. You may not know that it’s also great for geospatial systems, time series, full-text search, JSON documents, AI vector embeddings, and many other specialty database functions. For almost any data task you can imagine, you can use Postgres.
About the Book
Just Use Postgres! covers recipes for using Postgres in dozens of applications normally reserved for single-purpose databases. Written for busy application developers, each chapter explores a different use case illuminating the breadth and depth of Postgres’s capabilities. Along the way, you’ll also meet an incredible ecosystem of Postgres extensions like pgvector, PostGIS, pgmq, and TimescaleDB. You’ll be amazed at everything you can accomplish with Postgres!
What's Inside
About the Reader
For application developers, software engineers, and architects who know the basics of SQL.
About the Author
Denis Magda is a recognized Postgres expert and software engineer who worked on Java at Sun Microsystems and Oracle before focusing on databases and large-scale distributed systems.
Quotes
I was pleasantly surprised to learn many new things from this book.
- From the Afterword by Vlad Mihalcea
An excellent guide covering everything from basics to cutting-edge features.
- Dave Cramer, PostgreSQL JDBC Maintainer
Pleasant, easy to read with tonnes of great code.
- Mike McQuillan, McQTech Ltd
Well-organized and easy to search.
- Edward Pollack, Microsoft Data Platform MVP
The missing guide to understanding and using Postgres.
- Mehboob Alam, POSTGRESNX, Inc.
Written for application developers and database pros, Just Use Postgres! shows you how to get the most out of the powerful Postgres database.
In Just Use Postgres! you’ll learn how to:
- Use Postgres as an RDBMS for transactional workloads
- Develop generative AI, geospatial, and time-series applications
- Take advantage of modern SQL including window functions and CTEs
- Perform full-text search and process JSON documents
- Use Postgres as a message queue
- Optimize performance with various index types including B-trees, GIN, GiST, HNSW, and more
Over the decades, PostgreSQL, aka Postgres, has grown into the most powerful general-purpose database and has become the de facto standard for developers worldwide. Just Use Postgres! takes a modern look at Postgres, exploring the database’s most up-to-date features for AI, time-series, full-text search, geospatial, and other application workloads.
About the Technology
You know that PostgreSQL is a fast, reliable, SQL compliant RDBMS. You may not know that it’s also great for geospatial systems, time series, full-text search, JSON documents, AI vector embeddings, and many other specialty database functions. For almost any data task you can imagine, you can use Postgres.
About the Book
Just Use Postgres! covers recipes for using Postgres in dozens of applications normally reserved for single-purpose databases. Written for busy application developers, each chapter explores a different use case illuminating the breadth and depth of Postgres’s capabilities. Along the way, you’ll also meet an incredible ecosystem of Postgres extensions like pgvector, PostGIS, pgmq, and TimescaleDB. You’ll be amazed at everything you can accomplish with Postgres!
What's Inside
- Generative AI, geospatial, and time-series applications
- Modern SQL including window functions and CTEs
- Full-text search and JSON
- B-trees, GIN, GiST, HNSW, and more
About the Reader
For application developers, software engineers, and architects who know the basics of SQL.
About the Author
Denis Magda is a recognized Postgres expert and software engineer who worked on Java at Sun Microsystems and Oracle before focusing on databases and large-scale distributed systems.
Quotes
I was pleasantly surprised to learn many new things from this book.
- From the Afterword by Vlad Mihalcea
An excellent guide covering everything from basics to cutting-edge features.
- Dave Cramer, PostgreSQL JDBC Maintainer
Pleasant, easy to read with tonnes of great code.
- Mike McQuillan, McQTech Ltd
Well-organized and easy to search.
- Edward Pollack, Microsoft Data Platform MVP
The missing guide to understanding and using Postgres.
- Mehboob Alam, POSTGRESNX, Inc.
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