PostgreSQL: Up and Running, 2nd Edition

Chapter 4. Using pgAdmin

pgAdmin III is the current rendition of the tried-and-true graphical administration tool for PostgreSQL. Although it has its shortcomings, we are always encouraged by not only how quickly bugs are fixed, but also how quickly new features are added. Since it’s positioned as the official graphical-administration tool for PostgreSQL and packaged with many binary distributions of PostgreSQL, pgAdmin has the responsibility to always be kept in sync with the latest PostgreSQL releases. If a new release of PostgreSQL introduce new features, you can count on the latest pgAdmin to let you manage it. If you’re new to PostgreSQL, you should definitely start with pgAdmin before exploring other tools.

Getting Started

Download pgAdmin from pgadmin.org. While on the site, you can opt to peruse one of the guides introducing pgAdmin. The tool is well-organized and, for the most part, guides itself quite well. For the adventurous, you can always try beta and alpha releases of pgAdmin. Your help in testing would be greatly appreciated by the PostgreSQL community.

Overview of Features

To whet your appetite, here’s a list of our favorite goodies in pgAdmin. More are listed in pgAdmin Features:

Graphical explain for your queries

This awesome feature offers pictorial insight into what the query planner is thinking. Gone are the days of trying to wade through the verbosity of text-based planner output.

SQL pane

pgAdmin ultimately interacts with PostgreSQL via SQL, and it’s not shy about ...