Code Impact

Postgres Retrospective by Joseph M. Hellerstein


Listen Later

This article reminisces on the history of the Postgres project, spearheaded by Michael Stonebraker at UC Berkeley from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. It details Stonebraker's design philosophy and the project's technical innovations, including support for abstract data types, active databases, and novel storage and recovery mechanisms. The article highlights Postgres's evolution into the open-source PostgreSQL system, its significant commercial impact through various spin-off companies, and the lessons learned from its success. It also discusses the unexpected benefits of open-sourcing the research and the project's lasting influence on database technology. The author reflects on his own involvement and contributions to the project.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Code ImpactBy Sanket Makhija