--- title: "Oracle gets into the Postgres game" publication: "Postgres Weekly" issue: 523 published_at: "2023-09-27" canonical_url: "https://postgresweekly.com/issues/523" --- Plus how Peter Eisentraut got 1_234_567 into Postgres via the SQL standard. | #​523 — September 27, 2023 [Web Version](https://postgresweekly.com/issues/523) Together with [![EDB\](https://res.cloudinary.com/cpress/image/upload/c_fill,g_auto,e_trim,w_308,h_100/e_make_transparent/co_white,e_outline:7/vrltbo1rhou91lmjw2rl.png)](https://www.enterprisedb.com/accounts/register/biganimal?utm_source=postgresweekly&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=GL-DS--BigAnimal-DSS) Postgres Weekly [![\](https://res.cloudinary.com/cpress/image/upload/w_1280,e_sharpen:60,q_auto/no4bngifotliu86h9gig.jpg)](https://adriano.fyi/posts/2023-09-24-choose-postgres-queue-technology/) [Choose Postgres' Queue Technology](https://adriano.fyi/posts/2023-09-24-choose-postgres-queue-technology/) — If Postgres [is a great pub/sub and job server](https://webapp.io/blog/postgres-is-the-answer/) on its own, why does using it as one get called [‘hacky’](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20022572) and why do most popular background job libraries use Redis? Adriano encourages us to think about the tradeoffs and to consider when ‘boring technology’ like Postgres provides precisely what your use case requires. Adriano Caloiaro 🗣 Adriano's post kicked off [an extensive Hacker News discussion](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37636841) where a lot of folks shared stories and opinions about scalability, the potential downsides of `LISTEN`/`NOTIFY`, the benefits of transactions for queues, why people dislike RabbitMQ, and more. [Updates to JSON Functionality in Postgres 16](https://www.crunchydata.com/blog/json-updates-postgres-16) — A quick, practical look at a few new features including `IS JSON OBJECT`, `JSON_ARRAY()`, `JSON_ARRAYAGG()`, `JSON_OBJECT()` and `JSON_OBJECTAGG()` Christopher Winslett [![\](https://copm.s3.amazonaws.com/913425c7.png)](https://www.enterprisedb.com/accounts/register/biganimal?utm_source=postgresweekly&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=GL-DS--BigAnimal-DSS) [An Open Source Alternative to PostgreSQL in the Cloud. Start for Free with $300 in Credits](https://www.enterprisedb.com/accounts/register/biganimal?utm_source=postgresweekly&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=GL-DS--BigAnimal-DSS) — Innovate faster with fully managed Postgres now available with high availability and distributed capabilities – with access to top-tier Postgres experts whenever you need them. EDB BigAnimal sponsor 📊 Slides: [The Major Features of Postgres 16](https://momjian.us/main/writings/pgsql/features.pdf) — Esteemed Postgres expert Bruce Momjian has released an easily scannable slidedeck covering the most significant improvements and features that landed in Postgres 16. Bruce Momjian [Timescale Vector: How Timescale Enhanced `pgvector` for Its Managed Postgres Cloud](https://www.timescale.com/blog/how-we-made-postgresql-the-best-vector-database/) — Best known for their work on [TimescaleDB](https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb) bringing time series data functionality to Postgres, the Timescale folks have turned their hand to vectors. _Timescale Vector_, only available on Timescale's platform for now, enhances [pgvector](https://github.com/pgvector/pgvector) with a [DiskANN](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/project-akupara-approximate-nearest-neighbor-search-for-large-scale-semantic-search/) inspired indexing approach. Timescale Team 🔗 LLM framework [LangChain has already announced support](https://blog.langchain.dev/timescale-vector-x-langchain-making-postgresql-a-better-vector-database-for-ai-applications/) for Timescale Vector with a post that goes into more depth about the use cases. _IN BRIEF:_ - 🔢 Peter Eisentraut tells the tale of how he worked on bringing [support for grouping digits into the SQL standard](http://peter.eisentraut.org/blog/2023/09/20/grouping-digits-in-sql) (e.g. `1_000_000`) and, thereafter, into Postgres (where it shipped in Postgres 16). - ⭐️ Oracle, yes, _that Oracle_, is [getting into the Postgres hosting game.](https://blogs.oracle.com/cloud-infrastructure/post/oci-database-postgres) It's pitched as a natural progression as Oracle Cloud already offers services atop open source projects like Redis and OpenSearch. - Two days remain to [apply for a _PostgresUS Diversity Scholarship_](https://pashagolub.github.io/blog/2023/postgres-diversity-scolarship/) if you need assistance to attend [PGConf NYC](https://2023.pgconf.nyc/) next month. - [ElectricSQL](https://electric-sql.com/) is a new reactive, real-time sync layer built atop Postgres. Drop it into an existing Postgres-based system and get instant local-first data synced into your apps. 🎲 [Rolling the Dice with Postgres' Random Functions](https://www.crunchydata.com/blog/rolling-the-dice-with-postgres-random-function) — Examples of generating random numbers, picking random rows, working with normal distributions (by means of Postgres 16’s `random_normal` function), and just how random (or not) Postgres’s ‘random’ values really are. Paul Ramsey [The Evolution of Logical Replication](https://amitkapila16.blogspot.com/2023/09/evolution-of-logical-replication.html) — A comprehensive summary of the progression in Postgres’s support for logical replication from the introduction of logical decoding in Postgres 9.4 nine years ago through to the latest additions in Postgres 16. Amit also briefly covers a few features to be expected in Postgres 17+ Amit Kapila [Setting Per-User Server Variables](https://momjian.us/main/blogs/pgblog/2023.html#September_25_2023) — Postgres can be configured using a myriad of parameters, many of which can be changed at runtime, and some of which are for superusers only. Postgres 15 added the ability to use `GRANT` to let non-superusers change superuser-restricted server variables. Bruce Momjian [`\watch`'s Postgres 16 Improvement](https://fluca1978.github.io/2023/09/22/PostgreSQL16psqlwatch.html) — You can now specify how many times you want it to iterate before stopping. Luca Ferrari [Getting Postgres Logs in a GitHub Action](https://brandur.org/fragments/postgres-logs-in-github-actions) Brandur Leach [Monitoring Performance for Postgres with Citus](https://www.cybertec-postgresql.com/en/monitoring-performance-citus-postgresql/) Hans-Jürgen Schönig [All the Ways to Capture Changes in Postgres](https://blog.sequin.io/all-the-ways-to-capture-changes-in-postgres/) Anthony Accomazzo (Sequin) [Postgres 16: The Exciting and the Unnoticed](https://tembo.io/blog/postgres-16/) Samay Sharma (Tembo) Code and Tools [Instant.dev: A New Postgres-Focused ORM for JavaScript](https://instant.dev/) — _Instant_ is a newly released ORM spun out of the [Autocode](https://autocode.com/) platform that aims to provide a more Ruby on Rails/Active Record style experience, setting it apart from most other players in the increasingly rich JavaScript ORM ecosystem. instant․dev [How We Made PostgreSQL a Better Vector Database for AI Applications](https://www.timescale.com/blog/how-we-made-postgresql-the-best-vector-database/?utm_campaign=vectorlaunch&utm_source=cooperpress&utm_medium=paid) Timescale sponsor [Citus 12.1 Released with Postgres 16 Support](https://www.citusdata.com/blog/2023/09/22/adding-postgres-16-support-to-citus-12-1/) — Microsoft’s distributed Postgres extension takes another gentle step forward with the addition of Postgres 16 support. [Release notes.](https://www.citusdata.com/updates/v12-1/) Citus Data [How to Try Out OrioleDB](https://smalldatum.blogspot.com/2023/09/trying-out-orioledb.html) — [OrioleDB](https://www.orioledata.com/) is an alternative storage engine for Postgres that’s [currently in beta.](https://www.orioledata.com/blog/beta-released/) Mark shares his notes on how he got it running. Mark Callaghan **Got a new email?** You can [change your address here](https://postgresweekly.com/edit_subscription/*|UID|*). --- **Bored of us?** [Click here to stop getting Postgres Weekly](https://postgresweekly.com/leave/*|UID|*). --- **Got a link for us?** Reply and tell us. We can't include everything but we'll look at anything you send. _Thanks!_ --- Published by Cooper Press Ltd. Fairfield Enterprise Centre, Louth, LN11 0LS, United Kingdom Postgres, PostgreSQL and the Slonik Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of the PostgreSQL Community Association of Canada. 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