Optimizing Queries
16
Copyright
© Postgres Professional, 2019–2024
Authors Authors: Egor Rogov, Pavel Luzanov, Ilya Bashtanov
Photo by: Oleg Bartunov (Phu monastery, Bhrikuti summit, Nepal)
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2
Administrators
DBA1, 3 days
Basic course
on PostgreSQL administration
DBA2, 4 days
Configuration and monitoring
QPT, 3-day
Optimizing Queries
DBA3, 2 days
Backup
and replication
SQL Basics
E. P. Morgunov
"PostgreSQL. SQL basics
PGPRO, 3 days
Features of
Postgres Pro Enterprise
To attend these courses, you need a basic understanding of the SQL
language. Our curriculum doesn't include a dedicated SQL course, but there
are many books and other resources available to help you master SQL. We
recommend the book "PostgreSQL. SQL basics" by Evgeny Morgunov
For administrators, we offer the following courses.
The DBA1 course covers PostgreSQL architecture, installation, basic
configuration, and server management. The course covers the key
administrative tasks. The course provides an overview of access
management, backup, and replication.
The DBA2 course focuses on determining appropriate configuration
parameters based on an understanding of the internals of the server. It also
talks about monitoring the server and using feedback for iterative parameter
tweaking. The course covers settings related to localization, extension
management, and the server update process.
The DBA3 covers backups, as well as configuration and usage scenarios of
physical and logical replication. It also provides a general overview of how to
build scalable high-availability clusters and discusses the related challenges.
This QPT course provides an in-depth look at query planning and execution
mechanisms, explores instance parameter configuration related to
performance, and covers techniques for identifying and optimizing
problematic queries.
3
Developers
DEV1, 4 days
Basic course
backend development
DEV2, 4 days
Advanced course
QPT, 3-day
Optimizing Queries
SQL Basics
E. P. Morgunov
"PostgreSQL. SQL basics
PGPRO, 3 days
Features of
Postgres Pro Enterprise
For backend developers, we offer a special range of courses.
The basic course is the DEV1 course. It provides general information about
the architecture of PostgreSQL and the use of basic database objects;
server-side programming in SQL and PL/pgSQL languages using basic data
types (including the composite type and arrays), as well as fronted
interactions.
The DEV2 course examines the features of the server's internal structure
that affect the development of application code, and comprehensively
discusses extensibility: the ability to extend server mechanisms with your
own code, which allows you to use PostgreSQL to solve a wide variety of
tasks.
The PGPRO course discusses additional features provided by the Postgres
Pro Enterprise DBMS.
The QPT and PGPRO courses are intended for both developers and
administrators.
DBA courses can be interesting to developers if they would like to deepen
their knowledge of PostgreSQL internals, or if there is no separate
administrator role in their project.
4
About the QPT Course
Duration: 3 days
Background knowledge required
Familiarity with the Unix operating system
Solid SQL skills (familiarity with PL/pgSQL is not required, but helpful)
PostgreSQL as covered in the DBA1 or DEV1 course
Knowledge and skills gained
In-depth understanding of query planning and execution processes
Configuring instance parameters related to performance
Identifying and optimizing problematic queries
5
Provided Resources
Pre-configured virtual machine
Xubuntu 24.04 Operating System
PostgreSQL 16 with Russian documentation
Demo database "Air Transport"
DBeaver
Course handouts
Student's guide
presentations, demonstrations, practical assignments and assignment keys
(in html and pdf)
Demonstration Database Schema
If you are taking the course on your own, start with the Student's guide.
Among other things, it shows where to download and how to use the virtual
machine and other materials.
All course materials are available at:
Completing practical assignments is very important to gain the basic skills in
working with PostgreSQL. Be sure to try to complete the assignments
yourself first, and then review the provided keys, even if the assignment did
not raise questions. Assignment keys may contain additional information that
is not mentioned in presentations and demonstrations.
Course handouts (presentations, demonstrations, practical assignments and
keys) are available in two formats. html is good for browsing and copying
code snippets. pdf is divided into pages and is easy to print.
Additional reference materials will help you quickly find the information you
need.
DBeaver is installed on the virtual machine. Although we use psql
throughout the course, you can use this GUI tool if you like.
6
Course outline and schedule
Each training day is approximately 8 academic hours + lunch (1
hour)
Each topic usually consists of
a presentation with demos: ~25-60 min
practical assignments: ~20-30 min, including a break
7
Day 1
Demonstration database
01. Aviation
Query execution
02. Planning and execution
Data Access
03. 03. Access Methods
04. 04. Parallel Data Access
8
Day 2
Access Methods (Continued)
05. 05. Index Types
Sorting and Grouping
06. Sorting
07. 07. Grouping
Join Methods
08. Nested loop join
09. Hash join
10. Merge join
9
Day 3
Statistics
11. Basic statistics
12. Advanced Statistics
Query performance tuning
13. Profiling
14. Materialization
15. Functions
16. 16. Configuration Approaches
