Advantages - Postgres over Oracle Database?
Postgres and Oracle Database are both powerful relational
database management systems (RDBMS) with their own strengths and weaknesses.
Here are few Advantages of Postgres over Oracle:
Open Source:
PostgreSQL is open-source and free to use. On the other hand,
Oracle Database requires you to buy a license, which can be expensive.
Ease of use:
PostgreSQL is well-regarded among developers for being
straightforward and easy to use. Its syntax is often seen as more intuitive and
user-friendly compared to Oracle, which is known for having more complex syntax.
Application programming:
Both Oracle and Postgres offer a way for application API to
communicate to the database. But Postgres is open source, which means developers can easily
use any Postgres component by just adding a header file to your project.
Authentication:
PostgreSQL authentication is simpler compared to Oracle.
PostgreSQL commonly uses host-based authentication and can support a wide range of
authentication methods. On the other hand, Oracle's authentication process is often more
complex and can involve additional layers of security, such as Oracle Wallet for managing
credentials or Single Sign-On (SSO) solutions.
Extensibility:
Oracle mainly uses its own special plug-ins, which are made by
Oracle itself, whereas Postgres' extension system is supported by the general community, so
thousands of plug-ins are available. PostgreSQL provides various add-ons called extensions,
which lets users adjust and expand its capabilities to suit their specific requirements.
Performance:
In PostgreSQL, you can create an unlimited number of nodes in
a read cluster, therefore the cost of any read operation can be reduced to nothing .This
means you can adjust it for different tasks easily. Oracle allows this too, but each extra
node adds more to the overall cost.
Scalability:
PostgreSQL can grow bigger by adding more power to one server
(vertical scaling) or by spreading its data across many servers (horizontal scaling), kind
of like having many people working together. Oracle can do these too, but because PostgreSQL
is open-source, it might be easier for some situations where you need to spread the workload
across many servers.
Licensing and Cost:
Since PostgreSQL is free and open-source, you don't have to
pay for licenses. This can save a lot of money, especially for organizations with budget
constraints or those seeking cost-effective solutions.
Replication and High Availability:
PostgreSQL has features that replicate data automatically,
like streaming replication and logical replication. It also has tools like Patroni or repmgr
to keep your data available even if something goes wrong. These features are strong and give
you different ways to make sure your data is always there when you need it.
Development Velocity:
PostgreSQL's open-source nature and agile development model
often result in faster feature releases and adoption of modern technologies and standards,
allowing users to take advantage of the latest advancements in database technology more
quickly.