Webtagr - Technology News Summarizer

PostgreSQL's Synchronous Commit: A Performance vs. Durability Trade-off

2025-03-19

This post explores the performance implications of PostgreSQL's `synchronous_commit` setting. Turning it off significantly boosts transaction throughput, reducing I/O and CPU load, but introduces a small risk window for data loss. The author demonstrates a 30% increase in TPS on I/O-constrained systems. The article advocates for a nuanced approach, suggesting adjusting `synchronous_commit` per session, transaction, or operation, with a Ruby on Rails example provided. The author also notes that on Aurora PostgreSQL, setting `synchronous_commit` to `off` yields the greatest performance gains.

Scaling PostgreSQL: Weird Issues and Solutions for High-Growth Startups

2025-02-09

This post tackles common PostgreSQL scaling challenges faced by high-growth startups. It covers issues like lock contention, index bloat, TOAST storage inefficiencies, and the complexities of vertical vs. horizontal scaling, append-only vs. update-heavy tables, and multi-tenancy. For each problem, practical solutions are offered, ranging from database parameter adjustments and concurrency tools to rethinking data access patterns and utilizing features like advisory locks. The author also explores advanced topics such as schema migrations under load, zero-downtime upgrades, and efficient COUNT query strategies. This is a valuable resource for engineers striving to optimize PostgreSQL performance in demanding environments.

Database Mocks: More Trouble Than They're Worth?

2024-12-30

While tempting for their speed and simplicity, the author argues that using database mocks for testing ultimately causes more problems than they solve. A user creation example highlights the differences between mocking and testing against a real database. Real database testing reveals potential issues early on, such as unique constraint violations, default value handling, and performance bottlenecks, saving debugging time and reducing production risks. As applications evolve and schemas change, real database tests better handle new validations, data type modifications, and timestamp precision changes, ensuring code aligns with the actual database. The author suggests prioritizing real database testing for data access layers, while using it at the service layer to expose business logic interactions with data. Controllers, however, can mock service calls effectively. Balancing real database tests and mocks is key to building robust applications.