Re: [HACKERS] How can we expand PostgreSQL ecosystem? - Mailing list pgsql-advocacy

On 11.03.2016 07:50, Tsunakawa, Takayuki wrote:
> From: Torsten Zuhlsdorff [mailto:mailinglists@toco-domains.de]
>> I don't believe that a list of every single site/application using
>> PostgreSQL would be helpful. Nobody would read this. There are
>> thousands of programming languages, but most people know around 10.
>> We should focus on well known software and their support of
>> PostgreSQL.
>
> Let me correct: not "using PostgreSQL" but "using other commercial
> databases, particularly Oracle/MySQL".

Both. There is plenty of software using PostgreSQL and the users are
unaware of this. For example GitLab is heavily used, even by big players
like NASA or Alibaba and it uses PostgreSQL. It is possible to use it
with MySQL but the handbook discourage the users because of many
problems with MySQL. This is very handy in discussions about a switch.

Beside this point your correction is correct.

> Anyway, I agree that it will require considerable perseverance to
> look through the list and select popular software.  But I want to
> extract at least the software categories (ETL, BI, office suite, IDE,
> etc.) as exhaustively as possible, and pick up a few software in each
> category to add support for PostgreSQL to.

Information based on software segmentations seems a pretty good idea.

> The page below may be where to start, but I'm afraid I can't select
> software categories that have something to do with DBMS.  Therefore,
> I thought I need a list of software which can integrate with other
> DBMSs.

It is not always easy to see where a database is involved. Maybe we
should not focus on software categories but on usage categories or
industrial categories.

A short explanation based at an example: image a logistic firm. There is
a database for the employees, for the routs to drive, the cars to use,
the goods to ship and even more. I see regularly a database to store GPS
information about the location of each car, a database about statistics
reaching form income to traffic jams.

But in most cases the users/implementors also don't know which category
of software the use. They simply searching for their problems and try
their solutions. So we should maybe add some more text to the categories
to make them easier findable.

>> And i like the idea of asking people where the want support for
>> PostgreSQL. Based on the list we maybe can find volunteers which
>> add support to the projects.
>
> Yes, exactly.  Once the list is prepared, I'd like to step forward to
> add support for PostgreSQL to those software.  I'll make a
> questionnaire using Google Forms or something.  But I don't yet know
> where to post it.  How can I reach the IT pros who are involved in
> determining the database to procure?  Stack Overflow, DBA Stack
> Exchange, or elsewhere?  Should I post the URL of questionnaire to
> Twitter or Facebook using some hash tag?

That is a hard question and for most firms sadly naive. Most times the
database (like the language or all other used tools) is selected based
on whatever the already use. Change comes often on two ways: first from
the outside through various articles. Since PostgreSQL becomes more and
more a topic in the IT news in Germany you can talk about it. Before
this nobody even wants to talk about it, because nobody "uses" it. This
is plain wrong, but that is the typical conclusion based on such an
information lack.
The second way is the daily worker, which tries to get its favorite
software in.

Focusing on the second one and our general propose i would take the
broad road. Stack Overflow, DBA Exchange, Usenet. Everything you could
reach, because it could be hard to get results.

And at least we need to do something with the results.

Greetings,
Torsten