Thread: Back on track -- 8.0 Press Release
Folks,
Can we get back to the main work of Advocacy? I still need help composing
the 8.0 press release. Below is the last non-fragmentary post.
Can some people here please take a stab at explaining each major feature to
the layman? 10-20 words each. Thanks!
========================
I'd like to see some sample text here. But please remember that the *entire*
press release will be less than 1000 words, so no paragraph-long descriptions
of a single feature! (for example, Rod's description of replication options
was nice but would have to be condensed to about 14 words, if we include it
at all) More detailed descriptions will go on our "news" page.
As a compromise between Peter's perspective and mine/Andrew's, I think that we
should focus on the features but name-drop. So we need to work in company
names at appropriate points, namely Fujitsu, Afilias, Red Hat, Open Source
Development Labs, Command Prompt, 2nd Quadrant, and SRA-America (am I
forgetting someone?). The names should get across the multi-company
involvement without dwelling on it.
Please take a stab at:
P1: announce landmark 8.0 version, 200 developers, etc. 4-5 lines, starting
with a sentence that covers who-what-when.
P2: major features, windows port, contributions by several new companies,
work with OSDL. 4-5 lines, again.
List: Major features:
Windows Port
Savepoints
PITR
Tablespaces
Memory/I/O overhaul
Planner improvements
-- each of the above should include 10 to 20 words about what the feature is
and why people should be excited about it.
P4: discuss major add-ins: Slony-I, PL/perlNG, PL/Java, etc.
"more features for dedicated PG users, see full release".
-- this paragraph will just *mention* the new add-ins for the last year; there
is no need (or space) to go into detail. My purpose for this paragraph is
that for a lot of news sources, this is the only coverage of PG they will
have all year, making it important to mention prominent add-ins let the
public think we are missing features.
--
Josh Berkus
Aglio Database Solutions
San Francisco
Here's a first draft. It's a little long and I've missed some sponsors, but I'm sure the community will hammer that stuff out! Thanks, --Josh ------ August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group today announced the availability of the landmark 8.0 version of the PostgreSQL database. PostgreSQL, created in 1986 by UC Berkeley, is the enterprise-ready database that is the collective work of over 200 developers. PostgreSQL 8.0 contains many new features that make the database a viable contender in the enterprise against the likes of Oracle and DB2. The full list can be found at the PostgreSQL website, but some of the major features include: Operability with Windows: PostgreSQL now works natively with Windows operating systems and does not need an emulation layer. This provides a big speed boost under Windows and makes PostgreSQL a viable replacement for Microsoft SQL Server. Savepoints: Savepoints allow specific parts of a transaction to be aborted without affecting the whole transaction. This feature is valuable for application developers who require error recovery within complex transactions. Point In Time Recovery: While PostgreSQL is very reliable, PITR increases its robustness by allowing continuous backup of the server. This allows data recovery to a point of failure or to any transaction in the past. Tablespaces: This feature, funded by Fujitsu, allows the database administrator to choose which filesystems are used for schemas, tables, and indexes. This allows the administrator to place whole databases on separate disks to improve performance. Improved Memory and I/O usage: With this release of PostgreSQL, the memory and disk I/O subsystems have been improved to use shared buffers more effectively. With this improvement comes an increase in speed and performance. Along with the new features come some new addins. Slony-I is a replication system funded by domain registry Afilias. PostgreSQL has gained a number of stored procedure languages, namely PL/PerlNG and PL/Java, which were sponsored by consultancy Command Prompt, Inc. There are many more features available for anyone who wants to use them. The PostgreSQL database can be downloaded freely at http://www.postgresql.org.
On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 josh@bitbuckets.com wrote:
> Along with the new features come some new addins. Slony-I is a
> replication system funded by domain registry Afilias. PostgreSQL has
> gained a number of stored procedure languages, namely PL/PerlNG and
> PL/Java, which were sponsored by consultancy Command Prompt, Inc.
> There are many more features available for anyone who wants to use them.
I like the wording, don't like the 'format' ... would it be possible to
maybe go bullet form here or something? maybe like:
"Along with the new features come some new addins:
- Slony-I, an OSS replication system funded by domain registry
Afilias
- PL/PerlNG and PL/Java, new server programming languages
sponsored by Command Prompt, Inc."
The original wording just seemed to blur it too much ... I think ...
----
Marc G. Fournier Hub.Org Networking Services (http://www.hub.org)
Email: scrappy@hub.org Yahoo!: yscrappy ICQ: 7615664
> > "Along with the new features come some new addins: > > - Slony-I, an OSS replication system funded by domain registry > Afilias > - PL/PerlNG and PL/Java, new server programming languages > sponsored by Command Prompt, Inc." > > The original wording just seemed to blur it too much ... I think ... > Well the only problem there is that we didn't have anything to do with plJava.. I do definately appreciate the mention though. CMD is plPHP and plPerl. So maybe: -plPerlNG, plPHP sponsored by Command Prompt, Inc. as well as plJava and the .Net provider Npgsql. I threw the .Net thing in there because I get a LOT of people calling me about it and they don't even know it exists. Just a though. Sincerely, Joshua D. Drake > ---- > Marc G. Fournier Hub.Org Networking Services > (http://www.hub.org) > Email: scrappy@hub.org Yahoo!: yscrappy ICQ: > 7615664 > > ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- > TIP 2: you can get off all lists at once with the unregister command > (send "unregister YourEmailAddressHere" to majordomo@postgresql.org) -- Command Prompt, Inc., home of Mammoth PostgreSQL - S/ODBC and S/JDBC Postgresql support, programming shared hosting and dedicated hosting. +1-503-667-4564 - jd@commandprompt.com - http://www.commandprompt.com PostgreSQL Replicator -- production quality replication for PostgreSQL
josh@bitbuckets.com wrote: > Point In Time Recovery: While PostgreSQL is very reliable, PITR increases > its robustness by allowing continuous backup of the server. This allows > data recovery to a point of failure or to any transaction in the past. I would rephrase like this, since PITR helps defend against failures other than in the database, such as hardware, application, etc... Point In Time Recovery: PITR increases system robustness by allowing continuous backup of the PostgreSQL server. This allows data recovery to a point of failure or to any transaction in the past. Great job! Mark
> Point In Time Recovery: PITR increases system robustness by allowing > continuous backup of the PostgreSQL server. This allows > data recovery to a point of failure or to any transaction in the past. > cool except robustness. I would say: Point In Time Recovery: PITR increases system reliability or Point In Time Recovery: PITR expands the PostgreSQL enterprise feature set by providing the ability to recover data to the point of failure or to any transaction in the past. J > Great job! > Mark > > ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- > TIP 5: Have you checked our extensive FAQ? > > http://www.postgresql.org/docs/faqs/FAQ.html -- Command Prompt, Inc., home of Mammoth PostgreSQL - S/ODBC and S/JDBC Postgresql support, programming shared hosting and dedicated hosting. +1-503-667-4564 - jd@commandprompt.com - http://www.commandprompt.com PostgreSQL Replicator -- production quality replication for PostgreSQL
josh@bitbuckets.com wrote: > August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group today announced > the availability of the landmark 8.0 version of the PostgreSQL database. We should probably use "PostgreSQL ORDBMS" rather than "PostgreSQL database" (it might be worth spelling out the acronym, not sure). > PostgreSQL, created in 1986 by UC Berkeley, is the enterprise-ready database > that is the collective work of over 200 developers. This suggests that (only) 200 people have contributed to PostgreSQL since 1986 -- I think you mean to say that 200 people contributed to 8.0, right? Also, it might be worth mentioning some formulation of "PostgreSQL, the most advanced open-source database". Repetition, repetition, repetition :) > Operability with Windows: AFAIK "operability" is not a word. How about "Native Windows support", "Complete support for Windows", or "Much improved Windows support"? > Savepoints: Savepoints allow specific parts of a transaction to be aborted > without affecting the whole transaction. This feature is valuable for > application developers who require error recovery within complex > transactions. Should we mention that FJ contributed some funding for this feature? -Neil
On Fri, 27 Aug 2004, Neil Conway wrote: > josh@bitbuckets.com wrote: >> August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group today announced >> the availability of the landmark 8.0 version of the PostgreSQL database. > > We should probably use "PostgreSQL ORDBMS" rather than "PostgreSQL database" > (it might be worth spelling out the acronym, not sure). > >> PostgreSQL, created in 1986 by UC Berkeley, is the enterprise-ready >> database >> that is the collective work of over 200 developers. > > This suggests that (only) 200 people have contributed to PostgreSQL since > 1986 -- I think you mean to say that 200 people contributed to 8.0, right? > > Also, it might be worth mentioning some formulation of "PostgreSQL, the most > advanced open-source database". Repetition, repetition, repetition :) > >> Operability with Windows: > > AFAIK "operability" is not a word. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/str/indexes/glossary/operability.html - the ease of operating the software [Deutsch 88]. ---- Marc G. Fournier Hub.Org Networking Services (http://www.hub.org) Email: scrappy@hub.org Yahoo!: yscrappy ICQ: 7615664
August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group today announced the availability of the landmark 8.0 version of the PostgreSQL ORDBMS. PostgreSQL, created in 1986 by UC Berkeley, is the most advanced open source database in existence today. Version 8 is the collective work of over 200 developers. PostgreSQL 8.0 contains many new features that make the database a viable contender in the enterprise against the likes of Oracle and DB2. The full list can be found at the PostgreSQL website, but some of the major features include: Native Windows Support: PostgreSQL now works natively with Windows operating systems and does not need an emulation layer. This provides a big speed boost under Windows and makes PostgreSQL a viable replacement for Microsoft SQL Server. Savepoints: Savepoints allow specific parts of a transaction to be aborted without affecting the whole transaction. This feature, funded by Fujitsu, is valuable for application developers who require error recovery within complex transactions. Point In Time Recovery: PITR expands the PostgreSQL enterprise feature set by providing the ability to recover data to the point of failure or to any transaction in the past. Tablespaces: This feature, funded by Fujitsu, allows the database administrator to choose which filesystems are used for schemas, tables, and indexes. This allows the administrator to place whole databases on separate disks to improve performance. Improved Memory and I/O usage: With this release of PostgreSQL, the memory and disk I/O subsystems have been improved to use shared buffers more effectively. With this improvement comes an increase in speed and performance. Along with the new features come some new addins: - Slony-I is a replication system funded by dot-org domain registry Afilias. - PostgreSQL has gained a number of stored procedure languages, namely PL/PerlNG and PL/PHP which were sponsored by consultancy Command Prompt, Inc. as well as PL/Java and the .Net provider Npgsql. - There are many more features available for anyone who wants to use them. The PostgreSQL database can be downloaded freely at http://www.postgresql.org.
On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 josh@bitbuckets.com wrote: > - Slony-I is a replication system funded by dot-org domain registry Afilias. > - PostgreSQL has gained a number of stored procedure languages, namely > PL/PerlNG and PL/PHP which were sponsored by consultancy Command Prompt, > Inc. as well as > PL/Java and the .Net provider Npgsql. > - There are many more features available for anyone who wants to use them. Maybe include a pointer to pgFoundry in here? ---- Marc G. Fournier Hub.Org Networking Services (http://www.hub.org) Email: scrappy@hub.org Yahoo!: yscrappy ICQ: 7615664
Martha Stewart called it a Good Thing when scrappy@postgresql.org ("Marc G. Fournier") wrote:
> On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 josh@bitbuckets.com wrote:
>
>> - Slony-I is a replication system funded by dot-org domain registry Afilias.
>> - PostgreSQL has gained a number of stored procedure languages, namely
>> PL/PerlNG and PL/PHP which were sponsored by consultancy Command Prompt,
>> Inc. as well as
>> PL/Java and the .Net provider Npgsql.
>> - There are many more features available for anyone who wants to use them.
>
> Maybe include a pointer to pgFoundry in here?
Yeah, and I think it might be worth a line to mention that
"pgxs provides coding infrastructure to make it easier to deploy
extension modules. Numerous extensions and applications are available
at GBorg.postgresql.org and PGFoundry.org"
--
let name="cbbrowne" and tld="cbbrowne.com" in name ^ "@" ^ tld;;
http://www3.sympatico.ca/cbbrowne/finances.html
"Windows: The ``Big O'' of operating systems."
The world rejoiced as josh@bitbuckets.com wrote: > - Slony-I is a replication system funded by dot-org domain registry > Afilias. I'm not sure what the "ultimate" point of clarification ought to be, but formally, it's Public Interest Registry <http://pir.org/> that 'own/operate' the DotOrg registry. That probably ought to get passed to Heather Carle for the "still brief, yet still accurate" wording. -- let name="cbbrowne" and tld="acm.org" in name ^ "@" ^ tld;; http://www3.sympatico.ca/cbbrowne/sap.html "A hack is a terrible thing to waste, please give to the implementation of your choice..." -- GJC
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Here's my stab, written before I read any further responses: > P1: announce landmark 8.0 version, 200 developers, etc. 4-5 lines, starting > with a sentence that covers who-what-when. The PostgreSQL Global Development Group is pleased to announce the release of version 8.0 of PostgreSQL, a powerful, full-featured RDMS (relation database management system). Hundreds of people from around the world joined together to produce a powerful new version which can more than match many commercial databases. > P2: major features, windows port, contributions by several new companies, > work with OSDL. 4-5 lines, again. Many companies have already recognized the potential of PostgreSQL and have sponsored development of the new features such as replication and point-in-time recovery. In addition, 8.0 is the first release with native support for Windows, which means that PostgreSQL can be deployed across every platform in your company. I'll work off the existing draft for the rest of it... - -- Greg Sabino Mullane greg@turnstep.com PGP Key: 0x14964AC8 200408280915 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- iD8DBQFBMIbbvJuQZxSWSsgRAtU+AJ9KWlmtCGIKsdDW6NaddYfW797blACfSOqK UmBIkmNte+6+P7SBwW3WFrQ= =wp22 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
People: > > Maybe include a pointer to pgFoundry in here? Possibly, yes. Depends on whether I get to fixing the rest of the PGFoundry stuff. > "pgxs provides coding infrastructure to make it easier to deploy > extension modules. Numerous extensions and applications are available > at GBorg.postgresql.org and PGFoundry.org" Only if pgxs is done before 8.0 ... However, I see a different paragraph for the "extras": The PostgreSQL has developed a host of add-ons and optional features since the 7.4 release. These include the Slony-I replication system, pgSphere spherical math, and the procedural languages PL/Java and PL/PHP. The PL/Perl procedural language and the Npgsql .NET data provider have been dramatically improved and expanded. Some of these extras are included with the source code and some are available at PGFoundry (www.pgfoundry.org). -- --Josh Josh Berkus Aglio Database Solutions San Francisco
On 8/27/2004 11:06 PM, josh@bitbuckets.com wrote: > Improved Memory and I/O usage: With this release of PostgreSQL, the > memory and disk I/O subsystems have been improved to use shared buffers > more effectively. With this improvement comes an increase in speed and > performance. Since you try to attach name tags to features, the ARC, bgwriter and vacuum-delay work (if that's what you mean with the above) was also sponsored by Afilias. I have no evidence that it actually increases speed or performance, and I would even say it reduces total throughput slightly. It makes the responstimes more predictable and gives them a lower standard deviation, which is a quality very much appreciated by those who have service level agreements saying ugly things like "98% of transactions must finish in under 3 seconds" in a 24x7 environment. Jan -- #======================================================================# # It's easier to get forgiveness for being wrong than for being right. # # Let's break this rule - forgive me. # #================================================== JanWieck@Yahoo.com #
josh@bitbuckets.com wrote: > August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group today > announced the availability of the landmark 8.0 version of the > PostgreSQL ORDBMS. PostgreSQL, created in 1986 by UC Berkeley, is the Spell out ORDBMS. Change UC Berkeley to University of California at Berkeley. > most advanced open source database in existence today. Version 8 is > the collective work of over 200 developers. > Point In Time Recovery: PITR expands the PostgreSQL enterprise Drop "enterprise". > The PostgreSQL database can be downloaded freely at > http://www.postgresql.org. A crude terminology reference: "database" -- a collection of structured data "database management system" -- software to manage databases "database system" -- a database management system acting on a particular database So in this case, you can download the "database management system". Actually, I would just say "software" here, because not all the software that you can download is concerned with managing databases. -- Peter Eisentraut http://developer.postgresql.org/~petere/
Josh Berkus wrote: > > "pgxs provides coding infrastructure to make it easier to deploy > > extension modules. Numerous extensions and applications are > > available at GBorg.postgresql.org and PGFoundry.org" > > Only if pgxs is done before 8.0 ... pgxs is done, but it's not a feature I would put in a press release. In fact, I consider pgxs a horrible hack, but it is convenient in some cases. -- Peter Eisentraut http://developer.postgresql.org/~petere/
Peter, > pgxs is done, but it's not a feature I would put in a press release. In > fact, I consider pgxs a horrible hack, but it is convenient in some > cases. That's good news. Tell me, what would it take to build an "apt-get" for PostgreSQL on top of pgxs? -Josh -- --Josh Josh Berkus Aglio Database Solutions San Francisco
Josh Berkus wrote: > That's good news. Tell me, what would it take to build an "apt-get" > for PostgreSQL on top of pgxs? I don't understand what one has to do with the other. -- Peter Eisentraut http://developer.postgresql.org/~petere/
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 My critique of this version: > August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group today announced > the availability of the landmark 8.0 version of the PostgreSQL ORDBMS. > PostgreSQL, created in 1986 by UC Berkeley, is the most advanced open > source database in existence today. Version 8 is the collective work of > over 200 developers. "Hundreds" sounds better than 200. Too many numbers in the paragraph already. "landmark" sounds a bit odd. ORDBMS should be spelled out, as should UC. Actually, I would drop the whole "created in 1986" part - what does it gain us? "in existence today" is a redundant. Just "today" or "in the world" or "available". We might want to mention our firendly license somewhere in here. > PostgreSQL 8.0 contains many new features that make the database a viable > contender in the enterprise against the likes of Oracle and DB2. The full > list can be found at the PostgreSQL website, but some of the major > features include: Perhaps put URL with mention of the website. Lose "enterprise". "viable contendor" is too weak of a phrase. "solid contendor"? "competitor?" > Native Windows Support: PostgreSQL now works natively with Windows > operating systems and does not need an emulation layer. This provides a > big speed boost under Windows and makes PostgreSQL a viable replacement > for Microsoft SQL Server. Maybe remove "operating" from "Windows operating systems". "big speed boost" is a little vague. "viable" is again a little weak. Perhaps "allows an upgrade from Microsoft SQL Server?" :) > Savepoints: Savepoints allow specific parts of a transaction to be > aborted without affecting the whole transaction. This feature, funded by > Fujitsu, is valuable for application developers who require error recovery > within complex transactions. Should we mention the phrase "nested transactions"? Would that be familiar to some people, or is that a PostgreSQLism? > Point In Time Recovery: PITR expands the PostgreSQL enterprise feature set > by providing the ability to recover data to the point of failure or to any > transaction in the past. "enterprise feature set" pretty fluffy. Would read the same to simply say "PITR provides the ability..." Maybe say "any time" in the past instead of "transaction" > Tablespaces: This feature, funded by Fujitsu, allows the database > administrator to choose which filesystems are used for schemas, tables, > and indexes. This allows the administrator to place whole databases on > separate disks to improve performance. Is it really "filesystems"? > Along with the new features come some new addins: "addins" a real word? - -- Greg Sabino Mullane greg@turnstep.com PGP Key: 0x14964AC8 200408291846 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- iD8DBQFBMl0pvJuQZxSWSsgRAqmNAKCdT4/tg+5nKuPhUojblzhX4CFTiACgm5fy pWsdtUivIkTLDqqIPZHbGAw= =rhts -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
On Sun, 29 Aug 2004, Greg Sabino Mullane wrote: > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > > My critique of this version: > >> August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group today announced >> the availability of the landmark 8.0 version of the PostgreSQL ORDBMS. >> PostgreSQL, created in 1986 by UC Berkeley, is the most advanced open >> source database in existence today. Version 8 is the collective work of >> over 200 developers. > > "Hundreds" sounds better than 200. Too many numbers in the paragraph already. Ya, I liked the 'hundreds' vs '200' ... 200 sounds too "finite" ... > We might want to mention our firendly license somewhere in here. "non-ambigous licensing" might be something to point out ... ---- Marc G. Fournier Hub.Org Networking Services (http://www.hub.org) Email: scrappy@hub.org Yahoo!: yscrappy ICQ: 7615664
August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group today announced the availability of the 8.0 version of the PostgreSQL Object-Relational Database Management System. PostgreSQL is the most advanced open source database in the world today. The database is icensed under a BSD-style license, which allows for cost-effective implementation in any project due to its lack of license fees. Version 8 is the collective work of hundreds of developers. PostgreSQL 8.0 contains many new features that make the database a strong contender against the likes of Oracle and DB2. Many companies have already recognized the potential of PostgreSQL and have sponsored development of the new features, which include: Native Windows Support: PostgreSQL now works natively with Windows systems and does not need an emulation layer. This provides a increased performance over previous Windows versions and makes PostgreSQL a strong upgrade from Microsoft SQL Server. Savepoints: Savepoints, also known as nested transactions, allow specific parts of a transaction to be aborted without affecting the whole transaction. This feature, funded by Fujitsu, is valuable for application developers who require error recovery within complex transactions. Point In Time Recovery: PITR provides the ability to recover data to the point of failure or to any time in the past. Tablespaces: This feature, funded by Fujitsu, allows the database administrator to choose which filesystems are used for schemas, tables, and indexes. This allows the administrator to place whole databases on separate disks to improve performance. Improved Memory and I/O usage: With this release of PostgreSQL, the memory and disk I/O subsystems have been improved to use shared buffers more effectively. With this improvement comes an increase in speed and performance. Along with the new features come some new addins: - Slony-I is a replication system funded by dot-org domain registry Afilias. - PostgreSQL has gained a number of stored procedure languages, namely PL/PerlNG and PL/PHP which were sponsored by consultancy Command Prompt, Inc. as well as PL/Java and the .Net provider Npgsql. - Pgxs provides coding infrastructure to make it easier to deploy extension modules. Numerous extensions and applications are available at GBorg.postgresql.org and PGFoundry.org The PostgreSQL database can be downloaded freely at http://www.postgresql.org.
On Sunday 29 August 2004 18:46, Greg Sabino Mullane wrote:
> My critique of this version:
> > PostgreSQL 8.0 contains many new features that make the database a viable
> > contender in the enterprise against the likes of Oracle and DB2. The
> > full list can be found at the PostgreSQL website, but some of the major
> > features include:
>
> "viable contendor" is too weak of a phrase. "solid contendor"?
> "competitor?"
>
make the database a viable alternative in the....
make the database an even better alternative to the likes of...
of course I'd recommend against any specific product mentions of competitors
if it were me...
> > Native Windows Support: PostgreSQL now works natively with Windows
> > operating systems and does not need an emulation layer. This provides a
> > big speed boost under Windows and makes PostgreSQL a viable replacement
> > for Microsoft SQL Server.
>
> Maybe remove "operating" from "Windows operating systems".
>
> "big speed boost" is a little vague.
>
> "viable" is again a little weak. Perhaps "allows an upgrade from
> Microsoft SQL Server?" :)
Given the reluctance of most of core to promote win32 postgresql, I think this
whole section should take on a different slant... something like:
Native Windows Support: PostgreSQL now works natively with Windows systems
without the need for special emulation software. This will dramatically
increase the ease of deployment as well as offering developers a true
enterprise class, open source database system to work with on the Windows
platform.
>
> > Savepoints: Savepoints allow specific parts of a transaction to be
> > aborted without affecting the whole transaction. This feature, funded by
> > Fujitsu, is valuable for application developers who require error
> > recovery within complex transactions.
>
> Should we mention the phrase "nested transactions"? Would that be familiar
> to some people, or is that a PostgreSQLism?
>
Nested transactions implys a different syntax than savepoints, and should
probably be avoided to limit confusion.
--
Robert Treat
Build A Brighter Lamp :: Linux Apache {middleware} PostgreSQL
Some suggestions... > August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group today announced > the availability of the 8.0 version of the PostgreSQL Object-Relational > Database Management System. PostgreSQL is the most advanced open source > database in the world today. The database is icensed under a BSD-style > license, which allows for cost-effective implementation in any project due > to its lack of license fees. Version 8 is the collective work of hundreds > of developers. ... in the world today, and is released under a "BSD-style" license, which allows maximum flexibility for corporate and individualusers, with no license fees regardless of how the software is used. This latest release is the collective workof hundreds of developers, building on almost twenty years of development dating back to the University of Californiaat Berkeley. > PostgreSQL 8.0 contains many new features that make the database a strong > contender against the likes of Oracle and DB2. ... features that meet or exceed the capabilities of leading commercial database software packages. > Many companies have > already recognized the potential of PostgreSQL and have sponsored > development of the new features, which include: Several of the new features have been underwritten by a growing number of corporate contributors, who view PostgreSQL asa strategic part of their overall I.T. plan. Highlights of PostgreSQL 8.0 include: > Native Windows Support: PostgreSQL now works natively with Windows > systems and does not need an emulation layer. This provides a increased > performance over previous Windows versions and makes PostgreSQL a strong > upgrade from Microsoft SQL Server. ... does not require any other emulation software. This provides dramatically improved performance and stability over previousversions, and offers a compelling alternative to Microsoft SQL Server for independent software vendors, corporateusers, and individual Windows developers. > Savepoints: Savepoints, also known as nested transactions, allow specific > parts of a transaction to be aborted without affecting the whole > transaction. This feature, funded by Fujitsu, is valuable for application > developers who require error recovery within complex transactions. ... parts of a database transaction to be aborted ... > Point In Time Recovery: PITR provides the ability to recover data to the > point of failure or to any time in the past. > > Tablespaces: This feature, funded by Fujitsu, allows the database > administrator to choose which filesystems are used for schemas, tables, > and indexes. This allows the administrator to place whole databases on > separate disks to improve performance. ... also funded by Fujitsu ... > Improved Memory and I/O usage: With this release of PostgreSQL, the > memory and disk I/O subsystems have been improved to use shared buffers > more effectively. With this improvement comes an increase in speed and > performance. ... disk input/output subsystems have been improved to use shared buffers more effectively, yielding significant increasesin speed and performance. > Along with the new features come some new addins: There are also several new external components which complement the core PostgreSQL database engine: > - Slony-I is a replication system funded by dot-org domain registry > Afilias. - Slony-I, a "master-slave" replication system with cascading and failover capabilities, suitable for data centers and backupsites, and also useful for seamless upgrades from earlier versions of PostgreSQL. Development of Slony-I was fundedby Afilias, a leading domain name registry. > - PostgreSQL has gained a number of stored procedure languages, namely > PL/PerlNG and PL/PHP which were sponsored by consultancy Command Prompt, > Inc. as well as PL/Java and the .Net provider Npgsql. - PostgreSQL has added to its roster of stored procedure languages with PL/PerlNG and PL/PHP (sponsored by consultancy CommandPrompt Inc.) and server-side Java through PL/Java. Also new with this release is Npgsql, a data provider for .Netweb services. > - Pgxs provides coding infrastructure to make it easier to deploy > extension modules. Numerous extensions and applications are available at > GBorg.postgresql.org and PGFoundry.org > > The PostgreSQL database can be downloaded freely at > http://www.postgresql.org.
I would ask if you all could please not list Afilias as the .ORG registry. We are only a technical sub-contractor. The only TLD that Afilias is 100% responsible for is .INFO, so if you must list our TLDs it's best to say "...Afilias who provides technical back-end services supporting the .INFO and .ORG Internet domains" or something similar. If this sentence is included in this release it should read: "Slony-I - a replication system funded by Internet domain registry Afilias." Feel free to tack on the "who provides ...." part above if you wish to include that level of detail. Overall I think the feature summaries in this release are good. And I will say that it is important for journalists that you do reference your commercial competition since they might not fully understand how your features stack up against them. Also I would suggest you add at least one quote. Ideally from a C-level executive talking about WHY this is important. Basically the 30,000 foot view of why v8 is an important to Postgres and a user's business. You also need a boilerplate at the end about Postgres that describes its history, the community that developed it, it's position in the market, and perhaps lists some users. I'd also suggest tightening the lead. The "PostgreSQL is the most advanced ..." should go into the first sentence. And the rest of that first paragraph should go into the boiler, or farther down in the release. The second sentence should really summarize the major "step forward" of the new version .... E.g.: "In version 8 PostgreSQL adds core functionality such as Point in Time Recovery and Table Spaces which were previously missing. With this new release, professional users have an world-class, scalable, open source database solution that does not sacrifice many of the conveniences provided by commercial products." Best, Heather -----Original Message----- From: pgsql-advocacy-owner@postgresql.org [mailto:pgsql-advocacy-owner@postgresql.org]On Behalf Of Joshua Kramer Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2004 8:41 PM To: Marc G. Fournier Cc: Greg Sabino Mullane; pgsql-advocacy@postgresql.org Subject: [pgsql-advocacy] Fifth Draft - Press Release August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group today announced the availability of the 8.0 version of the PostgreSQL Object-Relational Database Management System. PostgreSQL is the most advanced open source database in the world today. The database is icensed under a BSD-style license, which allows for cost-effective implementation in any project due to its lack of license fees. Version 8 is the collective work of hundreds of developers. PostgreSQL 8.0 contains many new features that make the database a strong contender against the likes of Oracle and DB2. Many companies have already recognized the potential of PostgreSQL and have sponsored development of the new features, which include: Native Windows Support: PostgreSQL now works natively with Windows systems and does not need an emulation layer. This provides a increased performance over previous Windows versions and makes PostgreSQL a strong upgrade from Microsoft SQL Server. Savepoints: Savepoints, also known as nested transactions, allow specific parts of a transaction to be aborted without affecting the whole transaction. This feature, funded by Fujitsu, is valuable for application developers who require error recovery within complex transactions. Point In Time Recovery: PITR provides the ability to recover data to the point of failure or to any time in the past. Tablespaces: This feature, funded by Fujitsu, allows the database administrator to choose which filesystems are used for schemas, tables, and indexes. This allows the administrator to place whole databases on separate disks to improve performance. Improved Memory and I/O usage: With this release of PostgreSQL, the memory and disk I/O subsystems have been improved to use shared buffers more effectively. With this improvement comes an increase in speed and performance. Along with the new features come some new addins: - Slony-I is a replication system funded by dot-org domain registry Afilias. - PostgreSQL has gained a number of stored procedure languages, namely PL/PerlNG and PL/PHP which were sponsored by consultancy Command Prompt, Inc. as well as PL/Java and the .Net provider Npgsql. - Pgxs provides coding infrastructure to make it easier to deploy extension modules. Numerous extensions and applications are available at GBorg.postgresql.org and PGFoundry.org The PostgreSQL database can be downloaded freely at http://www.postgresql.org. ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- TIP 7: don't forget to increase your free space map settings
Heather, > Also I would suggest you add at least one quote. Ideally from a C-level > executive talking about WHY this is important. Basically the 30,000 foot > view of why v8 is an important to Postgres and a user's business. Yeah, I'm working on quotes. -- Josh Berkus Aglio Database Solutions San Francisco
Joshua Kramer wrote: > - Pgxs provides coding infrastructure to make it easier to deploy > extension modules. Numerous extensions and applications are > available at GBorg.postgresql.org and PGFoundry.org pgxs is not a coding infrastructure, it doesn't make deployment easier (or harder or anything else), and there aren't any extensions working with pgxs at gborg or at pgfoundry. Drop this paragraph. -- Peter Eisentraut http://developer.postgresql.org/~petere/
Did anyone have additional suggestions for this on Sunday or yesterday? My e-mail was down due to a DNS problem and I can't get to the e-mail archives on the web site for some reason. Thanks, --Josh On Sun, 29 Aug 2004, Joshua Kramer wrote: > > August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group today announced > the availability of the 8.0 version of the PostgreSQL Object-Relational > Database Management System. PostgreSQL is the most advanced open source > database in the world today. The database is icensed under a BSD-style > license, which allows for cost-effective implementation in any project due > to its lack of license fees. Version 8 is the collective work of hundreds > of developers. > > PostgreSQL 8.0 contains many new features that make the database a strong > contender against the likes of Oracle and DB2. Many companies have > already recognized the potential of PostgreSQL and have sponsored > development of the new features, which include: > > Native Windows Support: PostgreSQL now works natively with Windows > systems and does not need an emulation layer. This provides a increased > performance over previous Windows versions and makes PostgreSQL a strong > upgrade from Microsoft SQL Server. > > Savepoints: Savepoints, also known as nested transactions, allow specific > parts of a transaction to be aborted without affecting the whole > transaction. This feature, funded by Fujitsu, is valuable for application > developers who require error recovery within complex transactions. > > Point In Time Recovery: PITR provides the ability to recover data to the > point of failure or to any time in the past. > > Tablespaces: This feature, funded by Fujitsu, allows the database > administrator to choose which filesystems are used for schemas, tables, > and indexes. This allows the administrator to place whole databases on > separate disks to improve performance. > > Improved Memory and I/O usage: With this release of PostgreSQL, the > memory and disk I/O subsystems have been improved to use shared buffers > more effectively. With this improvement comes an increase in speed and > performance. > > Along with the new features come some new addins: > > - Slony-I is a replication system funded by dot-org domain registry > Afilias. > - PostgreSQL has gained a number of stored procedure languages, namely > PL/PerlNG and PL/PHP which were sponsored by consultancy Command Prompt, > Inc. as well as PL/Java and the .Net provider Npgsql. > - Pgxs provides coding infrastructure to make it easier to deploy > extension modules. Numerous extensions and applications are available at > GBorg.postgresql.org and PGFoundry.org > > The PostgreSQL database can be downloaded freely at > http://www.postgresql.org. > > > > > > > > ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- > TIP 7: don't forget to increase your free space map settings >
There were about 15 emails sent through the lists, would you like me to forward them to you? (read: I'm not expecting archives up right away) Robert Treat On Tue, 2004-08-31 at 14:16, Joshua Kramer wrote: > > Did anyone have additional suggestions for this on Sunday or yesterday? > My e-mail was down due to a DNS problem and I can't get to the e-mail > archives on the web site for some reason. > > Thanks, > --Josh > > On Sun, 29 Aug 2004, Joshua Kramer wrote: > > > > > August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group today announced > > the availability of the 8.0 version of the PostgreSQL Object-Relational > > Database Management System. PostgreSQL is the most advanced open source > > database in the world today. The database is icensed under a BSD-style > > license, which allows for cost-effective implementation in any project due > > to its lack of license fees. Version 8 is the collective work of hundreds > > of developers. > > > > PostgreSQL 8.0 contains many new features that make the database a strong > > contender against the likes of Oracle and DB2. Many companies have > > already recognized the potential of PostgreSQL and have sponsored > > development of the new features, which include: > > > > Native Windows Support: PostgreSQL now works natively with Windows > > systems and does not need an emulation layer. This provides a increased > > performance over previous Windows versions and makes PostgreSQL a strong > > upgrade from Microsoft SQL Server. > > > > Savepoints: Savepoints, also known as nested transactions, allow specific > > parts of a transaction to be aborted without affecting the whole > > transaction. This feature, funded by Fujitsu, is valuable for application > > developers who require error recovery within complex transactions. > > > > Point In Time Recovery: PITR provides the ability to recover data to the > > point of failure or to any time in the past. > > > > Tablespaces: This feature, funded by Fujitsu, allows the database > > administrator to choose which filesystems are used for schemas, tables, > > and indexes. This allows the administrator to place whole databases on > > separate disks to improve performance. > > > > Improved Memory and I/O usage: With this release of PostgreSQL, the > > memory and disk I/O subsystems have been improved to use shared buffers > > more effectively. With this improvement comes an increase in speed and > > performance. > > > > Along with the new features come some new addins: > > > > - Slony-I is a replication system funded by dot-org domain registry > > Afilias. > > - PostgreSQL has gained a number of stored procedure languages, namely > > PL/PerlNG and PL/PHP which were sponsored by consultancy Command Prompt, > > Inc. as well as PL/Java and the .Net provider Npgsql. > > - Pgxs provides coding infrastructure to make it easier to deploy > > extension modules. Numerous extensions and applications are available at > > GBorg.postgresql.org and PGFoundry.org > > > > The PostgreSQL database can be downloaded freely at > > http://www.postgresql.org. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- > > TIP 7: don't forget to increase your free space map settings > > > > > ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- > TIP 1: subscribe and unsubscribe commands go to majordomo@postgresql.org -- Build A Brighter Lamp :: Linux Apache {middleware} PostgreSQL
The following draft considers everyone's comments. I think the paragraph about history (moved to the end) needs more stuff. Thanks, --J August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group today announced the availability of the 8.0 version of the PostgreSQL Object-Relational Database Management System, the most advanced open source database in the world today. With this new release, professional users have an world-class, scalable, open source database solution that does not sacrifice many of the conveniences provided by commercial products. PostgreSQL 8.0 contains many new features that make the database a strong contender against the likes of Oracle and DB2. Many companies, who view PostgreSQL as a strategic part of their overall I.T. plan, have sponsored development of the new features, which include: Native Windows Support: PostgreSQL now works natively with Windows systems and does not need an emulation layer. This provides dramatically improved performance over previous versions, and offers a compelling alternative to Microsoft SQL Server for independent software vendors, corporate users, and individual Windows developers. Savepoints: Savepoints allow specific parts of a database transaction to be aborted without affecting the whole transaction. This feature, funded by Fujitsu, is valuable for application developers who require error recovery within complex transactions. Point In Time Recovery: PITR provides the ability to recover data to the point of failure or to any time in the past. Tablespaces: This feature, also funded by Fujitsu, allows the database administrator to choose which filesystems are used for schemas, tables, and indexes. This allows the administrator to place whole databases on separate disks to improve performance. Improved Memory and I/O usage: With this release of PostgreSQL, disk input/output subsystems have been improved to use shared buffers more effectively, yielding significant increases in speed and performance. There are also several new external components which complement the core PostgreSQL database engine: - Slony-I is a a "master-slave" replication system with cascading and failover capabilities funded by Internet domain registry Afilias. - PostgreSQL added to its roster of stored procedure languages with PL/PerlNG and PL/PHP which were sponsored by consultancy Command Prompt, Inc. as well as PL/Java and the .Net provider Npgsql. Version 8 is the collective work of hundreds of developers, building on almost twenty years of development dating back to the University of California at Berkeley. PostgreSQL is licensed under a BSD-style license, which due to its lack of licensing fees allows corporate and individual users more flexibility than the competition. The PostgreSQL database can be downloaded freely at http://www.postgresql.org.
On Wed, 1 Sep 2004 josh@bitbuckets.com wrote:
>
> The following draft considers everyone's comments. I think the paragraph
> about history (moved to the end) needs more stuff.
>
> Thanks,
> --J
>
> August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group today announced
> the availability of the 8.0 version of the PostgreSQL Object-Relational
> Database Management System, the most advanced open source database in the
> world today. With this new release, professional users have an
^^
should be just 'a', no? "a world-class" ... purely spelling, but if
we're trying to look professional, spelling does count ...
> world-class, scalable, open source database solution that does not
> sacrifice many of the conveniences provided by commercial products.
>
> PostgreSQL 8.0 contains many new features that make the database a strong
> contender against the likes of Oracle and DB2. Many companies, who view
> PostgreSQL as a strategic part of their overall I.T. plan, have sponsored
> development of the new features, which include:
>
> Native Windows Support: PostgreSQL now works natively with Windows
> systems and does not need an emulation layer. This provides dramatically
> improved performance over previous versions, and offers a compelling
> alternative to Microsoft SQL Server for independent software vendors,
> corporate users, and individual Windows developers.
>
> Savepoints: Savepoints allow specific parts of a database transaction to
> be aborted without affecting the whole transaction. This feature, funded
> by Fujitsu, is valuable for application developers who require error
> recovery within complex transactions.
Stupid question, and it may be just a terminalogy difference, but is there
a reason why we are focusing on just SavePoints, and not the whole Nested
Transactions thing? Or are they considered "same thing, different name"?
> Point In Time Recovery: PITR provides the ability to recover data to the
> point of failure or to any time in the past.
>
> Tablespaces: This feature, also funded by Fujitsu, allows the database
> administrator to choose which filesystems are used for schemas, tables,
> and indexes. This allows the administrator to place whole databases on
> separate disks to improve performance.
>
> Improved Memory and I/O usage: With this release of PostgreSQL, disk
> input/output subsystems have been improved to use shared buffers more
> effectively, yielding significant increases in speed and performance.
>
> There are also several new external components which complement the core
> PostgreSQL database engine:
>
> - Slony-I is a a "master-slave" replication system with cascading and
> failover capabilities funded by Internet domain registry Afilias.
> - PostgreSQL added to its roster of stored procedure languages with
> PL/PerlNG and PL/PHP which were sponsored by consultancy Command Prompt,
> Inc. as well as PL/Java and the .Net provider Npgsql.
I think it would be be easier to read if formated as:
- PostgreSQL added to its roster of stored procedure languages with:
- PL/PerlNG and PL/PHP (sponsored by consultancy Command Prompt)
- PL/Java
- .Net Provider Npgsql
the original formatting seems to 'bunch' it all ...
> Version 8 is the collective work of hundreds of developers, building on
> almost twenty years of development dating back to the University of
> California at Berkeley.
>
> PostgreSQL is licensed under a BSD-style license, which due to its lack of
> licensing fees allows corporate and individual users more flexibility than
> the competition. The PostgreSQL database can be downloaded freely at
> http://www.postgresql.org.
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------(end of broadcast)---------------------------
> TIP 7: don't forget to increase your free space map settings
>
----
Marc G. Fournier Hub.Org Networking Services (http://www.hub.org)
Email: scrappy@hub.org Yahoo!: yscrappy ICQ: 7615664
josh@bitbuckets.com wrote: > The following draft considers everyone's comments. I think the paragraph > about history (moved to the end) needs more stuff. > > Thanks, > --J Three points near the top and one near the bottom... > August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group today announced > the availability of the 8.0 version of the PostgreSQL Object-Relational > Database Management System, the most advanced open source database in the > world today. With this new release, professional users have an "have a world-class" ^^^^ > world-class, scalable, open source database solution that does not > sacrifice many of the conveniences provided by commercial products. Remove the negative "does not"? Perhaps "that matches many of the conveniences..." > PostgreSQL 8.0 contains many new features that make the database a strong > contender against the likes of Oracle and DB2. Many companies, who view Perhaps "a stronger contender". Perhaps "arguably the strongest contender" or "arguably the strongest competitor". > PostgreSQL as a strategic part of their overall I.T. plan, have sponsored > development of the new features, which include: > > Native Windows Support: PostgreSQL now works natively with Windows > systems and does not need an emulation layer. This provides dramatically > improved performance over previous versions, and offers a compelling > alternative to Microsoft SQL Server for independent software vendors, > corporate users, and individual Windows developers. > > Savepoints: Savepoints allow specific parts of a database transaction to > be aborted without affecting the whole transaction. This feature, funded > by Fujitsu, is valuable for application developers who require error > recovery within complex transactions. > > Point In Time Recovery: PITR provides the ability to recover data to the > point of failure or to any time in the past. > > Tablespaces: This feature, also funded by Fujitsu, allows the database > administrator to choose which filesystems are used for schemas, tables, > and indexes. This allows the administrator to place whole databases on > separate disks to improve performance. > > Improved Memory and I/O usage: With this release of PostgreSQL, disk > input/output subsystems have been improved to use shared buffers more > effectively, yielding significant increases in speed and performance. > > There are also several new external components which complement the core > PostgreSQL database engine: > > - Slony-I is a a "master-slave" replication system with cascading and > failover capabilities funded by Internet domain registry Afilias. Perhaps one more sentence on Slony: "It even lets you replicate between different versions of PostgreSQL". > - PostgreSQL added to its roster of stored procedure languages with > PL/PerlNG and PL/PHP which were sponsored by consultancy Command Prompt, > Inc. as well as PL/Java and the .Net provider Npgsql. > > Version 8 is the collective work of hundreds of developers, building on > almost twenty years of development dating back to the University of > California at Berkeley. > > PostgreSQL is licensed under a BSD-style license, which due to its lack of > licensing fees allows corporate and individual users more flexibility than > the competition. The PostgreSQL database can be downloaded freely at > http://www.postgresql.org. -- Richard Huxton Archonet Ltd
On Wed, 1 Sep 2004, Marc G. Fournier wrote:
Great work Josh and great catches Marc.
> On Wed, 1 Sep 2004 josh@bitbuckets.com wrote:
> I think it would be be easier to read if formated as:
>
> - PostgreSQL added to its roster of stored procedure languages with:
^^^^
Drop the 'with' at the end of the line. Also made Josh's version read
odd.
> - PL/PerlNG and PL/PHP (sponsored by consultancy Command Prompt)
> - PL/Java
> - .Net Provider Npgsql
>
> the original formatting seems to 'bunch' it all ...
The list format does read better.
Rod
--
"Open Source Software - You usually get more than you pay for..."
"Build A Brighter Lamp :: Linux Apache {middleware} PostgreSQL"
On 9/1/2004 12:58 PM, josh@bitbuckets.com wrote: > The following draft considers everyone's comments. I think the paragraph > about history (moved to the end) needs more stuff. No, you ignored my comment. The ARC, bgwriter and vacuum delay work was also sponsored by Afilias. And it does NOT increase speed necessarily. It lowers the standard deviation of query response times, which is highly appreciated by everyone who has things like "98% of transactions in under 3 seconds" in their SLA's. Jan > > Thanks, > --J > > August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group today announced > the availability of the 8.0 version of the PostgreSQL Object-Relational > Database Management System, the most advanced open source database in the > world today. With this new release, professional users have an > world-class, scalable, open source database solution that does not > sacrifice many of the conveniences provided by commercial products. > > PostgreSQL 8.0 contains many new features that make the database a strong > contender against the likes of Oracle and DB2. Many companies, who view > PostgreSQL as a strategic part of their overall I.T. plan, have sponsored > development of the new features, which include: > > Native Windows Support: PostgreSQL now works natively with Windows > systems and does not need an emulation layer. This provides dramatically > improved performance over previous versions, and offers a compelling > alternative to Microsoft SQL Server for independent software vendors, > corporate users, and individual Windows developers. > > Savepoints: Savepoints allow specific parts of a database transaction to > be aborted without affecting the whole transaction. This feature, funded > by Fujitsu, is valuable for application developers who require error > recovery within complex transactions. > > Point In Time Recovery: PITR provides the ability to recover data to the > point of failure or to any time in the past. > > Tablespaces: This feature, also funded by Fujitsu, allows the database > administrator to choose which filesystems are used for schemas, tables, > and indexes. This allows the administrator to place whole databases on > separate disks to improve performance. > > Improved Memory and I/O usage: With this release of PostgreSQL, disk > input/output subsystems have been improved to use shared buffers more > effectively, yielding significant increases in speed and performance. > > There are also several new external components which complement the core > PostgreSQL database engine: > > - Slony-I is a a "master-slave" replication system with cascading and > failover capabilities funded by Internet domain registry Afilias. > - PostgreSQL added to its roster of stored procedure languages with > PL/PerlNG and PL/PHP which were sponsored by consultancy Command Prompt, > Inc. as well as PL/Java and the .Net provider Npgsql. > > Version 8 is the collective work of hundreds of developers, building on > almost twenty years of development dating back to the University of > California at Berkeley. > > PostgreSQL is licensed under a BSD-style license, which due to its lack of > licensing fees allows corporate and individual users more flexibility than > the competition. The PostgreSQL database can be downloaded freely at > http://www.postgresql.org. > > > > > > ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- > TIP 7: don't forget to increase your free space map settings -- #======================================================================# # It's easier to get forgiveness for being wrong than for being right. # # Let's break this rule - forgive me. # #================================================== JanWieck@Yahoo.com #
Guys, > > Improved Memory and I/O usage: With this release of PostgreSQL, disk > > input/output subsystems have been improved to use shared buffers more > > effectively, yielding significant increases in speed and performance. Comment from Jan: Improved Memory and I/O: Disk and memory usage have been improved thanks to the contributions of Afilias Inc., through Adaptive Resource Cache, the Background Writer, and Lazy Vacuum. This will result in more predictable loads and substantially better performance during peak usage times. More re-writes tonight! -- --Josh Josh Berkus Aglio Database Solutions San Francisco
On 9/1/2004 1:59 PM, Josh Berkus wrote: > Guys, > >> > Improved Memory and I/O usage: With this release of PostgreSQL, disk >> > input/output subsystems have been improved to use shared buffers more >> > effectively, yielding significant increases in speed and performance. > > Comment from Jan: > > Improved Memory and I/O: Disk and memory usage have been improved thanks to > the contributions of Afilias Inc., through Adaptive Resource Cache, the > Background Writer, and Lazy Vacuum. This will result in more predictable > loads and substantially better performance during peak usage times. ARC == Adaptive Replacement Cache > > More re-writes tonight! > -- #======================================================================# # It's easier to get forgiveness for being wrong than for being right. # # Let's break this rule - forgive me. # #================================================== JanWieck@Yahoo.com #
>There are also several new external components which complement the core >PostgreSQL database engine: ^^^^^^^^^^ > > compliment :) But other than that... Sincerely, Joshua D. Drake -- Command Prompt, Inc., home of Mammoth PostgreSQL - S/ODBC and S/JDBC Postgresql support, programming shared hosting and dedicated hosting. +1-503-667-4564 - jd@commandprompt.com - http://www.commandprompt.com PostgreSQL Replicator -- production quality replication for PostgreSQL
On Wed, 2004-09-01 at 13:45, Jan Wieck wrote:
> The ARC, bgwriter and vacuum delay work was also sponsored by Afilias.
I know people are big into name dropping/credit giving, but istm that
there is something wrong with this... like it seems to be a slap in the
face to sra/red hat to say that this piece is sponsored by afilias while
not mentioning the other two companies anywhere given the host of
features that tom/bruce worked on... I think I would rather see the
statment at the begining reworded as
"Many companies such as Afilias, Fujitsu, and Command Prompt, view
PostgreSQL as a strategic part of their overall I.T. plan and have
sponsored development of the some of the new features which include:"
We could then remove the name dropping from being splattered all over
the release itself and instead at the bottom of the press release you
include a small paragraph on each of the companies mentioned
(Afilias/Fujitsu(or FAST)/Command Prompt) and what they do.
Robert Treat
--
Build A Brighter Lamp :: Linux Apache {middleware} PostgreSQL
Robert, > "Many companies such as Afilias, Fujitsu, and Command Prompt, view > PostgreSQL as a strategic part of their overall I.T. plan and have > sponsored development of the some of the new features which include:" > > We could then remove the name dropping from being splattered all over > the release itself and instead at the bottom of the press release you > include a small paragraph on each of the companies mentioned > (Afilias/Fujitsu(or FAST)/Command Prompt) and what they do. Yeah, I'm leaning toward this approach too. If we credit each feature, it's going to add 200 words to the release .... --Josh -- __Aglio Database Solutions_______________ Josh Berkus Consultant josh@agliodbs.com www.agliodbs.com Ph: 415-752-2500 Fax: 415-752-2387 2166 Hayes Suite 200 San Francisco, CA
On Wed, 1 Sep 2004, Josh Berkus wrote: > Robert, > > > "Many companies such as Afilias, Fujitsu, and Command Prompt, view > > PostgreSQL as a strategic part of their overall I.T. plan and have > > sponsored development of the some of the new features which include:" > > > > We could then remove the name dropping from being splattered all over > > the release itself and instead at the bottom of the press release you > > include a small paragraph on each of the companies mentioned > > (Afilias/Fujitsu(or FAST)/Command Prompt) and what they do. > > Yeah, I'm leaning toward this approach too. If we credit each feature, it's > going to add 200 words to the release .... After this PR release, a how-to for a PR would be nice. -- Dan Langille - http://www.langille.org/
On Wed, Sep 01, 2004 at 11:05:05AM -0700, Joshua D. Drake wrote: > > >There are also several new external components which complement the > >core PostgreSQL database engine: ^^^^^^^^^^ > > > compliment :) But other than that... Um, actually, it was right the first time. The external components are helping complete (complementing) the software, not praising (complimenting) it. Cheers, D -- David Fetter david@fetter.org http://fetter.org/ phone: +1 510 893 6100 mobile: +1 415 235 3778 Remember to vote!
On Wed, Sep 01, 2004 at 01:45:18PM -0300, Marc G. Fournier wrote: > Stupid question, and it may be just a terminalogy difference, but is there > a reason why we are focusing on just SavePoints, and not the whole Nested > Transactions thing? Or are they considered "same thing, different name"? Yes, "savepoints" is the feature name. It also is a SQL feature, which nested transactions were not. Luckily, the SQL feature gives at least the same functionality as nested transactions, so we are not losing anything by not using the old name. Originally we thought that savepoints did not offer all that we wanted to do, but careful spec examination proved us wrong. Which is a good thing IMHO. -- Alvaro Herrera (<alvherre[a]dcc.uchile.cl>) "We are who we choose to be", sang the goldfinch when the sun is high (Sandman)
josh@bitbuckets.com wrote: > August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group today > announced the availability of the 8.0 version of the PostgreSQL What this press release is announcing is that the PGDG made the software available. The press release should not announce that the PGDG announced something. > Object-Relational Database Management System, the most advanced open The o, r, d, m, and s have no reason to be capitalized. > source database in the world today. With this new release, Not "database", but "database management system". > professional users have an world-class, scalable, open source > database solution that does not sacrifice many of the conveniences > provided by commercial products. > > PostgreSQL 8.0 contains many new features that make the database a > strong contender against the likes of Oracle and DB2. Many I'm not too sure about "contender". Maybe "viable alternative" sounds less desparate. > companies, who view PostgreSQL as a strategic part of their overall > I.T. plan, have sponsored development of the new features, which > include: > Tablespaces: This feature, also funded by Fujitsu, allows the > database administrator to choose which filesystems are used for > schemas, tables, and indexes. This allows the administrator to place > whole databases on separate disks to improve performance. Placing whole databases on separate disks doesn't necessarily increate performance. A more obvious and well-known performance boost is placing *part* of a database on a separate disk. > - PostgreSQL added to its roster of stored procedure languages with > PL/PerlNG and PL/PHP which were sponsored by consultancy Command > Prompt, Inc. as well as PL/Java and the .Net provider Npgsql. Someone probably sponsored PL/Java and Npgsql as well. It's not balanced. > Version 8 is the collective work of hundreds of developers, building > on almost twenty years of development dating back to the University > of California at Berkeley. Something can only "date back" to a point in time, not to an organization. And considering that the UCB still exists today, this cannot be interpreted by an outsider. Maybe "traced back" would work. > PostgreSQL is licensed under a BSD-style license, which due to its > lack of licensing fees allows corporate and individual users more > flexibility than the competition. This is an incorrect interpretation of the licensing situation. There are plenty of licenses that are granted free of charge but still leave the recipient without any flexibility. The advantage of the BSD license is the lack of restrictions on modication and distribution. -- Peter Eisentraut http://developer.postgresql.org/~petere/
Folks, My take, notes first: COMPANIES: having seen both forms, I think that it's better to list the companies in one sentence than attribute each feature. There are probably some more companes we could add; anyone who contributed a major feature or add-on, or sponsors a full-time developer. ? 2nd P: I think this works better if it focuses on our rapid development, which is also important for the image of our project. PostgreSQL Is ... we have standard text for this, I'll post it as soon as our web site !!!! gets fixed. 200 developers: We need to get a firm count from the patches list before going live with this. I'll ask Bruce. ========================================= NY, NY: August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group has released version 8.0 of the PostgreSQL object-relational database management system, maintaining PostgreSQL's position as the most advanced open source database in the world. This release includes many features previously only available in the most expensive proprietary database software, and is expected to dramatically increase the adoption of PostgreSQL by both developers and software vendors. <quote here> In addition to reaching a new milestone in scalability, PostgreSQL 8.0 demonstrates the unparalleled development ability of open source. Red Hat, Fujitsu, Afilias, SRA of Japan, 2nd Quadrant, Command Prompt, and more than a dozen other companies as well as over 200 individual developers contributed to add more major features to 8.0 than have been seen in any previous version. These features include: Native Windows Support: PostgreSQL now works natively with Windows systems and does not need an emulation layer. This provides dramatically improved performance over previous versions, and offers a compelling alternative to proprietary database software for independent software vendors, corporate users, and individual Windows developers. Savepoints: Savepoints allow specific parts of a database transaction to be rolled back without aborting. This has been a long-sought feature by developers of complex business applications. Point In Time Recovery: PITR provides "continuous backup", allowing minimal loss of data even in the event of total hardware failure. Tablespaces: crucial to the administrators of multi-gigabyte data warehousing systems, tablespaces allow the placement of large tables and indexes on their own individual disks or arrays. Improved Memory and I/O: Disk and memory usage have been improved through Adaptive Replacement Cache, the Background Writer, and Lazy Vacuum. This will result in more predictable loads and substantially better performance during peak usage times. <quote here> In addition to the many features bundled with the release, PostgreSQL has been enhanced by accellerated development of add-ons and optional components over the last year. The Slony-I replication tool and the pgPool connection pooling/brokering utility are both already being used for high-availability clustering. Several stored procedure languages have been added or greatly expanded, including PL/Java, PL/PHP and PL/Perl, and the Npgsql .NET data provider has been enhanced to support our many new Windows users. Of course, there are many more new features. For a full list, see our Release Notes <link> <quote here> <standard "what is postgresql" blurb here> <all trademarks there respective owners, etc.> -- Josh Berkus Aglio Database Solutions San Francisco
Oops! josh@bitbuckets.com was seen spray-painting on a wall: > Tablespaces: This feature, also funded by Fujitsu, allows the database > administrator to choose which filesystems are used for schemas, tables, > and indexes. This allows the administrator to place whole databases on > separate disks to improve performance. s/This allows the administrator to separate different parts of their data onto separate disks to improve performance./ The choices go further than merely "whole databases." > Improved Memory and I/O usage: With this release of PostgreSQL, disk > input/output subsystems have been improved to use shared buffers > more effectively, yielding significant increases in speed and > performance. "ARC" should be mentioned, as an acronym, if nothing else, and the expectation isn't always to increase speed, but to reduce performance variations. Mind you, I have high hopes for the attendant improvements to the handling of vacuuming... > - PostgreSQL added to its roster of stored procedure languages with > PL/PerlNG and PL/PHP which were sponsored by consultancy Command Prompt, > Inc. as well as PL/Java and the .Net provider Npgsql. There has been a bit of "kibbutzing" over mentioning Npgsql here; since this is the way of supporting .Net, and we're already mentioning langages, while the fit isn't _perfect_, better here than anywhere else. We can save words by mentioning it here... > PostgreSQL is licensed under a BSD-style license, which due to its > lack of licensing fees allows corporate and individual users more > flexibility than the competition. I think this needs to be "aimed better," as that may allow it to strike more avians... This is a line longer, but it says quite a bit more. PostgreSQL is licensed under a BSD-style license, eliminating the confusion associated with "multiple license" models. The licensing arrangements allow all sorts of flexible uses by both individual and corporate users, all free of license fees. -- (reverse (concatenate 'string "moc.enworbbc" "@" "enworbbc")) http://www3.sympatico.ca/cbbrowne/oses.html Jury -- Twelve people who determine which client has the better lawyer.
In the last exciting episode, peter_e@gmx.net (Peter Eisentraut) wrote: > josh@bitbuckets.com wrote: >> PostgreSQL is licensed under a BSD-style license, which due to its >> lack of licensing fees allows corporate and individual users more >> flexibility than the competition. > > This is an incorrect interpretation of the licensing situation. > There are plenty of licenses that are granted free of charge but > still leave the recipient without any flexibility. The advantage of > the BSD license is the lack of restrictions on modication and > distribution. I suggested, separately, a "more flexible" :-) wording for this. One of the benefits of the BSD license is that it means that users are not left agonizing over which license, from a "dueling licenses" structure, applies to them. They can do as they need to without needing to worry about licensing fees or choices. -- If this was helpful, <http://svcs.affero.net/rm.php?r=cbbrowne> rate me http://www.ntlug.org/~cbbrowne/lsf.html Rules of the Evil Overlord #125. "Should I actually decide to kill the hero in an elaborate escape-proof deathtrap room (water filling up, sand pouring down, walls converging, etc.) I will not leave him alone five-to-ten minutes prior to "imminent" death, but will instead (finding a vantage point or monitoring camera) stick around and enjoy watching my adversary's demise." <http://www.eviloverlord.com/>
The world rejoiced as jd@commandprompt.com ("Joshua D. Drake") wrote:
>>There are also several new external components which complement the core
>>PostgreSQL database engine: ^^^^^^^^^^
>>
>>
> compliment :) But other than that...
It's kind of a bad thing when two words that could be misspelled as
one another fit really well, except for "word geeks."
The existing word, "complement," seems to be a better complement to
the sentence.
Which means that both words are nicely usable as both nouns and verbs,
and about the only thing worse than that, for ambiguity is StUdLy
CAsInG things extensively ;-).
--
"cbbrowne","@","ntlug.org"
http://www3.sympatico.ca/cbbrowne/unix.html
"When people understand what Microsoft is up to, they're outraged."
-- Tim O'Reilly, President, O'Reilly & Associates
On Thu, 2004-09-02 at 00:29, Christopher Browne wrote:
> In the last exciting episode, peter_e@gmx.net (Peter Eisentraut) wrote:
> > josh@bitbuckets.com wrote:
> >> PostgreSQL is licensed under a BSD-style license, which due to its
> >> lack of licensing fees allows corporate and individual users more
> >> flexibility than the competition.
> >
> > This is an incorrect interpretation of the licensing situation.
> > There are plenty of licenses that are granted free of charge but
> > still leave the recipient without any flexibility. The advantage of
> > the BSD license is the lack of restrictions on modication and
> > distribution.
>
> I suggested, separately, a "more flexible" :-) wording for this.
>
> One of the benefits of the BSD license is that it means that users are
> not left agonizing over which license, from a "dueling licenses"
> structure, applies to them. They can do as they need to without
> needing to worry about licensing fees or choices.
The problem with this approach is that it singles out one specific
company and it's license model while ignoring the real targets like
oracle and db2... perhaps a kindler, gentler approach:
"PostgreSQL is licensed under the BSD license, giving maximum
flexibility for both commercial and noncommercial use. This puts our
users in control of how PostgreSQL is deployed in their organizations,
not us, which is how we feel it should be."
Robert Treat
--
Build A Brighter Lamp :: Linux Apache {middleware} PostgreSQL
> Josh Berkus wrote > 200 developers: We need to get a firm count from the patches > list before > going live with this. I'll ask Bruce. > IMHO we should count anybody that submitted a patch, whether ot not it was applied. That is a true measure of the size of the community, as well as being a clear statement that we have a quality gate that doesn't always let code in. > In addition to reaching a new milestone in scalability, PostgreSQL 8.0 > demonstrates the unparalleled development ability of open source. > Red Hat, > Fujitsu, Afilias, SRA of Japan, 2nd Quadrant, Command Prompt, and > more than a > dozen other companies as well as over 200 individual developers > contributed > to add more major features to 8.0 than have been seen in any previous > version. These features include: Thanks. Good to receive the compliment of being allowed to complement such fine contributors. :) > Point In Time Recovery: PITR provides "continuous backup", > allowing minimal > loss of data even in the event of total hardware failure. PITR is the way we talk about it on PostgreSQL lists, but that isn't necessarily the best thing to call it externally. Using the abbreviation probably doesn't help the general reader of the press release - its not mentioned again in the press release, so no gain there either. I'd suggest just start talking "...provides" and drop the word PITR. Microsoft use the phrase "Point in Time Recovery", though Oracle and IBM do not. (IBM did use the term for their IMS database product, which is still in use somewhere, I'm sure, but not as prevalent these last few decades). Terminology wise, "continuous backup" isn't a phrase I recognise either. Microsoft refers to the "SQL Server Transaction Log" and the "Full recovery model" Oracle refers to "log files" and operates in "archivelog mode" DB2 refers to "log files" and operates in "archive logging mode" My suggested rewording of this particular paragraph would be the following: -- Point in Time Recovery: provides a full recovery model that allows data recovery from bare-metal to the point of failure or to a specific point in time, based around automatically archived transaction logs. -- > Tablespaces: crucial to the administrators of multi-gigabyte > data warehousing > systems, tablespaces allow the placement of large tables and > indexes on their > own individual disks or arrays. I'm not sure this applies just to data warehousing systems, though it is of course very useful in that context. Certainly, it is a great boon in any large and heavily used database... most DBAs would know and appreciate this feature. "simplies management of..." Best Regards, Simon Riggs
On Thu, 2 Sep 2004, Simon Riggs wrote: >> Josh Berkus wrote >> 200 developers: We need to get a firm count from the patches >> list before >> going live with this. I'll ask Bruce. >> > > IMHO we should count anybody that submitted a patch, whether ot not it was > applied. That is a true measure of the size of the community, as well as > being a clear statement that we have a quality gate that doesn't always let > code in. What about those testing, or contributing to discussions on implementation? There are currently 1135 ppl on pgsql-hackers ... ---- Marc G. Fournier Hub.Org Networking Services (http://www.hub.org) Email: scrappy@hub.org Yahoo!: yscrappy ICQ: 7615664
On Thu, 2 Sep 2004, Marc G. Fournier wrote: > There are currently 1135 ppl on pgsql-hackers ... This brings up a good point, if we say, "over one thousand developers working on Postgresql" then will businesses say, "Wow, there's an awful lot of room for people to insert malicious code!" While it might not be correct, it will give that impression... and, what Simon said about the fact that hundreds of developers submit patches making the patch-acceptance thing secure... that is not clear to someone reading th epress release, and it may open up a whole can of worms if we try to find some way of saying that. Let's just leave it at hundreds of devlopers and stop. --Josh
On Thursday 02 Sep 2004 9:32 pm, Joshua Kramer wrote: > On Thu, 2 Sep 2004, Marc G. Fournier wrote: > > There are currently 1135 ppl on pgsql-hackers ... > > This brings up a good point, if we say, "over one thousand developers > working on Postgresql" then will businesses say, "Wow, there's an awful > lot of room for people to insert malicious code!" While it might not be > correct, it will give that impression... and, what Simon said about the > fact that hundreds of developers submit patches making the > patch-acceptance thing secure... that is not clear to someone reading th > epress release, and it may open up a whole can of worms if we try to find > some way of saying that. Let's just leave it at hundreds of devlopers and > stop. Well, not everybody has a commit access and getting patches accepted is not as easy as it sounds..:-) Certainly it needs to be made clear, may be someplace else,if not in a press release. Shridhar
>>>>PostgreSQL is licensed under a BSD-style license, which due to its >>>>lack of licensing fees allows corporate and individual users more >>>>flexibility than the competition. >>> >>>This is an incorrect interpretation of the licensing situation. >>>There are plenty of licenses that are granted free of charge but >>>still leave the recipient without any flexibility. The advantage of >>>the BSD license is the lack of restrictions on modication and >>>distribution. >> >>I suggested, separately, a "more flexible" :-) wording for this. >> >>One of the benefits of the BSD license is that it means that users are >>not left agonizing over which license, from a "dueling licenses" >>structure, applies to them. They can do as they need to without >>needing to worry about licensing fees or choices. > > > The problem with this approach is that it singles out one specific > company and it's license model while ignoring the real targets like > oracle and db2... perhaps a kindler, gentler approach: > > "PostgreSQL is licensed under the BSD license, giving maximum > flexibility for both commercial and noncommercial use. This puts our > users in control of how PostgreSQL is deployed in their organizations, > not us, which is how we feel it should be." The original language I suggested was: PostgreSQL is released under a "BSD-style" license, which allows maximum flexibility for corporate and individual users,with no license fees regardless of how the software is used. I think that offers a good contrast to both MySQL and the commercial competitors.
Ned Lilly wrote: > The original language I suggested was: > > PostgreSQL is released under a "BSD-style" license, which allows > maximum flexibility for corporate and individual users, with no > license fees regardless of how the software is used. My response still holds: >>>This is an incorrect interpretation of the licensing situation. >>>There are plenty of licenses that are granted free of charge but >>>still leave the recipient without any flexibility. The advantage >>> of the BSD license is the lack of restrictions on modication and >>> distribution. > I think that offers a good contrast to both MySQL and the commercial > competitors. You can *use* MySQL however you want, if you have obtained a legal copy. You just can't modify or distribute it however you want. That is an important distinction. Copyright law does not regulate use at all; it regulates copying. Once you have obtained a legal copy, you can use the software in any way you choose, even if some licenses try to give a different impression. -- Peter Eisentraut http://developer.postgresql.org/~petere/
Point taken. I guess I would include modification under the general word "use" for purposes of this discussion. But maybe say "... how the software is used or distributed." Peter Eisentraut wrote: > Ned Lilly wrote: > >>The original language I suggested was: >> >>PostgreSQL is released under a "BSD-style" license, which allows >>maximum flexibility for corporate and individual users, with no >>license fees regardless of how the software is used. > > > My response still holds: > > >>>>This is an incorrect interpretation of the licensing situation. >>>>There are plenty of licenses that are granted free of charge but >>>>still leave the recipient without any flexibility. The advantage >>>>of the BSD license is the lack of restrictions on modication and >>>>distribution. > > >>I think that offers a good contrast to both MySQL and the commercial >>competitors. > > > You can *use* MySQL however you want, if you have obtained a legal copy. > You just can't modify or distribute it however you want. That is an > important distinction. Copyright law does not regulate use at all; it > regulates copying. Once you have obtained a legal copy, you can use > the software in any way you choose, even if some licenses try to give a > different impression. >
"Although there are only a dozen or so developers able to change the main source tree, there are over one thousand developers world wide submitting and reviewing both bug fixes, and enhancements, to the project" On Thu, 2 Sep 2004, Joshua Kramer wrote: > > On Thu, 2 Sep 2004, Marc G. Fournier wrote: > >> There are currently 1135 ppl on pgsql-hackers ... > > This brings up a good point, if we say, "over one thousand developers > working on Postgresql" then will businesses say, "Wow, there's an awful > lot of room for people to insert malicious code!" While it might not be > correct, it will give that impression... and, what Simon said about the > fact that hundreds of developers submit patches making the > patch-acceptance thing secure... that is not clear to someone reading th > epress release, and it may open up a whole can of worms if we try to find > some way of saying that. Let's just leave it at hundreds of devlopers and > stop. > > --Josh > > > ---- Marc G. Fournier Hub.Org Networking Services (http://www.hub.org) Email: scrappy@hub.org Yahoo!: yscrappy ICQ: 7615664
Which pretty much brings you back to my wording doesnt it?
"PostgreSQL is licensed under the BSD license, giving maximum
flexibility for both commercial and noncommercial use. This puts our
users in control of how PostgreSQL is deployed in their organizations,
not us, which is how we feel it should be."
We don't get into price (which as Peter pointed out we shouldn't) and
highlight flexibility (which Ned was doing). We also differentiate
between both the commercial companies as well as the dual licensing
folks by reassuring people that they are in control.
Robert Treat
On Thu, 2004-09-02 at 13:46, Ned Lilly wrote:
> Point taken. I guess I would include modification under the general word "use" for purposes of this discussion.
>
> But maybe say "... how the software is used or distributed."
>
>
>
> Peter Eisentraut wrote:
> > Ned Lilly wrote:
> >
> >>The original language I suggested was:
> >>
> >>PostgreSQL is released under a "BSD-style" license, which allows
> >>maximum flexibility for corporate and individual users, with no
> >>license fees regardless of how the software is used.
> >
> >
> > My response still holds:
> >
> >
> >>>>This is an incorrect interpretation of the licensing situation.
> >>>>There are plenty of licenses that are granted free of charge but
> >>>>still leave the recipient without any flexibility. The advantage
> >>>>of the BSD license is the lack of restrictions on modication and
> >>>>distribution.
> >
> >
> >>I think that offers a good contrast to both MySQL and the commercial
> >>competitors.
> >
> >
> > You can *use* MySQL however you want, if you have obtained a legal copy.
> > You just can't modify or distribute it however you want. That is an
> > important distinction. Copyright law does not regulate use at all; it
> > regulates copying. Once you have obtained a legal copy, you can use
> > the software in any way you choose, even if some licenses try to give a
> > different impression.
> >
>
> ---------------------------(end of broadcast)---------------------------
> TIP 9: the planner will ignore your desire to choose an index scan if your
> joining column's datatypes do not match
--
Build A Brighter Lamp :: Linux Apache {middleware} PostgreSQL
While I like your wording re: who can change the source tree, I think we need to step back and ask a philosophical question: what is the purpose of this press release? To attract new users. Does talk about who can commit to the source tree create a compelling reason to use PostgreSQL over the alternatives? I don't think it does. There's also the issue of word count; IIRC Josh Berkus said he wanted it around 1000 words, and last time I counted it had about 1800. I think we should leave out the details about who commits, and just say that it's a BSD license (and explain what BSD license entails). On Thu, 2 Sep 2004, Marc G. Fournier wrote: > > "Although there are only a dozen or so developers able to change the main > source tree, there are over one thousand developers world wide submitting > and reviewing both bug fixes, and enhancements, to the project" > > > > On Thu, 2 Sep 2004, Joshua Kramer wrote: > > > > > On Thu, 2 Sep 2004, Marc G. Fournier wrote: > > > >> There are currently 1135 ppl on pgsql-hackers ... > > > > This brings up a good point, if we say, "over one thousand developers > > working on Postgresql" then will businesses say, "Wow, there's an awful > > lot of room for people to insert malicious code!" While it might not be > > correct, it will give that impression... and, what Simon said about the > > fact that hundreds of developers submit patches making the > > patch-acceptance thing secure... that is not clear to someone reading th > > epress release, and it may open up a whole can of worms if we try to find > > some way of saying that. Let's just leave it at hundreds of devlopers and > > stop. > > > > --Josh > > > > > > > > ---- > Marc G. Fournier Hub.Org Networking Services (http://www.hub.org) > Email: scrappy@hub.org Yahoo!: yscrappy ICQ: 7615664 >
On 9/2/2004 1:42 PM, Peter Eisentraut wrote: > Ned Lilly wrote: >> The original language I suggested was: >> >> PostgreSQL is released under a "BSD-style" license, which allows >> maximum flexibility for corporate and individual users, with no >> license fees regardless of how the software is used. > > My response still holds: > >>>>This is an incorrect interpretation of the licensing situation. >>>>There are plenty of licenses that are granted free of charge but >>>>still leave the recipient without any flexibility. The advantage >>>> of the BSD license is the lack of restrictions on modication and >>>> distribution. > >> I think that offers a good contrast to both MySQL and the commercial >> competitors. > > You can *use* MySQL however you want, if you have obtained a legal copy. > You just can't modify or distribute it however you want. That is an > important distinction. Copyright law does not regulate use at all; it > regulates copying. Once you have obtained a legal copy, you can use > the software in any way you choose, even if some licenses try to give a > different impression. > Add another CPU board to your server and ... oops ... once you *had* a legal copy of Oracle. Jan -- #======================================================================# # It's easier to get forgiveness for being wrong than for being right. # # Let's break this rule - forgive me. # #================================================== JanWieck@Yahoo.com #
I don't understand why people are not happy with just saying "it is the work of hundreds of developers" or some such paraphrase? Why do we need to be more specific about the structure of the postgresql development community? Robert Treat On Thu, 2004-09-02 at 16:09, Marc G. Fournier wrote: > > "Although there are only a dozen or so developers able to change the main > source tree, there are over one thousand developers world wide submitting > and reviewing both bug fixes, and enhancements, to the project" > > > > On Thu, 2 Sep 2004, Joshua Kramer wrote: > > > > > On Thu, 2 Sep 2004, Marc G. Fournier wrote: > > > >> There are currently 1135 ppl on pgsql-hackers ... > > > > This brings up a good point, if we say, "over one thousand developers > > working on Postgresql" then will businesses say, "Wow, there's an awful > > lot of room for people to insert malicious code!" While it might not be > > correct, it will give that impression... and, what Simon said about the > > fact that hundreds of developers submit patches making the > > patch-acceptance thing secure... that is not clear to someone reading th > > epress release, and it may open up a whole can of worms if we try to find > > some way of saying that. Let's just leave it at hundreds of devlopers and > > stop. > > > > --Josh > > > > > > > > ---- > Marc G. Fournier Hub.Org Networking Services (http://www.hub.org) > Email: scrappy@hub.org Yahoo!: yscrappy ICQ: 7615664 > > ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- > TIP 4: Don't 'kill -9' the postmaster -- Build A Brighter Lamp :: Linux Apache {middleware} PostgreSQL
Folks, > While I like your wording re: who can change the source tree, I think we > need to step back and ask a philosophical question: what is the purpose of > this press release? To attract new users. Does talk about who can commit > to the source tree create a compelling reason to use PostgreSQL over the > alternatives? I don't think it does. There's also the issue of word > count; IIRC Josh Berkus said he wanted it around 1000 words, and last time > I counted it had about 1800. I think we should leave out the details > about who commits, and just say that it's a BSD license (and explain what > BSD license entails). Also keep in mind that the PR will link to a web page, where we can throw in the kitchen sink in terms of text. So I'd favor any such extraneous information -- like what BSD licensing means to users -- on the web page but NOT in the PR. I'm going to need to prune as it is. -- --Josh Josh Berkus Aglio Database Solutions San Francisco
> Joshua Kramer writes > While I like your wording re: who can change the source tree, I think we > need to step back and ask a philosophical question: what is the > purpose of > this press release? To attract new users. Agreed. ...but remember, many potential users can't easily tell the difference between the best and the worst. > Does talk about who > can commit > to the source tree create a compelling reason to use PostgreSQL over the > alternatives? I don't think it does. I don't think that talking about who can commit to the source tree alone does either. ...but what people will ask is "how big is the community? how active? is it owned by one company? is the code not just open source but truly accessible?". The answers to those questions are important ones, and the reason I'm on this list, at all. People are getting savvy to projects declaring they are Open Source and have "signed up loads of developers". Remember, Cloudbase and Ingres have both recently gone open source and IBM has made comments about the size of their developer community in the press release. Many others regularly say "we're open source now", then go on to explain how what they mean is that they're expecting loads of people to debug their code for free, like its a done deal. Explaining the full details gives users confidence and encourages developers to join in, all with the knowledge that the rug isn't going to be pulled away from under them when the copyright owner declares it's not OSS anymore. > There's also the issue of word > count; IIRC Josh Berkus said he wanted it around 1000 words, and > last time > I counted it had about 1800. I think we should leave out the details > about who commits, and just say that it's a BSD license (and explain what > BSD license entails). > > On Thu, 2 Sep 2004, Marc G. Fournier wrote: > > > > > "Although there are only a dozen or so developers able to > change the main > > source tree, there are over one thousand developers world wide > submitting > > and reviewing both bug fixes, and enhancements, to the project" "The PostgreSQL developer community is strong and vibrant, with more than a dozen active committers, each from a worldwide spread of companies, many of whom sponsor full-time developers. Active contributions came from more than 1000 individuals for this latest release, based upon detailed statistics." ...along the same lines, just even more upbeat. Best regards, Simon Riggs
On Thu, 2 Sep 2004 17:26:18 -0400 (EDT) Joshua Kramer <josh@bitbuckets.com> wrote:
>There's also the issue of word
> count; IIRC Josh Berkus said he wanted it around 1000 words, and last time
> I counted it had about 1800. I think we should leave out the details
> about who commits, and just say that it's a BSD license (and explain what
> BSD license entails).
i concur. stick the wording about who can commit to the source tree somewhere
prominent on the web site (maybe a "who are the PostgreSQL developers?"
entry in a FAQ) and leave it out of the too-long press release.
perhaps all the good stuff that doesn't belong in the press release that
nobody wants to cut can go in a PostgreSQL 8.0 FAQ, which can be
prominently featured on the front page of the web site.
richard
--
Richard Welty rwelty@averillpark.net
Averill Park Networking 518-573-7592
Java, PHP, PostgreSQL, Unix, Linux, IP Network Engineering, Security
On Thu, Sep 02, 2004 at 16:44:00 -0400, Jan Wieck <JanWieck@Yahoo.com> wrote: > > Add another CPU board to your server and ... oops ... once you *had* a > legal copy of Oracle. Don't you (or your company) have to sign a contract to get Oracle?
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 More critiques. You people move so fast: some of us have daytime jobs ya know! :) > "The PostgreSQL developer community is strong and vibrant, with more than a > dozen active committers, each from a worldwide spread of companies, many of > whom sponsor full-time developers. Active contributions came from more than > 1000 individuals for this latest release, based upon detailed statistics." This sounds terrible. The "dozen" figure smacks of a small, built-in-a-garage atmosphere, while the "1000 individuals" sounds like a desperate attempt to reach a large number. Keep it the original way and simply say "hundreds of developers" Add in a "worldwide" if you must. > August 24, 2004 - The PostgreSQL Global Development group today announced > the availability of the 8.0 version of the PostgreSQL Object-Relational > Database Management System, the most advanced open source database in the > world today. With this new release, professional users have an > world-class, scalable, open source database solution that does not > sacrifice many of the conveniences provided by commercial products. First, "the 8.0 version" sounds a bit awkward. How about simply "version 8" We can leave off the "dot o". The phrase "in the world today" is still wordy: "in the world" is sufficient. The word "sacrifice" is not a good one, especially in an opening paragraph. The "conveniences" is a pretty vague concept. > PostgreSQL 8.0 contains many new features that make the database a strong > contender against the likes of Oracle and DB2. Many companies, who view > PostgreSQL as a strategic part of their overall I.T. plan, have sponsored > development of the new features, which include: Replace "the likes of" with something stronger. IT does not need to have periods: it is an ancronym. The word "contendor" implies an up-and-coming but perhaps not quite equal yet competitor. We're better than that, at least as far as DB2. Certainly we're easier to use than Oracle. What I would not give for some backslash commands in that crappy sqlplus! :) > Native Windows Support: PostgreSQL now works natively with Windows > systems and does not need an emulation layer. This provides dramatically > improved performance over previous versions, and offers a compelling > alternative to Microsoft SQL Server for independent software vendors, > corporate users, and individual Windows developers. Do we need to mention the emulation layer at all? Seems it is sort of implied by "now native" and "previous versions". We could also trim out the list of people and simply stop the sentence at "Server." to save lots of room. > Tablespaces: This feature, also funded by Fujitsu, allows the database > administrator to choose which filesystems are used for schemas, tables, > and indexes. This allows the administrator to place whole databases on > separate disks to improve performance. The second sentence is probably not needed. > Improved Memory and I/O usage: With this release of PostgreSQL, disk > input/output subsystems have been improved to use shared buffers more > effectively, yielding significant increases in speed and performance. To be consistent, "usage" needs to be capitalized. This paragraph is pretty vague, unlike the others which mention specific features that people have heard of or can relate to. This basically says "we mucked around with the internals to make things faster." A more concete example or statement would be better here. Or leaving the paragraph off altogether. > There are also several new external components which complement the core > PostgreSQL database engine: "External components" sounds odd. The 3c alliteration doesn't help either. > - PostgreSQL added to its roster of stored procedure languages with > PL/PerlNG and PL/PHP which were sponsored by consultancy Command Prompt, > Inc. as well as PL/Java and the .Net provider Npgsql. "Roster" is not the best word to use here. Command Prompt is mentioned as a "consultancy" but none of the other companies are similarly explained. There should be a comma after PHP, or put the sponsorship clause in parens. > Version 8 is the collective work of hundreds of developers, building on > almost twenty years of development dating back to the University of > California at Berkeley. Ah, good, that's the way I wanted the version to appear. Whichever we choose, make it consistent. I still don't think that UC needs to be mentioned. > PostgreSQL is licensed under a BSD-style license, which due to its lack of > licensing fees allows corporate and individual users more flexibility than > the competition. The PostgreSQL database can be downloaded freely at > http://www.postgresql.org. I'll leave the license part to others. "The PostgreSQL database" sounds wrong: make it simply "PostrgeSQL" or make it a RDBMS. Since this is the last paragraph, it should also mention version 8 again, and perhaps make a final little plug. - -- Greg Sabino Mullane greg@turnstep.com PGP Key: 0x14964AC8 200409022151 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- iD8DBQFBN87WvJuQZxSWSsgRAtPcAJwKK0LxYaTKbybzimBQEuc/qe7KZQCfR5J5 OLLI+Vxce9iScSbP1hvNp7E= =nIA9 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
xzilla@users.sourceforge.net (Robert Treat) writes:
> I don't understand why people are not happy with just saying "it is
> the work of hundreds of developers" or some such paraphrase? Why do
> we need to be more specific about the structure of the postgresql
> development community?
In the "long form" version, it provides some reassurance that:
a) It's not some tiny clique vulnerable to the vagaries of one
organization's business risks;
b) It's not _controlled_ by one organization, either;
c) It is also not some sort of anarchy that lets just anyone check in
their favorite security holes.
For the pointy-haired types to whom "risk assessment" is everything,
these _are_ points of some importance.
--
let name="cbbrowne" and tld="cbbrowne.com" in name ^ "@" ^ tld;;
http://www.ntlug.org/~cbbrowne/languages.html
For example, if errors are detected in one of the disk drives, the
system will allow read-only access to memory until the problem is
resolved. This, PE claimed, prohibits a damaged disk drive from
entering errors into the system. -- Computerworld 8 Nov 82 page 4.
On Friday 03 September 2004 12:01, Chris Browne wrote:
> xzilla@users.sourceforge.net (Robert Treat) writes:
> > I don't understand why people are not happy with just saying "it is
> > the work of hundreds of developers" or some such paraphrase? Why do
> > we need to be more specific about the structure of the postgresql
> > development community?
>
> In the "long form" version, it provides some reassurance that:
>
> a) It's not some tiny clique vulnerable to the vagaries of one
> organization's business risks;
>
> b) It's not _controlled_ by one organization, either;
>
> c) It is also not some sort of anarchy that lets just anyone check in
> their favorite security holes.
>
> For the pointy-haired types to whom "risk assessment" is everything,
> these _are_ points of some importance.
None of the other more cumbersome wording have addressed those points well,
and the standard "hundreds of developers" certainly does a good job of #1,
does a better job of #3 than suggested phrasing like "1242 developers". And
#2 is addressed elsewhere within the release by mentioning several different
companies who contributed and in the explination at the bottom of who the
PGDG is. In fact that bit at the bottom is really where all 3 should be
addressed, not in the first paragraph.
--
Robert Treat
Build A Brighter Lamp :: Linux Apache {middleware} PostgreSQL