PostgreSQL 14, the latest major release of the world's most advanced open-source relational database management system, is expected to be released in the third quarter of 2021. This release includes a host of new features, enhancements, and improvements, including:
Improved Performance and Scalability
PostgreSQL 14 offers significant performance improvements over previous versions, especially for large databases. One of the key areas of focus in this release is improving the scalability of parallel query execution. This has been achieved by improving the dynamic memory allocation mechanism and introducing a new parallel hash join algorithm.
Enhanced Security Features
PostgreSQL 14 has added several new security features to make the database more secure by default. The most notable of these is the introduction of role-level password policies. This allows administrators to define password policies that apply to specific database roles, making it easier to enforce password complexity rules.
Another new security feature is the ability to specify the number of authentication attempts allowed before an account is locked. This helps to prevent brute-force attacks by limiting the number of attempts that can be made to guess a password.
Improved Data Management
PostgreSQL 14 also includes several new features to improve data management. One of these is the ability to define a default partition for a partitioned table. This allows for more efficient querying of partitioned tables, as queries can be optimized to only search the relevant partitions.
Another new feature is the ability to refresh materialized views concurrently. This allows for faster updates to materialized views, which can be especially useful in high-traffic applications.
Better Developer Experience
PostgreSQL 14 also includes several new features aimed at improving the developer experience. One of these is support for extended statistics on columns, which can help improve query planning and performance. Another new feature is the ability to modify the structure of a partitioned table without needing to rebuild the entire table, which can save time and reduce downtime during schema changes.
Conclusion
PostgreSQL 14 is shaping up to be a major release, with significant improvements in performance, security, data management, and developer experience. These new features and enhancements make it an even more compelling choice for organizations of all sizes looking for a robust and scalable relational database management system. If you're already using PostgreSQL, upgrading to version 14 is likely to be a no-brainer. If you're not yet using PostgreSQL, now is a great time to start.
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