PostgreSQL 18 has been launched, with a number of new options like asynchronous I/O, higher post-upgrade efficiency, and improved textual content processing.
Asynchronous I/O permits PostgreSQL to problem a number of I/O requests on the identical time relatively than ready for one to complete earlier than beginning the following. Based on the PostgreSQL group, this improves general throughput, and has resulted in efficiency features of as much as 3x in some eventualities.
Beforehand, PostgreSQL used working system readahead mechanisms for knowledge retrieval, however because the working system didn’t have perception into database-specific entry patterns, it couldn’t at all times anticipate what knowledge could be required, leading to suboptimal efficiency throughout many workloads. Asynchronous I/O was created to deal with that limitation, the group defined.
This launch additionally introduces the power to maintain planner statistics by means of main model upgrades, whereas beforehand they wouldn’t carry over. This helps upgraded clusters attain anticipated efficiency extra shortly after upgrades.
Textual content processing was additionally improved on account of the brand new PG_UNICODE_FAST collation that gives full Unicode semantics for case transformations. PostgreSQL 18 additionally provides assist for making LIKE comparisons on textual content that makes use of a nondeterministic collation, which simplifies advanced sample matching. Moreover, full textual content search now makes use of the default collation supplier of a collation as a substitute of libc.
Developer expertise was a spotlight of this launch as properly, with additions like digital generated columns that compute values at question instances, temporal constraints for PRIMARY KEY and UNIQUE constraints in WITHOUT OVERLAPS clauses, and the power to create the schema definition of a overseas desk utilizing the definition of an area desk utilizing the CREATE FOREIGN TABLE … LIKE command.
Efficiency enhancements in PostgreSQL 18 embrace skip scan lookups on multicolumn B-tree indexes to enhance execution time on queries, indexing to optimize queries that use OR circumstances in a WHERE, and enhancements to how PostgreSQL plans and executes desk joins. This launch additionally helps {hardware} acceleration, together with assist for ARM NEON and SVE CPU intrinsics for the popcount operate.
Different updates on this launch embrace assist for OAuth 2.0, assist for reporting logical replication for write conflicts in logs, and proactive freezing of pages throughout vacuums.
“The efforts of the worldwide open supply group form each PostgreSQL launch and assist ship options that meet customers the place their knowledge resides,” mentioned Jonathan Katz, a member of the PostgreSQL core group. “PostgreSQL 18 builds on the mission’s lengthy, wealthy historical past of delivering a dependable and strong knowledge administration expertise, whereas persevering with to broaden the workloads it could possibly assist.”
A full record of updates could be discovered within the launch notes right here.
