From Startup to Mature Company: PostgreSQL Tips and Techniques

This talk is for people relatively new to PostgreSQL who are wondering: "How do I get going with PostgreSQL -- in a way that won’t create problems later on?"

We’ll go over best practices in:

• Table design
• Indexing
• PostgreSQL types
• Stored procedures -- when & how to use, when not
• Triggers
• How to work with a web framework (I.e. Ruby-on-Rails): what works belongs in the framework, what should be done in the database
• Error & exception management
• Doing the right amount of planning
• Why you might want to build the help system first, and use it to help build the rest.

Nistica has its ownership in Japan, engineering in New Jersey, & manufacturing in Vietnam so we’ll take a special look at:

• Handling different languages & character sets
• Timestamps & time zones
• How to sync data from one part of the world to another without letting data fall on the floor or creating infinite loopiness.

Nistica has gone from startup to world player in the manufacture of optical switches. It has run its manufacturing on PostgreSQL from the start, using PostgreSQL to drive every step from assembly to quality assurance & tracking all part data in the database.

Going from the ad hoc procedures appropriate for a startup to the disciplined approaches required by the world market has taught us a lot about how to get the best out of PostgreSQL.

We’ve learned a lot from the PostgreSQL community; now we’d like to share some of what we’ve learned from our experience.