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  <title>Data Bene - Tag: 'Conference'</title>
  <subtitle>Relational database, open-source and scalable.</subtitle>
  <link href="https://www.data-bene.io/en/blog/tag/conference/feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" />
  <updated>2026-01-22T00:00:00Z</updated>
  <id>https://www.data-bene.io/en/blog/tag/conference/feed.xml</id>
    <entry>
      <title>CERN PGDay: an annual PostgreSQL event in Geneva, Switzerland</title>
      <link href="https://www.data-bene.io/en/blog/cern-pgday-2026/" />
      <updated>2026-01-22T00:00:00Z</updated>
      <id>https://www.data-bene.io/en/blog/cern-pgday-2026/</id>
     <content type="html"><![CDATA[ <p>If you’re located near Western Switzerland and the Geneva region (or you just want to visit!), you might find it well worth your time to attend <a href="https://www.swisspug.org/cern-pgday-2026.html" rel="noopener">CERN PGDay 2026</a>. It’s an annual gathering (this year occurring on February 6th, 2026) for anyone interested in learning more about PostgreSQL that takes place at CERN, the world’s largest particle physics laboratory.</p>
<p><em>If you find the subject of particle physics interesting, you may want to visit anyways! They offer free access to many activities that run from Tuesday to Sunday; <a href="https://visit.cern/programme" rel="noopener">you can view the full programme here</a>.</em></p>
<p>Here, you’ll be able to attend a single track of seven English-language sessions, with a social gathering afterwards to enjoy CERN while continuing to connect with the rest of the attendees.</p>
<p>This year, there’ll be:</p>
<ol class="list">
<li><strong>A new PostgreSQL backend for CERN Tape Archive scheduling for LHC Run 4</strong> - Konstantina Skovola, CERN</li>
<li><strong>DCS Data Tools - PostgreSQL/TimescaleDB Implementation for ATLAS DCS Time-Series Data</strong> - Dimitrios Matakias, Paris Moschovakos, CERN</li>
<li><strong>Operational hazards of managing PostgreSQL DBs over 100TB</strong> - Teresa Lopes, Adyen</li>
<li><strong>Vacuuming Large Tables: How Recent Postgres Changes Further Enable Mission Critical Workloads</strong> - Robert Treat, AWS</li>
<li><strong>The (very practical) Postgres Sharding Landscape</strong> - Álvaro Hernández, OnGres</li>
<li><strong>The Alchemy of Shared Buffers: Balancing Concurrency and Performance</strong> - Josef Machytka, credativ</li>
<li><strong>When Kafka Met Elephant: A Love Story about Fast Ingestion</strong> - Barbora Linhartova, Jan Suchanek, Baremon</li>
</ol>
<p>The first talk of the day is of particular note…</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The CERN Tape Archive (CTA) stores over one exabyte of scientific data. To orchestrate storage operations (archival) and access operations (retrieval), the CTA Scheduler coordinates concurrent data movements across hundreds of tape servers, relying on a Scheduler Database (Scheduler DB) to manage the metadata of the in-flight requests. The existing objectstore-based design of the CTA Scheduler DB is a complex transactional management system. This talk presents the development of a new PostgreSQL-based backend for the CTA Scheduler as an off-the-shelf solution which simplifies implementation and is expected to significantly reduce future development and operational costs. We describe the implementation of all main CTA workflows and explain how PostgreSQL addresses the limitations of the objectstore-based system, providing the foundation for the tenfold increase in data throughput expected during LHC Run 4.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><em>(<a href="https://indico.cern.ch/event/1504097/contributions/6833857/" rel="noopener">link to talk description</a>)</em></p>
<p>In a world where ever larger amounts of digital information must be stored, learning more about how CERN manages over one exabyte of scientific data is sure to be an interesting experience.</p>
<p>Geneva is home to many international organizations across the public, private, and scientific sectors. If you’d like to explore the topic of PostgreSQL in more depth through engaging in discussion or attending sessions, it’s a fun location to meet and learn. Thinking of coming by? You can <a href="https://indico.cern.ch/event/1504097/registrations/114102/" rel="noopener">register until February 1st</a>.</p>
<p>Last year’s session recordings can be viewed by <a href="https://indico.cern.ch/event/1471762/timetable/#20250117" rel="noopener">visiting the 2025 schedule</a> and selecting the paperclip symbol next to the talk you’re interested in.</p>
<p>Stop by and see us in the catering area; we’re proud to be sponsoring the event again this year and will have a table or booth where you can visit. We’d love to talk about what PostgreSQL and open-source innovation, development, &amp; whatever questions you have.</p>
 ]]></content>
			<author>
				<name>Sarah Conway</name>
			</author>
    </entry>
    <entry>
      <title>Open Source Experience 2025</title>
      <link href="https://www.data-bene.io/en/blog/open-source-experience-2025/" />
      <updated>2026-01-03T00:00:00Z</updated>
      <id>https://www.data-bene.io/en/blog/open-source-experience-2025/</id>
     <content type="html"><![CDATA[ <p>The 2025 edition of the <a href="https://www.opensource-experience.com/" rel="noopener">Open Source Experience (OSXP)</a> took place on December 10th and 11th under the theme “Open Source, key to Europe’s strategic autonomy.” As you might expect, the focus was entirely on redefining Europe’s digital future as being driven by open source innovations across all technologies (including data management, cloud computing, and cybersecurity). This year, many of the talks were largely focused on the intersection between open source and AI technologies (in alignment with the focus the technology industry has had on AI in general, in 2025).</p>
<h2 id="the-event"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#the-event">The event</a></h2>
<p>The event lasted two days, featuring 90 exhibitors, 130 sessions, 150 speakers, and over 4,000 participants – a truly large-scale conference held at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie in Paris.</p>
<p>This particular venue was smaller than last year’s venue (Le Palais de Congrés) and the rooms we went to were all full as a result of being very small (about 20 or 30 seats or so at most).</p>
<h2 id="the-talk-format"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#the-talk-format">The talk format</a></h2>
<p>Presentations were given in both English and French. Interestingly, there were no “silent rooms” this year (where headphones are provided to each attendee). Not everyone enjoyed that format last year, but it was a useful one for following two talks, or switching between them depending on the content or questions.</p>
<p>Two of our team members were in attendance and had the opportunity to explore various exhibitors and event rooms spread across three floors. The talks lasted 20 minutes. While too short to delve into details, this format was excellent for discovering new technologies and piquing our interest at a glance.</p>
<h2 id="the-talk-content"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#the-talk-content">The talk content</a></h2>
<p>There were six tracks that talks were categorized by:</p>
<ul class="list">
<li>Economic models and governance for sustainable open strategies</li>
<li>Artificial intelligence and scientific computing for data analysis</li>
<li>Cloud architecture and virtualization for an autonomous future</li>
<li>Development - software innovation in action</li>
<li>Cybersecurity and the software production chain: Open Source as a foundation of trust</li>
<li>Collaborative tools and business applications: regaining digital autonomy</li>
</ul>
<p>We found the topic of open source solutions within the public sector to be the most interesting. In particular, it was easy to see our reliance as a global society on the big five tech companies (GAFAM: Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft) has grown significantly in the past few years. Open source software is a direct solution for protecting our collective right to privacy in the digital age, which is exactly why conferences such as this are so important for the discovery of OSS alternatives and innovation that leads to further development within this sector.</p>
<h2 id="attendance"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#attendance">Attendance</a></h2>
<p>Attendance was particularly high from the very first day. We were delighted to have the opportunity to interact in person and meet our partners, especially <a href="https://www.ow2.org/" rel="noopener">OW2</a>, which also organizes an annual Open Source event in June. (The call for presentations is open until February 14, 2026 – see the OW2Con’26 call for proposals <a href="https://www.ow2con.org/view/2026/Call_For_Presentations" rel="noopener">here</a>.)</p>
<p>Since the event was entirely focused on open source technologies, we were able to discuss with numerous participants topics such as PostgreSQL support, along with the challenges and organizational impacts for companies wishing to innovate and adopt PostgreSQL, against the backdrop of market demand to break free from proprietary software licensing constraints.</p>
<p>We also had the pleasure of meeting key players in open source hardware innovation, which resonates with our own R&amp;D on RISC-V processors.</p>
<p>Many free software and open source projects were represented. Some examples include <a href="https://nextcloud.com" rel="noopener">Nextcloud</a> (a self-hosted cloud collaboration platform that we personally use for hosting here at Data Bene) and <a href="https://opentalk.eu/en" rel="noopener">OpenTalk</a>, a video-conferencing solution that is GDPR-compliant, operating within German data centers.</p>
<h2 id="closing-thoughts"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#closing-thoughts">Closing thoughts</a></h2>
<p>The event was successful and well-organized. The only thing that would have improved the experience would have been longer presentations to explore the various topics discussed in more depth. If you want to discover new open source projects, note that this event is also a great opportunity to freely exchange ideas on these topics.</p>
<p>The video replays for 2025 have not yet been published, but past conference recordings can be found on the <a href="https://www.opensource-experience.com/en/video-replays" rel="noopener">official website, here</a>.</p>
<p>Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the event and hope to attend next year!</p>
 ]]></content>
			<author>
				<name>Grégory Tiram</name>
			</author>
    </entry>
    <entry>
      <title>PGIBZ 2025: An Event for the Postgres Community in Ibiza</title>
      <link href="https://www.data-bene.io/en/blog/postgres-ibiza-2025/" />
      <updated>2025-12-11T00:00:00Z</updated>
      <id>https://www.data-bene.io/en/blog/postgres-ibiza-2025/</id>
     <content type="html"><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://pgibz.io/" rel="noopener">Postgres Ibiza (PGIBZ)</a>: An open source conference designed to bring together people with a love for PostgreSQL in Ibiza, a relaxed place for fresh and innovative discussions. An international event run by the nonprofit PostgreSQL España.</p>
<p>This was the first time that the Data Bene team attended the event, and we’re happy to share that it was a very positive experience.</p>
<h2 id="the-conference"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#the-conference">The Conference</a></h2>
<h3 id="location-and-venue"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#location-and-venue">Location and Venue</a></h3>
<p>As its name suggests, this conference takes place on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza. For those who are less familiar, the Official Tourism Site provides <a href="https://ibiza.travel/en/know-ibiza/where-we-are/" rel="noopener">a nice overview</a> that you may refer to. While it should go without saying, this <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/417" rel="noopener">UNESCO World Heritage Site</a> has incredible offerings outside of the conference itself. Combined with a potentially long-haul flight, it’s strongly recommended to plan an extra day or two (or more) to explore the island and enjoy the local experience.</p>
<p>The event itself is hosted at the <a href="https://www.palaciocongresosibiza.com/ibiza-congress-center/#main_english" rel="noopener">Palacio de Congresos de Ibiza</a>; a two-story conference center with multiple rooms and catering. Though located outside of the capital city, the venue can be reached by car in good timing (~15 minutes). To add, the venue is situated within walking distance of numerous hotels, restaurants, and a beach! We happened to have stayed at <a href="https://www.hoteltrestorresibiza.com/" rel="noopener">Hotel Tres Torres</a>, which we can recommend, though admittedly it’s difficult to make a wrong decision, especially following a sprinkle of background research.</p>
<p>Briefly, on the topic of extracurriculars, our go-to recommendation would be to visit the capital city, Ibiza. There you will be able to find a surprisingly large amount of shopping, restaurants, and sightseeing. Adding to that a walk through the historic neighborhood and you’ve got quite the memorable experience.</p>
<h3 id="attendance"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#attendance">Attendance</a></h3>
<p>This year’s PGIBZ welcomed about 30-40 attendees from across the globe, including China and the United States. And while there are certainly two sides to the coin, I consider this group size as more of a positive. Indeed, during both the presentation Q/A sessions, as well as the coffee breaks, I felt interactions were more engaging overall. This was especially true when meeting and reconnecting with members of both more modest and global enterprise-scaled companies.</p>
<h2 id="presentations-from-our-team"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#presentations-from-our-team">Presentations from our team</a></h2>
<h3 id="catherine"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#catherine">Catherine</a></h3>
<p>The first of the Data Bene speakers, and indeed the keynote of the first day, was Catherine Bouxin. Her presentation addressed the environmental impact of technology, and reflected the philosophy that important topics are not always the ones being discussed, and often aren’t considered a concern at all! Indeed, Catherine framed this conversation primarily as a reminder of the responsibility we as PostgreSQL community members share. There have been many exciting inventions of late, some with societal-changing implications, but we can not ignore the resource intensity that many of them require.</p>
<p>We stand confidently with Catherine’s message about contributing towards a greener future and making thoughtful decisions to this end, and we are excited that this was very well-received by the audience.</p>
<h3 id="cedric"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#cedric">Cedric</a></h3>
<p>On second day, our founder and CEO, Cédric Villemain, presented on the statistics-based highlights of the PostgreSQL major release version 18 (<a href="https://www.postgresql.org/docs/release/18.0/" rel="noopener">official notes linked here</a>). (After the event, he created a blog post on the topic of Cumulative Statistics in Postgres 18 - <a href="https://www.data-bene.io/en/blog/cumulative-statistics-in-postgresql-18/" rel="noopener">check it out here</a>!) Our team here at Data Bene are a fan of stats and surfacing data, which is what led us to create the PostgreSQL extension, <a href="https://codeberg.org/Data-Bene/StatsMgr" rel="noopener">StatsMgr</a>. <em>If you previously missed information on StatsMgr and would like to learn more, <a href="https://www.data-bene.io/en/blog/postgres-cafe-expand-monitoring-capabilities-with-statsmgr/" rel="noopener">check out our previous blog and Postgres Café podcast episode on the topic.</a></em></p>
<h3 id="evan"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#evan">Evan</a></h3>
<p>Directly after Cedric, I had the opportunity to present on developing and maintaining a Rust-based PostgreSQL extension (currently still very early stage) that helps facilitate the transition from Oracle to PostgreSQL. This project, named <code>pgtap_gen</code>, leverages the pre-existing <a href="https://github.com/theory/pgtap" rel="noopener">pgTAP</a> project to automate unit test creation on IvorySQL (100% open-source forked PostgreSQL with Oracle-analogous components). It was very encouraging to hear audience engagement and feedback. What’s more, it feels great to participate in the PostgreSQL ecosystem, even if it’s for proof-of-concept initiatives!</p>
<h3 id="frederic"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#frederic">Frédéric</a></h3>
<p>Towards the end of the second day, Frédéric delievered a talk on transaction isolation levels in PostgreSQL (that you may get the chance to see later on, as he’s submitted the same talk to pgDay Paris 2026 and PGDay CERN 2026!). He delved into each isolation level in Postgres with practical examples, and explained how everything works behind the scenes to define real steps for confidently choosing the right level for the right context. The attendees seemed to find the talk interesting and educational, so we may yet see further content on this topic and similar to help others who missed the opportunity to learn about the subject.</p>
<h2 id="concluding-thoughts"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#concluding-thoughts">Concluding Thoughts</a></h2>
<p>We chose to sponsor and attend PGIBZ 2025 as we believe it is important to further the PostgreSQL community across the world. No matter what, this is an event that is seeking to further Postgres education for the better. Profits from the event are used by the parent nonprofit organization, PostgreSQL España, to invest in translations of the official PostgreSQL documentation into Spanish.</p>
<p>Further breakdowns of each of the talk topics mentioned above are in-the-works; feel free to follow us on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/91744288/" rel="noopener">LinkedIn</a> and <a href="https://fosstodon.org/@data_bene" rel="noopener">Mastodon</a> to keep an eye out for them when they’re published on our blog.</p>
<p>We very much enjoyed our time at PGIBZ 2025, and are honored to have had the opportunity to present and participate. Looking forward to returning next year!</p>
<h2 id="references"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#references">References</a></h2>
<ul class="list">
<li><a href="https://ibiza.travel/en/know-ibiza/where-we-are/" rel="noopener">https://ibiza.travel/en/know-ibiza/where-we-are/</a></li>
<li><a href="https://pgibz.io/" rel="noopener">https://pgibz.io/</a></li>
<li><a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/417" rel="noopener">https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/417</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.hoteltrestorresibiza.com/" rel="noopener">https://www.hoteltrestorresibiza.com/</a></li>
</ul>
 ]]></content>
			<author>
				<name>Evan Stanton</name>
			</author>
    </entry>
    <entry>
      <title>Most Desired Database Three Years Running: PostgreSQL's Developer Appeal</title>
      <link href="https://www.data-bene.io/en/blog/most-desired-database-three-years-running-postgresqls-developer-appeal/" />
      <updated>2025-08-09T00:00:00Z</updated>
      <id>https://www.data-bene.io/en/blog/most-desired-database-three-years-running-postgresqls-developer-appeal/</id>
     <content type="html"><![CDATA[ <p>PostgreSQL is having more than just a moment—it’s establishing a clear pattern of sustained excellence. For the third consecutive year, this community-driven database has claimed the top spot in the 2025 results for <a href="https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2025/" rel="noopener">Stack Overflow’s Annual Developer Survey</a>, and the results reveal both what developers value today and where the database landscape is heading.</p>
<p>The survey results show that PostgreSQL is ranked the highest among all database technologies for developers that want to use it in the next year (47%) or have used it this year and want to continue using it next year (66%) for the third year in a row.</p>
<h2 id="the-numbers-tell-a-compelling-story"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#the-numbers-tell-a-compelling-story"><strong>The Numbers Tell a Compelling Story</strong></a></h2>
<p>The survey data from over 49,000 developers across 177 countries provides clear evidence of PostgreSQL’s sustained appeal. Since 2023, PostgreSQL has consistently ranked as both the most desired and most admired database technology among developers.</p>
<p>Looking at the specific metrics from the survey visualizations, PostgreSQL leads with 46.5% of developers wanting to work with it in the coming year, while an impressive 65.5% of those who have used it want to continue doing so. These aren’t just impressive numbers—they represent a consistency that’s rare in the rapidly changing technology landscape.</p>
<p>The survey data also reveals an interesting pattern among developers currently using other database technologies. Developers working with MongoDB and Redis show a particularly strong desire to add PostgreSQL to their toolkit next year, seeing the value in adding relational database skills to their repertoire.</p>
<h2 id="the-community-advantage-in-action"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#the-community-advantage-in-action"><strong>The Community Advantage in Action</strong></a></h2>
<p>Why has PostgreSQL achieved this level of sustained success? The answer lies in its community-driven development model. As an open source project, PostgreSQL benefits from collaborative development that is both transparent and responsive to real-world needs.</p>
<p>The PostgreSQL project represents the best of what community-driven development can achieve. With over 400 code contributors across more than 140 supporting companies, the project boasts over 55,000 commits and more than 1.6 million lines of carefully crafted code. This diverse, globally distributed approach to development results in more thorough testing, faster bug fixes, and more innovative features than traditional commercial development models typically achieve.</p>
<p>Major versions are released annually with approximately 180 features per release, complemented by quarterly minor releases that include numerous improvements and fixes. This steady cadence of innovation consistently contributed by individuals all over the world ensures PostgreSQL doesn’t just keep pace with developer needs—it anticipates them. More than that, every individual has the agency to contribute to the project to ensure that anywhere the software is lagging behind, functionality changes to address modern demands.</p>
<h2 id="more-than-just-a-relational-database"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#more-than-just-a-relational-database"><strong>More Than Just a Relational Database</strong></a></h2>
<p>One key factor in PostgreSQL’s broad appeal is that it’s not limited to being just a relational database system. PostgreSQL is object-relational by design, capable of handling diverse data types including JSON/JSONB, XML, Key-Value, geometric, geospatial, native UUID, and time-series data. This versatility explains why developers from NoSQL backgrounds find PostgreSQL attractive—it offers relational reliability while maintaining the flexibility they’re accustomed to.</p>
<p>The extensive support for different data types, combined with ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) characteristics, enables optimized, performant, and reliable data handling regardless of the specific requirements in place. Additionally, PostgreSQL’s huge community-driven extension network builds on its native extensibility, providing solutions for geospatial handling, disaster recovery, high availability infrastructure, monitoring, auditing, and much more.</p>
<h2 id="the-broader-database-landscape"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#the-broader-database-landscape"><strong>The Broader Database Landscape</strong></a></h2>
<p>While PostgreSQL dominates the top positions, the survey reveals a healthy, competitive database ecosystem. The complete rankings show:</p>
<p><strong>Most Desired Databases:</strong></p>
<ul class="list">
<li>PostgreSQL: 46.5%</li>
<li>SQLite: 28.3%</li>
<li>Redis: 23.5%</li>
<li>MySQL: 20.5%</li>
<li>MongoDB: 17.6%</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Most Admired Databases:</strong></p>
<ul class="list">
<li>PostgreSQL: 65.5%</li>
<li>SQLite: 59%</li>
<li>Redis: 54.9%</li>
<li>MongoDB: 45.7%</li>
<li>MySQL: 43.2%</li>
</ul>
<p>These numbers reflect a diverse ecosystem where different databases serve specific purposes. SQLite’s strong performance highlights the continued importance of lightweight, embedded solutions. Redis maintains its position as a highly regarded specialized database for caching and real-time applications. Traditional databases like MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server continue to hold significant positions, while newer technologies like DuckDB show impressive admiration scores despite lower usage rates.</p>
<h2 id="the-foundation-of-postgresqls-enduring-success"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#the-foundation-of-postgresqls-enduring-success"><strong>The Foundation of PostgreSQL’s Enduring Success</strong></a></h2>
<p>Three consecutive years at the top of developer preferences doesn’t happen by accident. PostgreSQL’s sustained dominance stems from fundamental strengths that continue to serve developers well as technology landscapes shift. The resilience built into PostgreSQL through its community-driven development model means it adapts without losing stability. Its extensibility sets it apart in practical ways—rather than waiting for vendor roadmaps or worrying about feature gaps, developers can build what they need or leverage the extensive ecosystem of community extensions. The open source nature ensures PostgreSQL remains focused on developer needs rather than business models, with bug fixes happening quickly and features developing based on real-world use cases.</p>
<p>After 35 years of active development and three consecutive years as the most desired database technology, PostgreSQL has proven that community-driven open source development can deliver both immediate utility and long-term value. For developers and organizations looking at their database choices, PostgreSQL offers something increasingly rare: a technology that gets better over time without leaving its users behind.</p>
 ]]></content>
			<author>
				<name>Sarah Conway</name>
			</author>
    </entry>
    <entry>
      <title>Return of HOW2025</title>
      <link href="https://www.data-bene.io/en/blog/return-of-how2025/" />
      <updated>2025-07-15T00:00:00Z</updated>
      <id>https://www.data-bene.io/en/blog/return-of-how2025/</id>
     <content type="html"><![CDATA[ <p>The Highgo Open World conference, dedicated to the PostgreSQL ecosystem and the IvorySQL project, was held on June 27 and 28. The event was a resounding success: nearly 1,000 attendees on site, up to 8,000 simultaneous connections to the streams, and approximately 25,000 viewers in total.</p>
<p>The program featured 101 technical talks led by 105 speakers. The majority of sessions were in Mandarin, with an English track offered with simultaneous translation. You can view the full program at <a href="https://ivorysql.io/schedule/" rel="noopener">IvorySQL.io</a> and find the replays on Weibo via <a href="https://ivorysql.io/2025/06/27/live-access-june27/" rel="noopener">this link.</a></p>
<p>There was a small group of the international community present, including <a href="https://postgresql.life/post/grant_zhou/" rel="noopener">Grant Zhou</a>, who liaises and collaborates with the PostgreSQL association in China and the rest of the world.</p>
<p>On a technical level, the content was dense and particularly interesting. I particularly noted:</p>
<ul class="list">
<li>
<p>Alena Rybakina’s presentation on the PostgreSQL query planner and strategies for circumventing certain limitations.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>A clear and concrete focus on Patroni (High Availability) by Alexander Kukushkin and Polina Bungina.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Florentz Tselai presented two topics applying his principles: simplicity and efficiency, using “AI” with PostgreSQL, and data management with Sun Tzu and the 36 Stratagems as support.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Also a very good introduction to Bazel and its use for Monogres (to be officially announced soon) presented energetically by Alvaro Hernandez.</p>
<p>Monogres is a very interesting initiative that should help strengthen control over the software supply chain, a major theme in IT today. And I also saw it as a great opportunity to showcase PostgreSQL variations with features and fixes that aren’t always possible to include in PostgreSQL itself or backport to previous major releases.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Michael Meskes had the honor of giving a plenary lecture on a topic that richly deserves it: “From Code to Commerce: Open Source Business Models Today,” a keynote on open-source and free software, applied to the PostgreSQL ecosystem.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>My colleague Andrea presented the developments and trends of companies moving to IvorySQL and PostgreSQL.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>For my part, I presented Linux PSI in the PostgreSQL context.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Since everything is recorded, I encourage you to explore and watch the topics that interest you. There were also pre-recorded lectures in English during the event, but I admit that I took advantage of the time during the sessions to interact with participants.</p>
<p>Aside from the conferences, I had the chance to meet several members of the Chinese PostgreSQL community who are very well-known for their involvement in the success of PostgreSQL locally. I also had the opportunity to learn more about Cloudberry, replacing Greenplum, thanks Dianjin Wang!</p>
<hr>
<p>Data Bene also planned a time to meet with the IvorySQL team, based largely in Shandong, the province where Jinan, the host city of the conferences, is located. Ivory is a project in which we are actively involved and which allows companies to move away from Oracle “smoothly.” This is an important topic for our clients and one that occupies a prominent place in our partnership with Highgo: they have been working on this project for several years now, and we want to enable companies everywhere to benefit from it with appropriate support and expertise.</p>
<hr>
<p>The conferences were very well organized and the welcome was wonderful, the “Social Event” at the local “beer garden” perfectly suited to the heat of Jinan at the end of June!</p>
<p>Given the conference program, I bitterly regretted not understanding anything (there was 1 track in English and 5 in Mandarin)… but it is already being said that next year the Mandarin conferences could perhaps be translated (into English), and the date brought forward to May to take advantage of a milder climate.</p>
<p>There is so much to learn there that I will gladly return.</p>
 ]]></content>
			<author>
				<name>Cédric Villemain</name>
			</author>
    </entry>
    <entry>
      <title>A visit to PGConf.DE 2025 and discussion of PostgreSQL within the context of life sciences</title>
      <link href="https://www.data-bene.io/en/blog/a-visit-to-pgconfde-2025-and-discussion-of-postgresql-within-the-context-of-life-sciences/" />
      <updated>2025-06-06T00:00:00Z</updated>
      <id>https://www.data-bene.io/en/blog/a-visit-to-pgconfde-2025-and-discussion-of-postgresql-within-the-context-of-life-sciences/</id>
     <content type="html"><![CDATA[ <p>It’s always a pleasure to attend Postgres events, and <a href="http://PGConf.DE" rel="noopener">PGConf.DE</a> 2025 in Berlin was no different. This year’s event reunited old friendships and offered an open and welcoming environment to form new ones. And, of course, it also boasted numerous exciting talks!</p>
<p>At the conference I had the opportunity to present on Postgres within the context of the life sciences (discussed in the next section). And, altogether, I felt this conference had a nice diversity of talks: a selection that spanned Postgres core, its ecosystem, and beyond.</p>
<p>I’m confident that by the end, most if not all attendees left more enriched in some way relative to when they arrived.</p>
<h2 id="presentations"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#presentations">Presentations</a></h2>
<p>Leading up to this event I had the honor of one of my talks being accepted. The title was “<a href="https://www.postgresql.eu/events/pgconfde2025/schedule/session/6541-postgres-and-life-science-from-cells-to-stars/" rel="noopener">Postgres and Life Science: From Cells to Stars</a>” and it was organized as a meta-analysis / homage to the extensibility of Postgres and its various applications to the natural world.</p>
<p>In order to best tell this story, I walked the audience through the following five topics of increasing scope:</p>
<ul class="list">
<li>Neuronal mapping with a PostGIS-supported GUI
<ul class="list">
<li><a href="https://github.com/catmaid/CATMAID" rel="noopener">CATMAID source code</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Hydrological examination of rivers with the PgHydro extension
<ul class="list">
<li><a href="https://github.com/pghydro/pghydro" rel="noopener">PgHydro source code</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Fish biomass meta-analysis leveraging vanilla Postgres
<ul class="list">
<li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-024-04026-0" rel="noopener">Link to peer-reviewed publication</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>COVID-19 dashboard using the Citus extension
<ul class="list">
<li><a href="https://www.citusdata.com/blog/2021/12/11/uk-covid-19-dashboard-built-using-postgres-and-citus/" rel="noopener">Link to blog post</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Star classification built on forked Postgres and altered extensions
<ul class="list">
<li><a href="https://indico.cern.ch/event/1471762/contributions/6280216/" rel="noopener">Link to presentation at Cern PGDay - 2025</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>I enjoyed putting together and presenting the talk, and there was nice discussion afterwards. Two points stood out in particular that I felt would be interesting to address here:</p>
<ol class="list">
<li>
<p>What three technologies (tools / workflows) would benefit most greatly, in terms of increased impact or adoptability, if their complexities were significantly reduced / abstracted away?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>During my talk I made a claim that the brain was ACID compliant. While I was referring mostly to the action potentials of neurons, this was rightfully challenged.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<h3 id="1-identified-tools-/-workflows"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#1-identified-tools-/-workflows">1. Identified Tools / Workflows</a></h3>
<p><em>1. What three technologies (tools / workflows) would benefit most greatly, in terms of increased impact or adoptability, if their complexities were significantly reduced / abstracted away?</em></p>
<h4 id="1-image-vectorization"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#1-image-vectorization">1. Image vectorization</a></h4>
<p>Right out of the gate I thought about magnetic resonance scanner image classification. There’s quite a lot of conversation surrounding this topic within the medical community and there are plenty of startups in this space as well. My personal opinion is that there is momentum in the direction of accessibility, but there is still a strong separation between developer and end user. While I don’t know the answer at this point, I would look into <a href="https://github.com/pgvector/pgvector" rel="noopener">pgvector</a> and <a href="https://github.com/postgresml/postgresml" rel="noopener">postgresml</a> as a starting point. Due to this challenge’s involvement of vectors and machine learning, I would consider leveraging an image embedding service to turn the raw MRI output into a format that pgvector might be able to work with.</p>
<h4 id="2-data-management-and-version-control"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#2-data-management-and-version-control">2. Data management and version control</a></h4>
<p>As a former academic, I can speak to the ubiquitousness of the common spreadsheet (.csv format being less common, but still utilized). What’s more is that files are typically stored in local directories / private server / shared infrastructure, but nevertheless a vanilla folder architecture. One can imagine the potential frictions as the conversation scales to include multiple researchers across multiple groups. Factor in a naturally high student turnover, paired with an “I like doing it my way” mentality, and one could appreciate the value of standards. While improvements could be approached from a number of different angles, I’d like to focus on data management and version control.</p>
<p>Tidy data and good organizational hygiene are hallmarks of success in any field of study. However, tracking changes are most often, if not exclusively limited to text documents. While it might be surprising to the reader, “code repository” is not part of the common academic lexicon. Even the term “Linux” evokes an air of “mysterium tremendum et fascinans” (Otto, 1923). With data security at the top of the mind, self hosted options such as <a href="https://forgejo.org/" rel="noopener">forgejo</a> could potentially benefit life scientists greatly - particularly if there are reservations about storing data online. Instead of having multiple file drafts, e.g., “draft-1_final”, “draft_final_final”, etc, tools such as forgejo can help track progress and give researchers more transparency into past changes (leading into easier cross-team collaboration).</p>
<h4 id="3-compliance-and-auditing"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#3-compliance-and-auditing">3. Compliance and auditing</a></h4>
<p>Trust is a central topic in any field of research, and in certain circumstances, auditing (or otherwise some form of proof of work) may take center stage. In this case, Postgres and one of its companion extensions, <a href="https://github.com/pgaudit/pgaudit" rel="noopener">pgaudit</a>, can offer a nice step towards compliance. Due to Postgres’ capabilities, it can sometimes be viewed as intimidating and only suitable for large projects. I think there could be a lot of ubiquity with the publication of a “Postgres for small scale projects” type guide.</p>
<h4 id="discovery-and-exposure"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#discovery-and-exposure">Discovery and exposure</a></h4>
<p>At the end of the day, no one will willingly use something unless they know it exists. That’s why discoverability is one of the most fundamental concepts when discussing impact and adoptability. It’s up to the maintainers, contributors, and communities behind these open source tools to share what they’re up to on multiple platforms, as well as different conferences. Honestly, the easiest way to help is to just talk about it and get hands-on.</p>
<h3 id="2-the-brain-and-acid-compliance"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#2-the-brain-and-acid-compliance">2. The Brain and ACID Compliance</a></h3>
<p><em>2. During my talk I made a claim that the brain was ACID compliant. While I was referring mostly to the action potentials of neurons, this was rightfully challenged.</em></p>
<p>This was another exciting conversation in the post-presentation discussion, and while this really warrants its own blog post, I wanted to quickly share my thoughts. Within one of my slides, I made the claim that the brain is ACID compliant, at least in the sense of transactions being all-or-nothing. Neurons, which are a common cell type in the brain, have a characteristic whereby they receive signals which compile until a threshold is reached and then the neuron sends a signal of its own, or “fires.” This is a gross oversimplification: here’s a quick <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_potential" rel="noopener">Wikipedia link</a> for more information.</p>
<p>However, astute audience members righty noted that the brain is complex and has different regions. There is memory loss and there are activities that can alter function and consciousness. However, to what extent do external influences on the brain correspond to a database system? If something corrupts a Postgres database, it is no longer ACID compliant, but it was beforehand. All these points are both valid and interesting. It will be interesting to think on this and write a more formal response.</p>
<h2 id="concluding-thoughts"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#concluding-thoughts">Concluding Thoughts</a></h2>
<p>To sum things up, this was great conference. I know I speak for all attendees when I extend a thank you to all involved, whether they be staff, volunteers, speakers, or otherwise.</p>
<h2 id="references"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#references">References</a></h2>
<p>Foote, K. J., Grant, J. W. A., &amp; Biron, P. M. (2024). A global dataset of salmonid biomass in streams. Scientific data, 11(1), 1172. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-04026-0" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-04026-0</a></p>
<p>Giordano, C., &amp; Hadjibagheri, P. (2021, December 11). UK COVID-19 dashboard built using Postgres and Citus for millions of users. Microsoft TechCommunity Blog. <a href="https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/azure-database-for-postgresql/uk-covid-19-dashboard-built-using-postgres-and-citus-for/ba-p/3039052" rel="noopener">https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/azure-database-for-postgresql/uk-covid-19-dashboard-built-using-postgres-and-citus-for/ba-p/3039052</a></p>
<p>Kazimiers, T., et al. (2021). CATMAID (Collaborative Annotation Toolkit for Massive Amounts of Image Data) [Computer software]. GitHub. <a href="https://github.com/catmaid/CATMAID" rel="noopener">https://github.com/catmaid/CATMAID</a></p>
<p>Krefl, D., &amp; Nienartowicz, K. (2025, January 17). Harnessing Postgres and HPC for petabyte-scale variable star classification in astronomy [Conference presentation]. CERN PGDay 2025, Geneva, Switzerland. <a href="https://indico.cern.ch/event/1336647/contributions/5660229/" rel="noopener">https://indico.cern.ch/event/1336647/contributions/5660229/</a></p>
<p>Otto, R. (1923). The idea of the holy: An inquiry into the non-rational factor in the idea of the divine and its relation to the rational (J. W. Harvey, Trans.). Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1917)</p>
<p>Teixeira, A. de A., &amp; PgHydro Project. (2022). pghydro (Version 6.6) [Computer software]. GitHub. <a href="https://github.com/pghydro/pghydro" rel="noopener">https://github.com/pghydro/pghydro</a></p>
<p>Wikipedia contributors. (2025, May 16). Action potential. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_potential" rel="noopener">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_potential</a></p>
 ]]></content>
			<author>
				<name>Evan Stanton</name>
			</author>
    </entry>
    <entry>
      <title>SCaLE 22x: Bringing the Open Source Community to Pasadena</title>
      <link href="https://www.data-bene.io/en/blog/scale-22x-bringing-the-open-source-community-to-pasadena/" />
      <updated>2025-06-02T00:00:00Z</updated>
      <id>https://www.data-bene.io/en/blog/scale-22x-bringing-the-open-source-community-to-pasadena/</id>
     <content type="html"><![CDATA[ <p>The Southern California Linux Expo (SCaLE) 22x, recognized as being North America’s largest community-run open source and free software conference, took place at the Pasadena Convention Center from March 6-9, 2025. <em>When I say community-run, I mean it—no corporate overlords dictating the agenda, just pure open source enthusiasm driving four days of technical discussions and collaboration.</em></p>
<p>This year’s conference focused around the topics of AI, DevOps and cloud-native technologies, open source community engagement, security and compliance, systems and infrastructure, and FOSS @ home (exploring the world of self-hosted applications and cloud services).</p>
<p>The conference drew attendees from around the world to talk about everything open-source, revolving around Linux at the core (of course) while continuing the discussion across topics such as embedded systems &amp; IoT. As always, there was a unique blend of cutting-edge tech talk and practical problem-solving within every space that is what makes SCaLE special.</p>
<h2 id="herding-elephants-postgresql@scale22x"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#herding-elephants-postgresql@scale22x"><strong>Herding Elephants: PostgreSQL@SCaLE22x</strong></a></h2>
<p>PostgreSQL@SCaLE22x ran as a dedicated two-day, two-track event on March 6-7, 2025, recognized under the PostgreSQL Global Development Group community event guidelines. The selection team included Gabrielle Roth, Joe Conway, and Mark Wong, ensuring the quality you’d expect from the PostgreSQL community.</p>
<p>The speaker lineup was impressive: Magnus Hagander, Christophe Pettus, Peter Farkas, Devrim Gündüz, Hamid Akhtar, Henrietta Dombrovskaya, Shaun Thomas, Gülçin Yıldırım Jelínek &amp; Andrew Farries, Nick Meyer, and Jimmy Angelakos. One particularly memorable session was titled “Row-Level Security Sucks. Can We Make It Usable?”—a refreshingly honest take on PostgreSQL’s RLS feature that probably resonated with more than a few database administrators in the audience.</p>
<p>The community “Ask Me Anything” panel was hosted by Stacey Haysler and featured Christophe Pettus, Devrim Gündüz, Jimmy Angelakos, Magnus Hagander, and Mark Wong. These sessions are where the real knowledge transfer happens—no marketing speak, just practitioners talking shop about PostgreSQL internals, performance, best practices, and the future of the database.</p>
<p>Behind the scenes, volunteers Derya Gumustel, Erika Miller, Hamid Akhtar, Jennifer Scheuerell, Mark Wong, and Roberto Mello kept everything running smoothly, with PGUS hosting the booth in the expo hall.</p>
<p>Personally, I had the pleasure of collaborating with Jimmy Angelakos during his <a href="https://vyruss.org/blog/scale-22x-live-streams-row-level-security-sucks.html" rel="noopener">live streaming sessions</a> featuring other guests like Henrietta Dombrovskaya, Mark Wong, Gülçin Yıldırım Jelínek, and even a brief cameo from Devrim Gündüz.</p>
<p><em>One of the topics discussed with Gülçin Yıldırım Jelínek on the podcast is whether or not there’s any community interest in continuing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwaJd2c9whM" rel="noopener">Postgres Café</a>. What do you think? Do you want to see more episodes from this podcast series, expanding discussions on extension and open source development to the rest of the community and beyond? Let us know: <a href="mailto:contact@data-bene.io">contact@data-bene.io</a></em></p>
<h2 id="something-for-everyone"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#something-for-everyone"><strong>Something for Everyone</strong></a></h2>
<p>There are a lot of co-located events besides PostgreSQL @ SCaLE, including “SCaLE: The Next Generation (TNG)” which is a youth-focused tech event encouraging interactive activities and presentations for students, and the annual Cybersecurity Capture the Flag (CTF) game event presented by Cal Poly FAST and Pacific Hackers.</p>
<p>SCaLE remains an excellent place to network when looking to advance your career in open source. Socializing at the booths is always an excellent way to make connections and find opportunities, of course, but Open Source Career Day also returned in order to offer a dedicated space for professionals and aspiring technologists to become empowered with resources, tools, real-world examples, and engaging content from presentations and workshops.</p>
<p>The fun tradition of holding a Saturday Game Night with food &amp; drinks also continued this year, with Trivia Night (presented by Uncoded) and other fun activities such as inflatable axe throwing, nerf target practice, arts &amp; crafts, a board game room, casino night, &amp; a blocks room for building derby cars, playing pictionary, or building with large blocks.</p>
<h2 id="keep-your-calendar-open-for-scale-23x"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#keep-your-calendar-open-for-scale-23x"><strong>Keep Your Calendar Open for SCaLE 23x</strong></a></h2>
<p>SCaLE has established itself as a consistent presence in Pasadena, and this stability has allowed the conference to build lasting relationships with the local community and venues. Keep an eye out for SCaLE 23x announcements - it promises to be well worth the visit.</p>
<p>For those interested in PostgreSQL@SCaLE specifically, stay tuned to the PostgreSQL mailing lists for announcements about volunteering, speaking opportunities, or other ways to participate in next year’s event. The PostgreSQL track and booth is a consistent source of engaging discussions amongst those in the Postgres community and beyond, reflecting the database’s growing adoption across industries.</p>
<h2 id="the-open-source-gathering-for-one-and-all"><a class="heading-anchor" href="#the-open-source-gathering-for-one-and-all"><strong>The Open Source Gathering for One and All</strong></a></h2>
<p>In a world where many tech conferences feel more like elaborate vendor showcases, SCaLE remains that rare gathering where community comes first, collaboration is genuine, and the technology discussions are driven by practitioners solving real problems. Mark your calendars for SCaLE 23x—this is one conference that consistently delivers on its promise of bringing together open source enthusiasts to actually collaborate and learn.</p>
<p>Wish you hadn’t missed out? You can always check out the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh1QjGnfC2eREVHe8shz8Db7jGJvZerCK" rel="noopener">YouTube playlist of talks</a> that were recorded during the conference to at least benefit from the knowledge contained therein.</p>
 ]]></content>
			<author>
				<name>Sarah Conway</name>
			</author>
    </entry>
</feed>
