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Heroku Postgres VS Datomic

Compare Heroku Postgres VS Datomic and see what are their differences

Heroku Postgres logo Heroku Postgres

Heroku Postgres is an SQL database as a service.

Datomic logo Datomic

The fully transactional, cloud-ready, distributed database
  • Heroku Postgres Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-22
  • Datomic Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-14

Heroku Postgres features and specs

  • Scalability
    Heroku Postgres offers seamless vertical and horizontal scaling, allowing you to handle increased loads without significant changes to your application.
  • Managed Service
    Heroku manages the database infrastructure, which includes automated backups, software updates, and security patches, reducing the operational overhead.
  • Integration
    Heroku Postgres integrates well with other Heroku services and add-ons, facilitating a smoother development and deployment workflow.
  • High Availability
    It provides high availability features like automated failover and redundancy to minimize downtime and ensure consistent performance.
  • Monitoring Tools
    Includes several built-in tools for monitoring database performance, which help you identify and troubleshoot issues efficiently.

Possible disadvantages of Heroku Postgres

  • Cost
    Heroku Postgres can be more expensive than self-hosted solutions, especially as your database requirements grow.
  • Limited Control
    As a managed service, it offers less control over database configurations and customizations compared to self-managed databases.
  • Vendor Lock-In
    Using Heroku Postgres can make it more challenging to transition to other platforms in the future, potentially leading to vendor lock-in.
  • Latency
    For applications not hosted on Heroku, there can be increased latency when interacting with the Heroku Postgres service due to its remote nature.
  • Advanced Feature Limitations
    Some advanced PostgreSQL features might not be fully supported or available in Heroku Postgres, limiting its use for certain specialized applications.

Datomic features and specs

  • Immutability
    Datomic employs an append-only data model where data is never overwritten but instead appended, ensuring historical data is always available and providing strong consistency.
  • Time Travel Queries
    Datomic allows you to query the database as of any point in time, facilitating auditing and debugging by allowing easy access to historical data states.
  • Rich Data Model
    Supports complex data types like maps and sets directly within its schema, providing a flexible way to represent data.
  • ACID Transactions
    Datomic supports fully ACID-compliant transactions, ensuring reliable and predictable database operations.
  • Scalability
    Separates storage and compute, allowing for horizontal scaling of read operations, making it suitable for handling large datasets.
  • Query Flexibility
    Offers a powerful query language that supports recursive queries, making it suitable for complex data retrieval needs.

Possible disadvantages of Datomic

  • Complexity
    The architecture of Datomic can be complex to understand and implement, particularly for teams unfamiliar with its design principles.
  • Cost
    Can be expensive to operate, especially in a cloud environment, where costs increase with the amount of data stored and the compute resources required.
  • Limited Write Throughput
    Due to its append-only design, Datomic can have limited write throughput, which may not be suitable for applications with heavy write requirements.
  • Closed Source
    Datomic is a proprietary database system, which may not appeal to organizations that prefer open-source solutions.
  • Learning Curve
    Requires a learning curve as its conceptual model and query language are different from traditional databases, potentially requiring additional training.
  • Dependency on AWS
    Relying on AWS ecosystem for the storage backend can limit choices for deployment environments, impacting flexibility.

Heroku Postgres videos

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Datomic videos

KotlinConf 2018 - Datomic: The Most Innovative DB You've Never Heard Of by August Lilleaas

More videos:

  • Review - "Real-World Datomic: An Experience Report" by Craig Andera (2013)
  • Review - Rich Hickey on Datomic Ions, September 12, 2018

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Heroku Postgres and Datomic)
Databases
30 30%
70% 70
Relational Databases
63 63%
37% 37
NoSQL Databases
23 23%
77% 77
Network & Admin
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Heroku Postgres and Datomic, you can also consider the following products

Amazon RDS - Easy to manage relational databases optimized for total cost of ownership.

MySQL - The world's most popular open source database

MarkLogic Server - MarkLogic Server is a multi-model database that has both NoSQL and trusted enterprise data management capabilities.

PostgreSQL - PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source object-relational database system.

Valentina Server - Valentina Server is 3 in 1: Valentina DB Server / SQLite Server / Report Server

Microsoft SQL Server - Microsoft Azure is an open, flexible, enterprise-grade cloud computing platform. Move faster, do more, and save money with IaaS + PaaS. Try for FREE.