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PostgreSQL VS Apache Parquet

Compare PostgreSQL VS Apache Parquet and see what are their differences

PostgreSQL logo PostgreSQL

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

Apache Parquet logo Apache Parquet

Apache Parquet is a columnar storage format available to any project in the Hadoop ecosystem.
  • PostgreSQL Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-21
  • Apache Parquet Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-06-17

PostgreSQL features and specs

  • Open Source
    PostgreSQL is an open-source database management system, which means it is free to use, modify, and distribute. This reduces the cost of database management for individuals and organizations.
  • ACID Compliance
    PostgreSQL is fully ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) compliant, ensuring reliable transactions and data integrity.
  • Extensible
    PostgreSQL is highly extensible, allowing users to add custom functions, data types, and operators. This enables tailored solutions to specific requirements.
  • Advanced SQL Features
    PostgreSQL supports advanced SQL features like full-text search, JSON and XML data types, and complex queries, providing powerful tools for database operations.
  • Community Support
    There is a strong and active community around PostgreSQL, offering extensive documentation, forums, and collaborative support, which aids troubleshooting and development.
  • Multiple Indexing Techniques
    PostgreSQL offers a variety of indexing techniques such as B-tree, GIN, GiST, and BRIN, allowing for optimized query performance on various data types.
  • Cross-Platform Availability
    PostgreSQL runs on all major operating systems (Windows, MacOS, Linux, Unix), giving flexibility in deployment and development environments.

Possible disadvantages of PostgreSQL

  • Complex Configuration
    Setting up and configuring PostgreSQL can be complex and time-consuming, especially for beginners, requiring a good understanding of its parameters and best practices.
  • Heavy Resource Consumption
    PostgreSQL can be resource-intensive, consuming significant CPU and memory compared to other database systems, which may affect performance on lower-end hardware.
  • Backup and Restore Process
    The backup and restore process in PostgreSQL is not as straightforward as in some other database systems, requiring more manual intervention and understanding of tools like pg_dump and pg_restore.
  • Replication Complexity
    While PostgreSQL supports replication, setting it up can be more complex than some other databases. Advanced configurations like multi-master replication can be particularly challenging.
  • Steeper Learning Curve
    Due to its advanced features and extensive capabilities, PostgreSQL can have a steeper learning curve, making it harder for new users to get started compared to simpler database systems.
  • Less Third-Party Tool Support
    PostgreSQL has less support from third-party tools compared to more widely adopted databases like MySQL, which can limit options for auxiliary functions like administration, monitoring, and development.

Apache Parquet features and specs

  • Columnar Storage
    Apache Parquet uses columnar storage, which allows for efficient retrieval of only the data you need, reducing I/O and improving query performance on large datasets.
  • Compression
    Parquet files support efficient compression and encoding schemes, resulting in significant storage savings and less data to transfer over the network.
  • Compatibility
    It is compatible with the Hadoop ecosystem, including tools like Apache Spark, Hive, and Impala, making it versatile for big data processing.
  • Schema Evolution
    Parquet supports schema evolution, allowing changes to the schema without breaking existing data, which helps in maintaining long-lived data pipelines.
  • Efficient Read Performance for Aggregations
    Due to its columnar layout, Parquet is highly efficient for processing queries that aggregate data across columns, such as SUM and AVERAGE.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Parquet

  • Write Performance
    Writing data to Parquet can be slower compared to row-based formats, particularly for small inserts or updates, due to the overhead of encoding and compression.
  • Complexity in File Management
    Managing and partitioning Parquet files to optimize performance can become complex, particularly as datasets grow in size and complexity.
  • Not Ideal for All Workloads
    Workloads that require frequent row-level updates or involve small queries might be less efficient with Parquet due to its columnar nature.
  • Learning Curve
    The need to understand the nuances of columnar storage, encoding, and compression can pose a learning curve for teams new to Parquet.

PostgreSQL videos

Comparison of PostgreSQL and MongoDB

More videos:

  • Review - PostgreSQL Review
  • Review - MySQL vs PostgreSQL - Why you shouldn't use MySQL

Apache Parquet videos

No Apache Parquet videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to PostgreSQL and Apache Parquet)
Databases
92 92%
8% 8
Relational Databases
98 98%
2% 2
Big Data
0 0%
100% 100
NoSQL Databases
94 94%
6% 6

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare PostgreSQL and Apache Parquet

PostgreSQL Reviews

Data Warehouse Tools
Peliqan acts as a bridge, allowing you to e.g. effortlessly pull your PostgreSQL data into Google Sheets for easy access and analysis using its one-click connector. Additionally, Peliqan’s platform provides a user-friendly environment for data exploration, transformation with Magical SQL, and visualization capabilities, all without needing to switch between multiple tools.
Source: peliqan.io
Top 5 BigQuery Alternatives: A Challenge of Complexity
For over three decades, the open-source object-relational database system PostgreSQL has maintained its reputation as a top SQL server due to its features, performance, and reliability. (Heck, Redshift is even based on Postgres!) It's the go-to database solution for large corporations and organizations across a variety of industries from ecommerce to gaming to...
Source: blog.panoply.io
10 Best Database Management Software Of 2022 [+ Examples]
Applications Manager offers out-of-the-box health and performance monitoring for 20 popular databases including RDBMS, NoSQL, in-memory, distributed, and big data stores. It supports both commercial databases such as Oracle, Microsoft SQL, IBM DB2, and MongoDB as well as open source ones like MySQL and PostgreSQL.
Source: theqalead.com
ClickHouse vs TimescaleDB
Recently, TimescaleDB published a blog comparing ClickHouse & TimescaleDB using timescale/tsbs, a timeseries benchmarking framework. I have some experience with PostgreSQL and ClickHouse but never got the chance to play with TimescaleDB. Some of the claims about TimescaleDB made in their post are very bold, that made me even more curious. I thought it’d be a great...
9 Best MongoDB alternatives in 2019
PostgreSQL is a widely popular open source database management system. It provides support for both SQL for relational and JSON for non-relational queries.
Source: www.guru99.com

Apache Parquet Reviews

We have no reviews of Apache Parquet yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Apache Parquet should be more popular than PostgreSQL. It has been mentiond 24 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

PostgreSQL mentions (16)

  • Convert insert mutation to upsert
    In this quick post, we’ll walk through implementing an Upsert operation in Hasura using PostgreSQL and GraphQL. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Perfect Elixir: Environment Setup
    I’m on MacOS and erlang.org, elixir-lang.org, and postgresql.org all suggest installation via Homebrew, which is a very popular package manager for MacOS. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Rust & MySQL: connect, execute SQL statements and stored procs using crate sqlx.
    According to the documentation, crate sqlx is implemented in Rust, and it's database agnostic: it supports PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, and MSSQL. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Really tired. Is PostgreSQL even runnable in Windows 10? pgAdmin4 stucks at Loading whatever I try.
    Solution is just downloading and installilng pgAdmin from official pgAdmin homepage version, not the one that is included in the postgresql.org package. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Why SQL is right for Infrastructure Management
    SQL immediately stands out here because it was designed for making relational algebra, the other side of the Entity-Relationship model, accessible. There are likely more people who know SQL than any programming language (for IaC) or data format you could choose to represent your cloud infrastructure. Many non-programmers know it, as well, such as data scientists, business analysts, accountants, etc, and there is... - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
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Apache Parquet mentions (24)

  • How to Pitch Your Boss to Adopt Apache Iceberg?
    Iceberg decouples storage from compute. That means your data isn’t trapped inside one proprietary system. Instead, it lives in open file formats (like Apache Parquet) and is managed by an open, vendor-neutral metadata layer (Apache Iceberg). - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Processing data with “Data Prep Kit” (part 2)
    Data prep kit github repository: https://github.com/data-prep-kit/data-prep-kit?tab=readme-ov-file Quick start guide: https://github.com/data-prep-kit/data-prep-kit/blob/dev/doc/quick-start/contribute-your-own-transform.md Provided samples and examples: https://github.com/data-prep-kit/data-prep-kit/tree/dev/examples Parquet: https://parquet.apache.org/. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • 🔬Public docker images Trivy scans as duckdb datas on Kaggle
    Deliver nice ready-to-use data as duckdb, parquet and csv. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Introducing Promptwright: Synthetic Dataset Generation with Local LLMs
    Push the dataset to hugging face in parquet format. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Shades of Open Source - Understanding The Many Meanings of "Open"
    It's this kind of certainty that underscores the vital role of the Apache Software Foundation (ASF). Many first encounter Apache through its pioneering project, the open-source web server framework that remains ubiquitous in web operations today. The ASF was initially created to hold the intellectual property and assets of the Apache project, and it has since evolved into a cornerstone for open-source projects... - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing PostgreSQL and Apache Parquet, you can also consider the following products

MySQL - The world's most popular open source database

Apache Arrow - Apache Arrow is a cross-language development platform for in-memory data.

Microsoft SQL - Microsoft SQL is a best in class relational database management software that facilitates the database server to provide you a primary function to store and retrieve data.

Apache Spark - Apache Spark is an engine for big data processing, with built-in modules for streaming, SQL, machine learning and graph processing.

SQLite - SQLite Home Page

Redis - Redis is an open source in-memory data structure project implementing a distributed, in-memory key-value database with optional durability.