Articles by Shiv Iyer

About Shiv Iyer

Open Source Database Systems Engineer with a deep understanding of Optimizer Internals, Performance Engineering, Scalability and Data SRE. Shiv currently is the Founder, Investor, Board Member and CEO of multiple Database Systems Infrastructure Operations companies in the Transaction Processing Computing and ColumnStores ecosystem. He is also a frequent speaker in open source software conferences globally.

PostgreSQL Block Sizes: Tuning PostgreSQL by Changing Them

In PostgreSQL, tuning block sizes can have a significant impact on performance, especially for workloads that involve large sequential scans or high I/O operations. By adjusting the block size, you can optimize data storage […]

PostgreSQL Default Values: Avoiding Deadly Pitfalls

While default values in PostgreSQL can be convenient and provide initial values for columns, certain default values can have a detrimental impact on PostgreSQL performance. Here are some examples of potentially deadly default values and […]

MariaDB BIT or BOOLEAN Flags: Why You Shouldn’t Use Them

Using BIT or BOOLEAN flags in MariaDB can lead to performance and maintenance issues in certain scenarios. Here are some reasons why you should be cautious when using these data types: Instead of using BIT […]

PostgreSQL Hints and Costs Explained

Understanding Hints and Costs in PostgreSQL Query Optimization Firstly, hints and costs are two important concepts in PostgreSQL query optimization. They help improve query performance by giving the optimizer additional information about how to execute […]

PostgreSQL Cost-Based Optimizer: Query Transformation Under the Hood (Real-Life Example)

Understanding Query Transformation in PostgreSQL CBO Query transformation plays a crucial role in the PostgreSQL Cost-Based Optimizer (CBO). It enables the optimizer to modify a user’s SQL query to generate a more efficient query plan. […]

PostgreSQL Median Absolute Deviation: Finding Outliers

In PostgreSQL, you can actively use the Median Absolute Deviation (MAD) to identify outliers in a dataset. Since MAD is a robust statistic, it measures variability more effectively than traditional metrics. Moreover, it remains less […]

PostgreSQL isnumeric: Identifying Strings That Can Be Treated as Numbers

In PostgreSQL, you can apply the isnumeric function to identify strings that PostgreSQL can treat as numbers. The isnumeric function returns TRUE if all characters in the string are numeric, and FALSE otherwise. Here is an […]

PostgreSQL Alphanumeric String isalnum: Determine If a String Is Alphanumeric

PostgreSQL Table Column Limit: Safely Increasing It Beyond 1664

If you’ve ever encountered the PostgreSQL column limit of 1,664 columns per table, you know it can be a real hurdle when designing wide tables. This limit is enforced by the internal MaxTupleAttributeNumber parameter. In […]

Prevent Error PostgreSQL: Using IF [NOT] EXISTS for Object Creation and Removal

The IF [NOT] EXISTS DDL clause is a useful feature in PostgreSQL that can help prevent errors during object creation and removal. This clause allows database administrators to specify whether or not to create or […]

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