{mos_sb_discuss:49} To work with PostgreSQL, you need to find out whether your operating system is supported. In general, every system on which an ANSI C compiler is available should be able to run PostgreSQL. The list of platforms supported by PostgreSQL is constantly growing.

Because PostgreSQL is a flexible and powerful database server, many parameters can be configured and modified to achieve a maximum amount of performance and to make PostgreSQL behave the way you want it to.

PostgreSQL is one of the most advanced database servers available. Here are a few of the features found in a standard PostgreSQL distribution:

{mos_sb_discuss:49} Backend Interface (BKI) files are scripts in a special language that are input to the PostgreSQL backend running in the special “bootstrap” mode that allows it to perform database functions without a database system already existing. BKI files can therefore be used to create the database system in the first place.

{mos_sb_discuss:49} Transactions are a fundamental concept of all database systems. The essential point of a transaction is that it bundles multiple steps into a single, all-or-nothing operation. The intermediate states between the steps are not visible to other concurrent transactions, and if some failure occurs that prevents the transaction from completing, then none of the steps affect the database at all.

{mos_sb_discuss:49} The first test to see whether you can access the database server is to try to create a database. A running PostgreSQL server can manage many databases. Typically, a separate database is used for each project or for each user. Possibly, your site administrator has already created a database for your use. He should have told you what the name of your database is. In this case you can omit this step and skip ahead to the next section.

{mos_sb_discuss:49} The purpose of this article is to show how to configure unixODBC under Sun Solaris for readiness to programming a C++ OTL application with the PostgreSQL database. Consider this article the resulting experience of putting all pieces together, mixing tips from other articles already published in the OTL home page, some advice from Sergei (OTL author) and the total effort of about 5 hours to make a sample code work. The second objective is to provide a safe path to the C++ developer who is anxious in getting this stuff ready without pain. 

{mos_sb_discuss:49} In this article, you take a closer look at the installation process of PostgreSQL on various platforms. In contrast to Windows systems, UNIX systems can have many different faces; therefore the installation process on various UNIX systems can differ significantly. Many Linux systems, such as RedHat and Debian Linux, provide package management software for simplifying the installation of PostgreSQL binaries or source code. This section provides an overview of how PostgreSQL is installed on UNIX systems.

{mos_sb_discuss:49}  Aggregates can be combined with a WHERE clause to produce more complex results. For example, the query SELECT AVG(age) FROM friend WHERE age >= 21 computes the average age of people age 21 or older. This prevents Dick Gleason from being included in the average computation because he is younger than 21. The column label defaults to the name of the aggregate.