<partintro>
<para>
Welcome to the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> Tutorial. The
- following few chapters are intended to give a simple introduction
+ tutorial is intended to give an introduction
to <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>, relational database
- concepts, and the SQL language to those who are new to any one of
- these aspects. We only assume some general knowledge about how to
- use computers. No particular Unix or programming experience is
- required. This part is mainly intended to give you some hands-on
- experience with important aspects of the
- <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> system. It makes no attempt
- to be a complete or thorough treatment of the topics it covers.
+ concepts, and the SQL language. We assume some general knowledge about
+ how to use computers and no particular Unix or programming experience is
+ required. This tutorial is intended to provide hands-on experience with
+ important aspects of the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> system.
+ It makes no attempt to be a comprehensive treatment of the topics it covers.
</para>
<para>
- After you have worked through this tutorial you might want to move
- on to reading <xref linkend="sql"/> to gain a more formal knowledge
+ After you have successfully completed this tutorial you will want to
+ read the <xref linkend="sql"/> section to gain a better understanding
of the SQL language, or <xref linkend="client-interfaces"/> for
- information about developing applications for
- <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>. Those who set up and
- manage their own server should also read <xref linkend="admin"/>.
+ information about developing applications with
+ <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>. Those who provision and
+ manage their own PostgreSQL installation should also read <xref linkend="admin"/>.
</para>
</partintro>
This part describes the use of the <acronym>SQL</acronym> language
in <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>. We start with
describing the general syntax of <acronym>SQL</acronym>, then
- explain how to create the structures to hold data, how to populate
- the database, and how to query it. The middle part lists the
- available data types and functions for use in
- <acronym>SQL</acronym> commands. The rest treats several
- aspects that are important for tuning a database for optimal
- performance.
+ how to create tables, how to populate the database, and how to
+ query it. The middle part lists the available data types and
+ functions for use in <acronym>SQL</acronym> commands. Lastly,
+ we address several aspects of importance for tuning a database.
</para>
<para>
- The information in this part is arranged so that a novice user can
- follow it start to end to gain a full understanding of the topics
+ The information is arranged so that a novice user can
+ follow it from start to end and gain a full understanding of the topics
without having to refer forward too many times. The chapters are
intended to be self-contained, so that advanced users can read the
- chapters individually as they choose. The information in this
- part is presented in a narrative fashion in topical units.
- Readers looking for a complete description of a particular command
- should see <xref linkend="reference"/>.
+ chapters individually as they choose. The information is presented
+ in narrative form with topical units. Readers looking for a complete
+ description of a particular command are encouraged to review
+ the <xref linkend="reference"/>.
</para>
<para>
- Readers of this part should know how to connect to a
- <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> database and issue
+ Readers should know how to connect to a
+ <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> database and issue
<acronym>SQL</acronym> commands. Readers that are unfamiliar with
these issues are encouraged to read <xref linkend="tutorial"/>
first. <acronym>SQL</acronym> commands are typically entered
<partintro>
<para>
This part covers topics that are of interest to a
- <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> database administrator. This includes
- installation of the software, set up and configuration of the
- server, management of users and databases, and maintenance tasks.
-
Anyone who runs a <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> server, even for
+ <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> administrator. This includes
+ installation, configuration of the server, management of users
+ and databases, and maintenance tasks. Anyone running
+ <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> server, even for
personal use, but especially in production, should be familiar
- with the topics covered in this part.
+ with these topics.
</para>
<para>
- The information in this part is arranged approximately in the
- order in which a new user should read it. But the chapters are
- self-contained and can be read individually as desired. The
- information in this part is presented in a narrative fashion in
- topical units. Readers looking for a complete description of a
- particular command should see <xref linkend="reference"/>.
+ The information attempts to be in the order in which
+ a new user should read it. The chapters are self-contained and
+ can be read individually as desired. The information is presented
+ in a narrative form in topical units. Readers looking for a complete
+ description of a command are encouraged to review the
+ <xref linkend="reference"/>.
</para>
<para>
The first few chapters are written so they can be understood
without prerequisite knowledge, so new users who need to set
- up their own server can begin their exploration with this part.
- The rest of this part is about tuning and management; that material
+ up their own server can begin their exploration. The rest of this
+ part is about tuning and management; that material
assumes that the reader is familiar with the general use of
the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> database system. Readers are
- encouraged to look at <xref linkend="tutorial"/> and <xref
- linkend="sql"/> for additional information.
+ encouraged review the <xref linkend="tutorial"/> and <xref
+ linkend="sql"/> parts for additional information.
</para>
</partintro>
<para>
This part describes the client programming interfaces distributed
with <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>. Each of these chapters can be
- read independently. Note that there are many other programming
- interfaces for client programs that are distributed separately and
+ read independently. There are many external programming
+ interfaces for client programs that are distributed separately. They
contain their own documentation (<xref linkend="external-projects"/>
lists some of the more popular ones). Readers of this part should be
- familiar with using <acronym>SQL</acronym> commands to manipulate
+ familiar with using <acronym>SQL</acronym> to manipulate
and query the database (see <xref linkend="sql"/>) and of course
- with the programming language that the interface uses.
+ with the programming language of their choice.
</para>
</partintro>
<para>
This part is about extending the server functionality with
user-defined functions, data types, triggers, etc. These are
- advanced topics which should probably be approached only after all
+ advanced topics which should be approached only after all
the other user documentation about <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> has
been understood. Later chapters in this part describe the server-side
programming languages available in the
<productname>PostgreSQL</productname> distribution as well as
- general issues concerning server-side programming languages. It
+ general issues concerning server-side programming. It
is essential to read at least the earlier sections of <xref
linkend="extend"/> (covering functions) before diving into the
- material about server-side programming languages.
+ material about server-side programming.
</para>
</partintro>
projects / postgresql.git / commitdiff