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Databases

Definition

Databases coverage in this archive spans 10 posts from Apr 2016 to Mar 2026 and centers on data correctness and operability under real production constraints. The strongest adjacent threads are postgresql, architecture, and engineering. Recurring title motifs include database, databases, migrations, and without.

Key claims

  • The common theme is that schema, ownership, and query shape drive most downstream outcomes.
  • Early posts lean on database and postgres, while newer posts lean on database and most as constraints shifted.
  • This topic repeatedly intersects with postgresql, architecture, and engineering, so design choices here rarely stand alone.

Practical checklist

  • Define freshness, correctness, and latency targets before choosing storage or pipeline patterns.
  • Start with the newest post to calibrate current constraints, then backtrack to older entries for first principles.
  • When boundary questions appear, cross-read postgresql and architecture before committing implementation details.

Failure modes

  • Scaling pipelines before locking down source-of-truth and reconciliation behavior.
  • Optimizing single queries while ignoring data model drift and access patterns.
  • Applying guidance from 2016 to 2026 without revisiting assumptions as context changed.

Suggested reading path

References

10 entries tagged “Databases”

    De-Risking the Black Swan: Red-Teaming Distributed Databases Before Production · 8 min Structured red-teaming is a practical reliability discipline for distributed databases. Most catastrophic failures are compound scenarios nobody practiced, not black swans. distributed-systems databases resilience PostgreSQL Performance: Measure First, Tune Second · 6 min Most Postgres performance problems are indexing problems. The rest are vacuum problems. Here's how to find and fix both. postgresql databases performance Zero-Downtime Database Migrations Without the Drama · 5 min Database migrations are the one place where a single ALTER TABLE can ruin your weekend. Here's how to do them safely with expand-and-contract, batched backfills, and compatible deploys. databases migrations zero-downtime Database Reliability Engineering: What I've Learned the Hard Way · 7 min Practical database reliability from running Postgres at the fintech startup and at large enterprises. Includes config examples, migration patterns, and the operational habits that actually prevent outages. databases reliability sre Most Teams Should Just Use Postgres · 3 min Serverless databases are solving problems most teams don't have. Here's why Postgres with a connection pooler is still the right answer. serverless databases postgresql Database Replication Patterns That Actually Matter · 8 min A practical breakdown of replication modes, topologies, and the tradeoffs between consistency, availability, and not losing your users' data at 3am. databases replication postgresql Stop Guessing: How I Fix Slow Databases · 7 min The repeatable process I use at the fintech startup to diagnose and fix database performance problems instead of throwing random indexes at the wall. databases performance postgresql The Economics of State: Why Scaling Up Beats Sharding (Until It Doesn't) · 8 min A production-grounded case for exhausting single-server headroom with pooling, replicas, and partitioning before taking on sharding complexity. postgresql databases scaling Database Migrations Without Downtime · 7 min A practical guide to evolving schemas without maintenance windows by keeping old and new code compatible at every step. databases migrations postgresql Postgres vs MySQL in 2016: A Practical Comparison · 5 min A grounded look at PostgreSQL and MySQL as of April 2016, focusing on integrity, query power, and operational tradeoffs rather than benchmark hype. postgresql mysql databases
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