Recent Articles - Databases
The Dangers of OFFSET With MySQL
Jul 28, 2022 · 14 min read
Large limit offsets degrade the performance of most databases, but it is especially egregious in MySQL.
Deferrable Constraints in PostgreSQL
Jun 20, 2022 · 9 min read
Constraints in PostgreSQL are validated immediately row-by-row by default, which might be confusing when updating multiple values in columns that have a uniqueness constraint.
Investigating Locks in MySQL
Jun 17, 2022 · 8 min read
Locking is an important part of an ACID-compliant database, but excessive locks can lead to performance degradation. Here are some strategies for investigating locks in MySQL.
Inner vs. Outer Joins
Apr 29, 2022 · 7 min read
They can't be used interchangeably, and the differences are important.
Creating a MySQL Playground in Docker
Apr 27, 2022 · 4 min read
It's helpful to have local throwaway environments for rapid development, especially with databases, and creating one for MySQL is a snap with Docker.
Creating a PostgreSQL Playground in Docker
Apr 27, 2022 · 3 min read
It's helpful to have local throwaway environments for rapid development, especially with databases, and creating one for PostgreSQL is a snap with Docker.
Creating a Gremlin Playground in Docker
Apr 22, 2022 · 4 min read
Apache TinkerPop's Gremlin graph traversal language can be confusing to learn, but thankfully TinkerPop provides some "toy" graphs perfect to learn with.
Finding Long-Running Queries in MySQL
Dec 22, 2021 · 4 min read
Poorly optimized queries and excessive connections can cause problems in MySQL, here's a quick way to identify and kill them.
Finding Long-Running Queries in PostgreSQL
Nov 26, 2021 · 2 min read
Poorly optimized queries and excessive connections can cause problems in PostgreSQL, here's a quick way to identify and kill them.
Calculating Table Size in PostgreSQL
Nov 26, 2021 · 2 min read
Knowing how much disk space individual tables take up is important for DB maintenance and debugging, and it can be accomplished with a single query in PostgreSQL.
Making UUIDs More Performant in MySQL
Nov 14, 2020 · 3 min read
MySQL does not have a native UUID type, so strings are often used instead, which come with large storage and performance costs.
Generating v4 UUIDs in MySQL
Nov 13, 2020 · 3 min read
MySQL's UUID() function generates v1 UUIDs, which have a time component that make them unevenly distributed over short periods of time. We can define our own function to generate v4 UUIDs, which are random and therefore more evenly distributed.
