How to Apply SQL Server Best Practices in PostgreSQL

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How do I apply SQL Server performance and safety best practices in PostgreSQL?

A concise guide to translating SQL Server performance and safety best practices into PostgreSQL workflows.

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Description

Example H2

Example H3

Why copy SQL Server best practices to PostgreSQL?

SQL Server and PostgreSQL share ANSI-SQL roots. Index design, transaction control, and security principles translate well and boost cross-database skills.

Which indexing habits transfer directly?

Create selective B-tree indexes on foreign keys and filter columns used in WHERE clauses. Index only what the query planner needs; over-indexing slows writes.

CREATE INDEX idx_orders_customer_id ON Orders(customer_id);

How do I enforce data integrity like SQL Server?

Use UNIQUE constraints, CHECK constraints, and FOREIGN KEYS.They prevent bad data before it reaches application code.

ALTER TABLE OrderItems ADD CONSTRAINT fk_order FOREIGN KEY (order_id) REFERENCES Orders(id);

What’s the PostgreSQL equivalent of SQL Server’s TRY/CATCH?

Wrap logic in a plpgsql DO block or function and trap exceptions with EXCEPTION WHEN.Roll back or log as required.

DO $$ BEGIN -- complex logic here EXCEPTION WHEN others THEN RAISE NOTICE 'Error handled'; END$$;

How should I manage autovacuum like SQL Server’s maintenance plans?

Leave autovacuum on, tune autovacuum_vacuum_scale_factor and autovacuum_analyze_scale_factor per large table to prevent bloat.

Recommended settings for busy OrderItems

ALTER TABLE OrderItems SET ( autovacuum_vacuum_scale_factor = 0.05, autovacuum_analyze_scale_factor = 0.02);

Where do I store configuration—for each environment?

Use ALTER SYSTEM for cluster-wide settings and ALTER DATABASE ...SET for per-database overrides, similar to SQL Server’s sp_configure and database-scoped options.

How do I secure roles like SQL Server’s schemas and logins?

Create login-like roles without LOGIN, grant privileges through them, and map users via role membership.Revoke default PUBLIC rights from new schemas.

CREATE ROLE app_readonly NOLOGIN; GRANT SELECT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA public TO app_readonly;

Performance checklist

Use EXPLAIN (ANALYZE, BUFFERS) before adding indexes.
Partition large fact tables by date.
Avoid SELECT *; project needed columns only.
Batch-insert with COPY for >1k rows.

Monitoring essentials

Track wait events, deadlocks, and long-running queries in pg_stat_activity. Set log_min_duration_statement to 500 ms for slow query logs.

Why How to Apply SQL Server Best Practices in PostgreSQL is important

How to Apply SQL Server Best Practices in PostgreSQL Example Usage


--Find top-5 customers by total spend in the last 90 days
WITH recent_orders AS (
  SELECT id, customer_id, total_amount
  FROM Orders
  WHERE order_date >= CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '90 days'
)
SELECT c.id, c.name, SUM(r.total_amount) AS spend
FROM Customers c
JOIN recent_orders r ON c.id = r.customer_id
GROUP BY c.id, c.name
ORDER BY spend DESC
LIMIT 5;

How to Apply SQL Server Best Practices in PostgreSQL Syntax


--Index creation
CREATE INDEX idx_table_column
    ON table_name(column_name);

--Foreign key with cascading delete
ALTER TABLE child_table
    ADD CONSTRAINT fk_name
    FOREIGN KEY (column) REFERENCES parent_table(id)
    ON DELETE CASCADE;

--Transaction with error handling
BEGIN;
    UPDATE Products SET stock = stock - 2 WHERE id = 42;
    INSERT INTO OrderItems(order_id, product_id, quantity)
      VALUES (99, 42, 2);
COMMIT;

Common Mistakes

Over-indexing every column. This slows INSERT/UPDATE operations. Fix by indexing only columns used in joins, filters, and ORDER BY clauses.
Disabling autovacuum believing it wastes I/O. This leads to table bloat and slower queries. Tune thresholds instead of turning it off.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Does PostgreSQL support clustered indexes like SQL Server?

PostgreSQL’s CLUSTER command physically orders data once. It does not maintain the order automatically; re-cluster or use partitioning for frequent benefits.