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

Table of Contents

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.

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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

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.

Can I mimic SQL Server’s included columns?

Use a covering index that lists all required columns. PostgreSQL stores full row data in the index, so included columns are implicit.

How do I migrate stored procedures?

Rewrite T-SQL procedures into plpgsql or SQL functions. Pay attention to syntax differences in variables, looping, and error handling.

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