PostgreSQL and Oracle are the two famous relational databases where PostgreSQL is open-source RDBMS, and Oracle is Commercial RDBMS that is available in various versions.
In this section, we are going to discuss the differences between PostgreSQL and Oracle database systems based on various aspects.
What is PostgreSQL?
PostgreSQL is the most popular Object-Relational Database Management System used to manage the relational database and securely store it. It is open-source database software and the initial database provides the multi-version concurrency control (MVCC) feature.
PostgreSQL supports various operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, UNIX, Mac OS X, LINUX, and so on. It follows the transaction along with the ACID Properties which are Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability.
What is Oracle?
Oracle is the first database software which is established for business purposes of deploying data using a query language. It is a cross-platform database system that can be executed on several operating systems.
It is a commercial relational database system that allowed storing and retrieving data safely and quickly. For database development and operations of middle-tier software, Oracle develops some tools such as HCM (Human Capital Management), SCM (Supply Chain Management), ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software.
Let us see some of the essential differences between PostgreSQL and Oracle, which will help us to enhance our knowledge:
| Different Aspects | PostgreSQL | Oracle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | It is an object-relational database management system that is compatible with various SQL features such as subqueries, foreign keys, and triggers. Also, it supports multiple user-defined types and functions. | Oracle is a commercial relational database management system. It has secondary database models like the document store, key-value store, RDF store, and graph DBMS. |
| Programmed or Written in | It has primarily written in C language. | It has primarily written in C and C++ languages. |
| Developed | The PostgreSQL global development group develops it. | Oracle develops it. |
| Released | PostgreSQL was released in 1996. | Oracle was released in 1980. |
| Latest release version | The latest release version is PostgreSQL 12.3 [May 2020] | The latest release version is 19c [February 2019] |
| License | PostgreSQL is an open-source tool. | Oracle is a commercial tool. |
| Programming languages | It is compatible with various programming languages such as C, C++, Java, .Net, Perl, Python, Tcl, JavaScript (Node.js), and PHP. | Oracle supports various programming languages such as C, C++, C#, Cobol, Java, JavaScript, Lisp, Perl, PHP, Python, R, Ruby, Tcl, Scala, Visual Basic, and so on. |
| Handling large data volume | It handles a massive amount of data efficiently, and that increases the productivity of the software. | The enterprise version of the Oracle database handles a vast amount of data successfully as compare to PostgreSQL. |
| Features | Following are the characteristics of PostgreSQL:It supports various programming languages.It is free to download.It supports multiple features of SQL.It is highly extensible.It is compatible with Data Integrity.It is highly reliable.Compatible on several operating systems. | Following are essential features of an Oracle database:Oracle is portable, scalable, programmable, distributed software.It can handle a large amount of data quickly.It is compatible with ACID property, which allows us to keep the reliability and integrity of our data.It supports a logical database structure.It has networking stacks which enable us to communicate applications through multiple platforms with oracle database easily.Oracle provides a recovery manager tools. |
| Productivity | It contains less number of transactions per second as compared to Oracle Database that’s why it is less productive than Oracle database. | It contains more transactions per second compared to PostgreSQL; that’s why it increases the productivity based on its technical advantages. |
| Platforms | Primarily it supports Unix, Window, Linux, FreeBSD, HP-UX, NetBSD, OpenBSD, OS X, and Solaris. | Primarily it is compatible with several operating systems like Windows, AIX HP-UX, Linux, Mac, Solaris, etc. |
| Scalability | It provides the scalability support for free of cost developments like cluster-based storage solutions, substitution from Skype allocating information in database collections depends on the PostgreSQL. | It supports four sockets with standard edition for scalability. However, for high workload projects, we need to purchase a slightly expensive original version. |
| Server-side scripting | It is compatible with user-defined functions. | It supports PL/SQL. |
| Security | It provides excellent security support, but not that much advanced as Oracle database. | It provides advanced security as compare to PostgreSQL; however, we need to buy the enhanced versions of Oracle that contain those features which help us to protect the database. |
| In memory competences | PostgreSQL does not have memory capabilities. | Oracle does have memory capabilities. |
| Customer Support | In PostgreSQL, the customer support is free, but it will take some time to solve the problem as the developer’s community will resolve it. We can also buy the paid service PostgreSQL, which is less expensive than Oracle Database customer support price. | In Oracle, the customer support is not free as it is nearly 1/4 of the license price and increases 3-5 percentage yearly. |
| Other accessing methods and APIs | In PostgreSQL, we can access the following methods JDBC, ODBC, native C library, ADO.NET, and streaming API for large objects. | In Oracle, we can access the following methods, including ODBC, OCI (Oracle Call Interface), JDBC, and ODP.NET. |
| Updates | The developer’s group of PostgreSQL releases the updated new versions once in 4-5 years. Still, they always enhance new features and update them according to customers’ needs and market developments. | It releases the new or updates the versions of the oracle database once in 2-3 years with quality modification as per the market trends. |
| Official website | https://www.postgresql.org/ | https://www.oracle.com/in/index.html |
Overview
After seeing the difference between PostgreSQL and Oracle, we can say that PostgreSQL is more potent than Oracle in various cases, as it is open-source software, compatible with new Relational database management system and easy to use with a large group of developers. As we know that PostgreSQL is used in several organizations like business to business applications, patient genetic, and Hospital applications. And we can choose the databases based on the actual project requirments.
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