7 Postgres extensions
This chapter covers
- Understanding the basics of Postgres extensibility
- Installing and using Postgres extensions
- Exploring various types of extensions useful for developers
- Discussing Postgres-compatible solutions
Postgres extensions are one of the main reasons why the database has gained so much popularity and adoption. In fact, the motto "Just Use Postgres" emerged largely due to its rich ecosystem of extensions, which allow us to use the database well beyond the use cases covered in the earlier chapters of the book.
In this chapter, we’ll do a quick overview of various extension categories developers can benefit from and practice using one of the extensions that comes pre-installed with a standard Postgres distribution. In the remaining chapters, we’ll take a deeper dive into specific extensions that enable Postgres for generative AI, time-series, and other modern workloads the core database engine was not originally designed for.
7.1 Getting started with extensions
Postgres has hundreds of extensions serving a wide range of purposes. If core Postgres doesn’t have a capability you’re looking for, there’s a good chance there’s already an extension that does what you need.
The reason the extension ecosystem is so broad and rich is because Postgres is extensible by design and provides the following foundation, which significantly simplifies the integration process: