External ProjectsPostgreSQL is a complex software project,
and managing the project is difficult. We have found that many
enhancements to PostgreSQL can be more
efficiently developed separately from the core project.
Client Interfacesinterfacesexternally maintained
There are only two client interfaces included in the base
PostgreSQL distribution:
libpq is included because it is the
primary C language interface, and because many other client interfaces
are built on top of it.
ECPG is included because it depends on the
server-side SQL grammar, and is therefore sensitive to changes in
PostgreSQL itself.
All other language interfaces are external projects and are distributed
separately. A
list of language interfaces
is maintained on the PostgreSQL wiki. Note that some of these packages are
not released under the same license as PostgreSQL.
For more information on each language interface, including licensing terms,
refer to its website and documentation.
Administration Toolsadministration toolsexternally maintained
There are several administration tools available for
PostgreSQL. The most popular is
pgAdmin,
and there are several commercially available ones as well.
Procedural Languagesprocedural languageexternally maintainedPostgreSQL includes several procedural
languages with the base distribution: PL/pgSQL, PL/Tcl,
PL/Perl, and PL/Python.
In addition, there are a number of procedural languages that are developed
and maintained outside the core PostgreSQL
distribution. A list of
procedural languages
is maintained on the PostgreSQL wiki. Note that some of these projects are
not released under the same license as PostgreSQL.
For more information on each procedural language, including licensing
information, refer to its website
and documentation.
Extensionsextensionexternally maintainedPostgreSQL is designed to be easily extensible. For
this reason, extensions loaded into the database can function
just like features that are built in. The
contrib/ directory shipped with the source code
contains several extensions, which are described in
. Other extensions are developed
independently, like PostGIS. Even
PostgreSQL replication solutions can be developed
externally. For example, Slony-I is a popular
primary/standby replication solution that is developed independently
from the core project.