Abstract
PostgreSQL represents a cornerstone of many modern apps, and yet has the potential to play a much larger role than that of a simple database. Its extensibility has always been a core strength, and today the pgrx crate allows extensions to author extensions in Rust, making it easier, safer and fun, unlocking much unrealized potential.
In this experience-based, practical session, we will:
- explore Postgres extensibility features and the value they provide;
- introduce the pgrx crate, a comprehensive open source framework to author Postgres extensions in Rust;
- we'll build, test, and deploy a real extension, live on stage.
Finally, we will present a case history where we used a custom Rust PostgreSQL extension to drastically simplify a legacy software codebase, while providing more flexibility and improving query performance to billions of rows per second.
