SQL: SQL Server index updates vs PostgreSQL index updates

The link below is to quite a fascinating article that on the surface is about why Uber moved to MySQL from PostgreSQL.

http://use-the-index-luke.com/blog/2016-07-29/on-ubers-choice-of-databases

What it really is about is a limitation in how PostgreSQL indexes are updated. They consider it a severe limitation.

With SQL Server (and MySQL), if you update a few columns in a row, only the indexes that have that column are updated. In PostgreSQL, all indexes still need to be updated. I understand why they’ve done that but I can see why users might not want that behavior.

SQL Server shines in this regard.

I have to say that I’m unconvinced overall though. While there are scenarios where update performance is critical, that’s not the common situation. For most users, concerns about update performance are overrated. Most SQL code involves reading data, not updating it. Yet I see so many people heavily focussed on update performance.

2016-08-04