This section is the map for the rest of the book. The five stages introduced in the 1.1 chapter overview (parse, analyze/rewrite, plan, portal, execute) are traced here through the actual code: which functions implement each stage, and in what order they get called. The mechanics of each of the five stages are unpacked in later chapters. Here, only the skeleton matters: how a backend starts up, ho
PostgreSQL Internals · Chapter 1 Query Processing Suppose a client sends SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = 1. The path that single line travels before coming back as a result row is longer than you might expect. Inside the PostgreSQL backend, that SQL goes through a five-stage pipeline. Backend entry and dispatch. The backend receives the message from the client and decides which processing path it s
Confession: I’m not a walking dictionary. If you test me on textbook IT definitions, I might fail. After transitioning through Law and Banking into Tech, I’ve realized that terminology is often just a high-tech "smoke screen" for professional ego. But for many of us, the problem is deeper: it's about the language of logic itself. In my first year of Law school, I spent nights memorizing the "Theor