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Speaker photo for Pierre Ducroquet

Interview with Pierre Ducroquet

Talks

Could you briefly introduce yourself?

I'm Pierre Ducroquet, PostgreSQL lover since ~2008, and software engineer turned DBA since 2016…

How do you engage with the PostgreSQL Community?

I kind of keep a low profile, so it's mostly emails on hackers when I've patchs to send or discuss, and attending conferences.

Have you enjoyed previous PostgreSQL Europe conferences, either as an attendee or as a speaker?

Mostly as an attendee : a few FOSDEM pgDay, pgDay Paris 2017… I've spent several years time without trying to speak at a conference for health reasons, it's time to get back on track there.

What about pgDay Paris specifically

Proud owner of a pgDay Paris 2017 tee-shirt :) I didn't have the opportunity of attending the following pgDay Paris events.

What will your talk be about, exactly? Why this topic?

Multi-tenant systems, and how bad it can be. I've seen many, many, many people not even thinking about how to design such a system, and create a mess for people to work around much later (if it's still possible to fix things). So this is a kind of an experience return of what I saw go terribly wrong, and a few possibly not well known PostgreSQL limitations or features that can be usefull in that context.

What is the audience for your talk?

Technical, both developers and DBAs.

What existing knowledge should the attendee have?

No advanced PostgreSQL knowledge is required, but it never hurts :)

Which other talk at this year’s conference would you like to see?

Most of them actually, but most interesting for me will be "Sustainable Database Performance profiling in PostgreSQL"

What is the one feature in PostgreSQL 16 which you like most?

By far, logical replication from standby servers. In my day job it will make it far easier for me to do major version migrations, possibly without downtimes, while keeping the primary safe from the costs and risks of running logical replication.

Which measure, action, feature or activity would - in your eyes - help to accelerate the adoption of PostgreSQL?

I don't see any technical barrier to the adoption of PostgreSQL, mostly issues in the software industry: a lack of knowledge about the features and capabilities of PostgreSQL, and a terrible tendency of following the flashiest light when choosing a technology… So educating people is what will help PostgreSQL the most.

What one action could pgDay Paris take in the future that would make it more inclusive and diverse?

I think that most of the issues we have on these topic have their roots in the education system. Considering the current state of education in France, I suppose it's going to be up to FOSS people to stand up and go teach people in suburbs and poor neighborhood, maybe also helping revival of older computers for those who can't afford it. Otherwise, I kind of see these actions as trying to cure a symptom instead of looking at the root disease, making oneselves comfortable with the tragedies happening a few kilometers away.

What PostgreSQL event in 2024 are you most excited about?

The PostgreSQL 17 release of course :)

Which book are you reading right now?

Nothing related to computers, I love ancient history : "Rome, naissance d'un empire" ("Rome, birth of an empire")