[Wolves] PostgreSQL talk

[Chris Ellis]

Hi

Several people expressed interest in a PostgreSQL talk at LUG.  As
mentioned, I would be very happy to give a talk on PostgreSQL.  As It
would give me a chance to cover some topics I'm hoping to speak on at
an upcoming PostgreSQL conference.

What topics would people be most interested in? (A few suggestions below)
 * Basic intro to databases and SQL
     - goals and ideas behind a relational database
     - what is SQL
     - quick overview of the SQL syntax
     - common SQL commands
 * What is PostgreSQL and why do I love it
 * Getting started with PostgreSQL, pgAdmin3 and psql
     - installing
     - basic initial configuration
     - creating relations and constraints
     - data types and extensions
     - loading data
     - querying data
     - manipulating data
     - using psql instead of pgAdmin3
 * Performance tuning
     - performance configuration parameters
     - tuning for differing workloads
     - knowing when the planner is better than you
     - query optimisation
     - using EXPLAIN
     - benchmarking
     - statistics, the planner and autovacuum
 * Full text search
     - querying a table using FTS
     - making it quicker
 * Hardware issues and considerations
     - RAID controllers
     - doing it on the cheap
     - general tips for good database hardware
 * Spatial data
     - overview of PostGIS
     - creating spatially extended tables
     - loading spatial data
     - spatial queries
     - making spatial queries faster
 * Procedural SQL
     - overview of functions
     - creating a PL/PGSQL function
     - arguments and variables
     - queries
     - control statements
 * Replication and clustering
     - overview
     - asynchronous vs synchronous
     - Slony, DRBD, HAProxy
     - upcoming features in V9.0
     - caveats
 * Using PostgreSQL from your application
     - Java
     - Python (Maybe, if Alex would give me a hand)
 * Case studies
     - how I make use of PostgreSQL at Shropshire Council
     - Skype - PL/Proxy and a overview on how Skype aim to scale
PostgreSQL to handle 1 billion users
 * Where to go for help
     - manuals
     - books
     - mailing list

The above list is probably to long for one evening, so please express
what would be of most interest to you.  It would also be useful to
have a hint as to peoples skill level with SQL.

I will try to bring my PostgreSQL server and or make access to some so
that we can experiment.  I will also get some test datasets sorted
out, along with some real world situations..

What dates would best suit people?
Would people be more interested in making it a 'workshop' at a weekend?


Chris Ellis