What is Postgres?

In simple terms, PostgreSQL, known as Postgres, is just another database management system, no different from the ones you may already be familiar with using, such as Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, or even MongoDB.

In more descriptive terms, Postgres is much more than any of those others that I've just mentioned. It’s not just a regular run-of-the-mill DBMS, but a fully-fledged data management solution that runs on many different platforms.

Postgres has been around way longer than many of the database systems we know and love today. Over the years it has evolved from a simple data management solution in a university to a data management solution that many people agree rivals things like Oracle 10/11/12g and other heavyweights.

It also has additional products that support large scale clustering, spatial and GIS services, communications industry-specific functionality, financial industry-specific functionality, distributed processing, and much more.

It's a DBMS that has stood the test of time, and proven that it has both the backing and the power to take on any data management task you can think of. And the best part about it all?

It's FREE. It’s an open source project that’s free to use, free to download and free to modify. In fact, there are a large number of variants out there from commercial to free that are based largely on Postgres, parts of the core Postgres engine and parser, or both. So not only is it a great all-around DBMS, but it's also an infinitely expandable data management toolkit.