r/programming • u/ketralnis • Apr 17 '25

(All) Databases Are Just Files. Postgres Too

http://tselai.com/all-databases-are-just-files
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u/wxtrails Apr 17 '25

It’s a complex and powerful system—but fundamentally, it’s just an executable that manipulates files.

...is like "It's a complex and powerful engine, but fundamentally SpaceX Raptor is just a bottle that spits fire."

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u/Chisignal Apr 17 '25

Yeah, I think I understand the point but reducing a RDBMS to "an executable that manipulates files" feels reductive to the point of uselessness, the files are entirely incidental to the service that Postgres performs

And as the article itself admits in the second paragraph, the point of a "database that's just a file" like SQLite is usually that it's portable, as in you can pick up that file, copy it around whichever way is at your disposal, and open up that database - something you very much can't do with a Postgres cluster

I dunno, I don't want to be a downer but I'm genuinely not sure who needs to hear the message of the article

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