This will allow you to remove the need for migration while preserving your application’s full features and performance.
One of the comparisons you may need to make is your application database. This post will break down the differences between Apache Cassandra and PostgreSQL databases.
Apache Cassandra
Apache Cassandra, commonly known as Cassandra, is a free and open-source distributed database management system. Cassandra is a wide-column, NoSQL database used to handle large amounts of data with high performance and fault tolerance levels.
Due to these features, Cassandra is very common in critical environments due to its high availability and flexible data storage, heavy scalability, and more.
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL, on the other hand, is a free and open-source relational database system. PostgreSQL is a highly stable SQL database widely adopted in large applications due to its ease of use and management. PostgreSQL also provides extensible features, such as custom data types unavailable in Standard SQL.
Postgres also supports JSON data types, providing a higher advantage over other relational databases. PostgreSQL also provides a higher performance out of the box, making it very suitable for many applications.
Let us now break down the differences between PostgreSQL and Apache Cassandra.
| Feature | Apache Cassandra | PostgreSQL |
|---|---|---|
| Database Type | Wide-Column Database | Relational Database |
| Provider | Apache Software Foundation | PostgreSQL Global Development Group |
| Query Language | Cassandra Query Language (CQL) | Structured Query Language (SQL) |
| Programming Language | Java | C |
| Platform Support | Linux, OS X, Windows (deprecated) | BSD, GNU/Linux, OS X, Solaris, Windows, Unix |
| Secondary Database Model | No | Yes, as Document Store |
| Partitioning Method | Supported (Range, Hash, and List) | Sharding |
| Server Side Scripting Support | No | Yes |
| XML Support | No | Yes |
| Secondary Indexing Support | Yes (Restricted) | Yes (FULL). |
| Joins | No | Yes |
| Replication | Selectable Replication Factor | Master-Master replication |
| Foreign Key Support | No | Yes |
That is for the breakdown between Apache Cassandra and PostgreSQL databases. Keep in mind that although the differences are minimal (subjective), each database has its usage and cannot be compared directly.
Therefore, perform your testing based on your requirements and resources.
Conclusion
This post broke down the differences and similarities between the Apache Cassandra and PostgreSQL databases.
