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172 points frectonz | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.261s | source

pglite-fusion is a PostgreSQL extension that allows you to embed SQLite databases into your PostgreSQL tables by enabling the creation of columns with the `SQLITE` type. This means every row in the table can have an embedded SQLite database.

In addition to the PostgreSQL `SQLITE` type, pglite-fusion provides the `query_sqlite`` function for querying SQLite databases and the `execute_sqlite` function for updating them. Additional functions are listed in the project’s README.

The pglite-fusion extension is written in Rust using the pgrx framework [1].

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Implementation Details

The PostgreSQL `SQLITE` type is stored as a CBOR-encoded `Vec<u8>`. When a query is made, this `Vec<u8>` is written to a random file in the `/tmp` directory. SQLite then loads the file, performs the query, and returns the result as a table containing a single row with an array of JSON-encoded values.

The `execute_sqlite` function follows a similar process. However, instead of returning query results, it returns the contents of the SQLite file (stored in `/tmp`) as a new `SQLITE` instance.

[1] https://github.com/pgcentralfoundation/pgrx

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TekMol ◴[] No.42183907[source]
Are there still reasons to use PostgreSQL?

I like the simplicity of SQLite's "a file is all you need" approach so much, that I started to converge all my projects to SQLite. So far, I have not come across any roadblocks.

Can anyone think of a use case where PostgreSQL is better suited than SQLite?

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Zambyte ◴[] No.42183990[source]
When your application scales beyond one machine that needs access to the same database, PostgreSQL becomes an obviously better choice than SQLite. Until that point, SQLite is a fine, and honestly underrated choice.

DuckDB is another option worth considering.

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TekMol ◴[] No.42184054[source]
Should the concept of "machines" really be a concern of the DB layer?

SQLite already allows multiple connections, so putting it on a server and adding a program that talks a network protocol and proxies the queries to the DB sounds more logical to me?

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evandrofisico ◴[] No.42184159[source]
And after all of that you basically have something that looks like postgres or mysql.
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1. TekMol ◴[] No.42184207[source]
My feeling is that I would have something better.

Because I can use SQLite and its "a file is all you need" approach as long as I don't need multiple machines.

And only bring in the other software (the proxy) when I need it.