Re: Would a PostgreSQL database on a DVD be usable?

Andrew Gould <andrewgould(at)yahoo(dot)com> writes:
> If a data analyst needed to perform analysis (select
> statements only, no updates, creates, etc) while
> traveling, would it be feasible to put a database on a
> DVD? Could PostgreSQL use it?

Since Postgres just stores its data in Unix files, you can put a
database on anything that Unix thinks is a (non-read-only) filesystem.

I'd be a tad concerned about the longevity of a database on DVD; aren't
DVDs rated to support only about 10000 write cycles on any given block?
But for a short term, mostly-reading kind of scenario it'd probably
work. To be on the safe side, you might want to move pg_log to a plain
magnetic storage medium via a symlink --- that file gets rewritten a
large number of times per block.

> Does the use of oid's eliminate such possibilities?

AFAICS, oids have nothing to do with it.

regards, tom lane