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DBMS > Microsoft SQL Server vs. PostgreSQL vs. Realm vs. TimesTen

System Properties Comparison Microsoft SQL Server vs. PostgreSQL vs. Realm vs. TimesTen

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Editorial information provided by DB-Engines
NameMicrosoft SQL Server  Xexclude from comparisonPostgreSQL  Xexclude from comparisonRealm  Xexclude from comparisonTimesTen  Xexclude from comparison
DescriptionMicrosofts flagship relational DBMSWidely used open source RDBMS infoDeveloped as objectoriented DBMS (Postgres), gradually enhanced with 'standards' like SQLA DBMS built for use on mobile devices that’s a fast, easy to use alternative to SQLite and Core DataIn-Memory RDBMS compatible to Oracle
Primary database modelRelational DBMSRelational DBMS infowith object oriented extensions, e.g.: user defined types/functions and inheritance. Handling of key/value pairs with hstore module.Document storeRelational DBMS
Secondary database modelsDocument store
Graph DBMS
Spatial DBMS
Document store
Graph DBMS infowith Apache Age
Spatial DBMS
Vector DBMS infowith pgvector extension
DB-Engines Ranking infomeasures the popularity of database management systemsranking trend
Trend Chart
Score829.80
Rank#3  Overall
#3  Relational DBMS
Score645.05
Rank#4  Overall
#4  Relational DBMS
Score7.71
Rank#52  Overall
#9  Document stores
Score1.35
Rank#165  Overall
#75  Relational DBMS
Websitewww.microsoft.com/­en-us/­sql-serverwww.postgresql.orgrealm.iowww.oracle.com/­database/­technologies/­related/­timesten.html
Technical documentationlearn.microsoft.com/­en-US/­sql/­sql-serverwww.postgresql.org/­docsrealm.io/­docsdocs.oracle.com/­database/­timesten-18.1
DeveloperMicrosoftPostgreSQL Global Development Group infowww.postgresql.org/­developerRealm, acquired by MongoDB in May 2019Oracle, TimesTen Performance Software, HP infooriginally founded in HP Labs it was acquired by Oracle in 2005
Initial release19891989 info1989: Postgres, 1996: PostgreSQL20141998
Current releaseSQL Server 2022, November 202216.2, February 202411 Release 2 (11.2.2.8.0)
License infoCommercial or Open Sourcecommercial inforestricted free version is availableOpen Source infoBSDOpen Sourcecommercial
Cloud-based only infoOnly available as a cloud servicenononono
DBaaS offerings (sponsored links) infoDatabase as a Service

Providers of DBaaS offerings, please contact us to be listed.
Aiven for PostgreSQL: Fully managed PostgreSQL for developers with 70+ extensions and flexible orchestration tools.
Implementation languageC++C
Server operating systemsLinux
Windows
FreeBSD
HP-UX
Linux
NetBSD
OpenBSD
OS X
Solaris
Unix
Windows
Android
Backend: server-less
iOS
Windows
AIX
HP-UX
Linux
OS X
Solaris SPARC/x86
Windows
Data schemeyesyesyesyes
Typing infopredefined data types such as float or dateyesyesyesyes
XML support infoSome form of processing data in XML format, e.g. support for XML data structures, and/or support for XPath, XQuery or XSLT.yesyes infospecific XML-type available, but no XML query functionality.nono
Secondary indexesyesyesyesyes
SQL infoSupport of SQLyesyes infostandard with numerous extensionsnoyes
APIs and other access methodsADO.NET
JDBC
ODBC
OLE DB
Tabular Data Stream (TDS)
ADO.NET
JDBC
native C library
ODBC
streaming API for large objects
JDBC
ODBC
ODP.NET
Oracle Call Interface (OCI)
Supported programming languagesC#
C++
Delphi
Go
Java
JavaScript (Node.js)
PHP
Python
R
Ruby
Visual Basic
.Net
C
C++
Delphi
Java infoJDBC
JavaScript (Node.js)
Perl
PHP
Python
Tcl
.Net
Java infowith Android only
Objective-C
React Native
Swift
C
C++
Java
PL/SQL
Server-side scripts infoStored proceduresTransact SQL, .NET languages, R, Python and (with SQL Server 2019) Javauser defined functions inforealized in proprietary language PL/pgSQL or with common languages like Perl, Python, Tcl etc.no inforuns within the applications so server-side scripts are unnecessaryPL/SQL
Triggersyesyesyes infoChange Listenersno
Partitioning methods infoMethods for storing different data on different nodestables can be distributed across several files (horizontal partitioning); sharding through federationpartitioning by range, list and (since PostgreSQL 11) by hashnonenone
Replication methods infoMethods for redundantly storing data on multiple nodesyes, but depending on the SQL-Server EditionSource-replica replication infoother methods possible by using 3rd party extensionsnoneMulti-source replication
Source-replica replication
MapReduce infoOffers an API for user-defined Map/Reduce methodsnononono
Consistency concepts infoMethods to ensure consistency in a distributed systemImmediate ConsistencyImmediate ConsistencyImmediate ConsistencyImmediate Consistency or Eventual Consistency depending on configuration
Foreign keys infoReferential integrityyesyesnoyes
Transaction concepts infoSupport to ensure data integrity after non-atomic manipulations of dataACIDACIDACIDACID
Concurrency infoSupport for concurrent manipulation of datayesyesyes
Durability infoSupport for making data persistentyesyesyesyes infoby means of logfiles and checkpoints
In-memory capabilities infoIs there an option to define some or all structures to be held in-memory only.yesnoyes infoIn-Memory realmyes
User concepts infoAccess controlfine grained access rights according to SQL-standardfine grained access rights according to SQL-standardyesfine grained access rights according to SQL-standard

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3rd partiesNavicat for SQL Server gives you a fully graphical approach to database management and development.
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Navicat Monitor is a safe, simple and agentless remote server monitoring tool for SQL Server and many other database management systems.
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SharePlex is the reliable and affordable data replication solution for PostgreSQL migrations, high availability and more.
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pgDash: In-Depth PostgreSQL Monitoring.
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Fujitsu Enterprise Postgres: An Enterprise Grade PostgreSQL with the flexibility of a hybrid cloud solution combined with industry leading security, availability and performance.
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Redgate webinars: A series of key topics for new PostgreSQL users.
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CYBERTEC is your professional partner in PostgreSQL topics for over 20 years. As our main aim is to be your single-source all-in-one IT service provider, we offer a wide range of products and services. Visit our website for more details.
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Navicat for PostgreSQL is an easy-to-use graphical tool for PostgreSQL database development.
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Instaclustr: Fully Hosted & Managed PostgreSQL
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Timescale: Calling all PostgreSQL users – the 2023 State of PostgreSQL survey is now open! Share your favorite extensions, preferred frameworks, community experiences, and more. Take the survey today!
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Aiven for PostgreSQL: Fully managed PostgreSQL for developers with 70+ extensions and flexible orchestration tools.
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We invite representatives of vendors of related products to contact us for presenting information about their offerings here.

More resources
Microsoft SQL ServerPostgreSQLRealmTimesTen
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