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PostgreSQL Protocol Documentation

This directory contains consolidated documentation for HeliosDB's PostgreSQL 17 protocol support and compatibility.

Quick Start

Connect to HeliosDB using any PostgreSQL client:

# Using psql
psql -h localhost -p 5432 -U helios -d heliosdb

# Using connection string
psql "postgresql://helios:password@localhost:5432/heliosdb"

Contents

File Description
README.md Overview and quick start (this file)
CONFIGURATION.md Connection and protocol configuration
COMPATIBILITY.md PostgreSQL 17 feature compatibility matrix
EXAMPLES.md SQL examples and usage patterns

Feature Overview

Wire Protocol Support

HeliosDB implements PostgreSQL wire protocol v3.0 with full feature support:

  • Authentication: Password, MD5, SCRAM-SHA-256
  • Extended Query Protocol: Prepare, Bind, Execute, Describe
  • COPY Protocol: Binary and text formats, streaming
  • Replication Protocol: Logical and physical replication
  • Notification: LISTEN/NOTIFY support

PostgreSQL 17 Features

Feature Status Description
JSON_TABLE Complete SQL/JSON table conversion
MERGE with RETURNING Complete Upsert with result capture
COPY with ON_ERROR Complete Error handling during bulk load
Incremental Backup Complete Block-level incremental backups
Slot Failover Complete Logical replication HA
Vacuum Optimization Complete 20x memory reduction

SQL Compatibility

  • DDL: CREATE, ALTER, DROP (tables, indexes, views, functions)
  • DML: INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, MERGE, COPY
  • Queries: SELECT, CTEs, window functions, subqueries
  • Transactions: MVCC, isolation levels, savepoints
  • Extensions: Common extensions compatibility

Connection Parameters

Parameter Default Description
host localhost Server hostname
port 5432 PostgreSQL wire protocol port
database postgres Default database
user - Username for authentication
password - Password for authentication
sslmode prefer SSL connection mode

Performance Characteristics

Metric Value
Connection handshake 1 RTT
Auth overhead 1-2 RTT
Query latency Comparable to PostgreSQL
Bulk load (COPY) 100K+ rows/sec

Client Compatibility

Tested with:

  • CLI: psql, pgcli
  • GUI: pgAdmin, DBeaver, DataGrip
  • Languages: psycopg2/3 (Python), node-postgres (JS), lib/pq (Go), JDBC (Java)
  • ORMs: SQLAlchemy, Prisma, ActiveRecord, GORM

Migration from PostgreSQL

HeliosDB is designed as a drop-in replacement for PostgreSQL:

  1. No schema changes required
  2. Standard pg_dump import supported
  3. Connection string compatible
  4. Client libraries work without modification

See EXAMPLES.md for migration patterns.

Last Updated: December 2025 Consolidation Status: Complete