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Tech on the Rocks

Building a Native Search Engine in PostgreSQL: ParadeDB's Journey to Replace Elasticsearch with Philippe Noël

Jan 16, 2025
Philippe Noël, founder of ParadeDB and an expert in PostgreSQL, discusses his venture to create a native search engine alternative to Elasticsearch. He explores the challenges of integrating full-text search and analytics within PostgreSQL. The conversation touches on the benefits of the bring-your-own-cloud model and the evolution of database extensions. Philippe emphasizes the rising demand for traditional search capabilities amidst AI advancements and addresses misconceptions about PostgreSQL's scalability and the trade-offs in cloud architectures.
01:00:21

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Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Extending PostgreSQL offers significant advantages such as maintaining data integrity and reducing complexity while integrating advanced search functionalities.
  • User-facing search capabilities are crucial for enabling direct data analysis, allowing organizations to streamline operations by avoiding multiple data stores.

Deep dives

PostgreSQL and Search Technology

The discussion highlights the evolution of PostgreSQL in terms of its search capabilities, particularly against alternatives like Elasticsearch. Unlike Elasticsearch, which has focused on specific search applications, PostgreSQL's capabilities have grown to include features like full-text search. However, it's noted that while PostgreSQL has introduced advanced indexing features, its relevancy ranking algorithms are not as sophisticated as those used by dedicated search engines. As search technology continues to evolve, a need for improved relevancy and expressivity within PostgreSQL remains critical to meet user expectations.

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