I've spent several years as an application developer focusing on writing elegant code and improving my skills. But I have a fear that I think many other developers share: the database layer.
While we confidently navigate Python or JavaScript, working directly with PostgreSQL can trigger anxiety. Will we accidentally expose data? Are we doing it "the right way"?
More people than ever are building things, and PostgreSQL is rising in popularity, that said database, from setup and schema often get minimal consideration, reduced to a connection string from a tutorial or left to simple commands to ORM. This works but we leave performance and optimization on the table.
This talk confronts these fears by demystifying PostgreSQL for app developers. We'll explore why databases feel scary—from data integrity concerns to SQL's perceived complexity compared to our familiar programming languages. PostgreSQL is more approachable than you think. I'll share practical strategies for embracing the database. We'll cover essential commands every app developer should know, explore tools like SQL-to-text converters, and understand how migration files actually work. We'll also discuss how PostgreSQL professionals and conferences can benefit from more app developer stories, not just DBA perspectives.
This talk is aimed to help you move from database anxiety to confidence.
