Please tell us about yourself, and where you are from.

My name is Suraj Kharage and I am from Pune, India. I have over 10 years of experience with the Postgres database and got introduced to Postgres during my first professional experience at NTT DATA back in 2014. I am an internal database developer working with EDB and mostly contribute to EDB’s proprietary product EDB Advanced server (EPAS).

How do you spend your free time? What are your hobbies?

I spend most of my free time with family and friends. I live with my parents, wife and a 1.5 year old energetic daughter. I love spending my free time playing with my daughter—it’s always fun and rewarding. I also enjoy hanging out with friends, whether it’s just catching up or doing something fun together. I really enjoy staying active, so playing cricket and badminton are two of my favorite hobbies. I’m also a big cricket fan and love watching matches whenever I get the chance.

Any exercises you do regularly?

I regularly go for walks with my wife. Sometimes I go for a trek with friends.

Any Social Media channels of yours we should be aware of?

I am currently using these social media platforms:

• LinkedIn
• My blog
• Instagram

Favorite movie, or show?

Mostly I watch local language movies. Also movies based on real events are my favorites.

Best food?

I really enjoy Indian (especially Maharashtraian) and Chinese cuisine. Biryani is something I can never say no to.

Best drink? Non-alcoholic or alcoholic?

I don’t drink alcohol, but I do enjoy mocktails. I prefer kiwi cooler, virgin pina colada mocktails.

What does your ideal weekend look like?

My ideal weekend includes short trips (mostly to beaches) with my family, where we get to explore new places and spend quality time together. Sometimes, I also enjoy going trekking with friends—it’s a great way to stay active and enjoy nature.

What’s still on your bucket list?

Visiting every state of India is one of the top items on my bucket list. I’m slowly ticking them off — so far, I’ve been to 12 out of 28 states. Still a way to go, but I’m loving the journey.

What is the best advice you ever got?

The best advice I ever got from my spiritual guru was to live in the present and make the most of each moment.

When did you start using PostgreSQL, and why?

I started working with Postgres in 2014 during my first professional job.

Do you remember which version of PostgreSQL you started with?

Started working with Postgres 9.4

Have you studied at a university? If yes, was it related to computers? Did your study help you with your current job?

Yes, I graduated from the Pune university with a degree in computer engineering which laid a foundation for my Postgres journey.

What other databases are you using? Which one is your favorite?

I am currently only using Postgres.

On which PostgreSQL-related projects are you currently working?

I have just completed work on altering the not null constraint for inheritability in community and now working on few EPAS internal projects.

How do you contribute to PostgreSQL?

I contribute to Postgres by submitting the patches, fixing the bugs, doing benchmarks and reviewing the code.

What is your favorite PostgreSQL extension?

My favourite extensions are FDWs (especially mysql_fdw and postgres_fdw), pg_catcheck which detects the catalog corruptions and pg_waldump.

What is the most annoying PostgreSQL thing you can think of? And any chance to fix it?

Bloat is one the most annoying things in Postgres and a couple of attempts to solve that were unsuccessful because of code complexity and design problems. Hopefully, someday, we will be able to overcome this bloat issue.

What is the feature you like most in the latest PostgreSQL version?

Of course, one of the most popular features is incremental backup.

Should PostgreSQL have a built-in connection pooler?

Yes. There are other external connection poolers available but having one that is built in is always good.

Could you describe your PostgreSQL development toolbox?

I do all my development work on CentOS and use gvim, gdb, git and kdbg.

Which skills are a must have for a PostgreSQL developer/user?

Understanding of RDBMS in general, database internals, C programming and debugging skills.

Which PostgreSQL conferences do you visit? Do you submit talks?

I do submit talks for various postgres conferences. Also, I have been visiting PGConf India for more than 5 years.

Do you think PostgreSQL has a high entry barrier?

No, I wouldn’t say PostgreSQL has a high entry barrier. It’s well-documented, has a strong community, and many blogs and tutorials are available to help beginners get started easily.

What is your advice for people who want to start PostgreSQL developing - as in, contributing to the project. Where and how should they start?

My advice for anyone who wants to start contributing to PostgreSQL development is to begin by following and understanding the postgres hacker threads, start reviewing patches there, do the testing and once you’re comfortable then start working on features and submit the patches.

Do you think PostgreSQL will be here for many years in the future?

Yes. With active community, feature rich capabilities, and extensibility, it will play a major role in the database industry.

Would you recommend PostgreSQL for business, or for side projects?

Definitely. Since Postgres is a feature-rich, stable, easily accessible database so I would recommend it for business.

Are you reading the -hackers mailinglist? Any other list?

Yes, I follow the -hackers and the -bugs mailing lists.

Which other Open Source projects are you involved or interested in?

I have been contributing to mysql_fdw.

Anything else you like to add?

Thank you Andreas for this great initiative and opportunity.