Now that your introduction to PostgreSQL is complete, there are several places that you can proceed to. We have provided the following list as a synopsis of the rest of the book. This is a guideline, so to speak, of what you need to read next.

• If would like to install PostgreSQL 7.1.x at this time, then you may continue to Chapter 2 .

If you already have PostgreSQL up and running, one of the following options will probably be more applicable.

• If you are new to the SQL language and database queries, then you may wish to continue to Chapter 3 .

• If you are already familiar with the SQL language and statement structure, you may be more interested in Chapter 4 or Chapter 5 . Note that although many of the concepts introduced in Chapter 3 are of a general nature, some of the techniques and concepts presented are specific to PostgreSQL, and the chapter should not be overlooked if you want a comprehensive understanding of the software.

• If you have a working knowledge of how to use PostgreSQL as an end-user, and you would like to begin setting up the database server, database users and groups, as well as authentication, then you may skip to Part III , entitled, "Administrating PostgreSQL." This part and was written to aid a system administrator in initializing, configuring and managing newly installed or existing PostgreSQL databases.

• If you are familiar with PostgreSQL as a database management system, and would like to move directly into technical programming concepts and techniques, read through Part IV , entitled "Programming with PostgreSQL." This part of the book contains documentation on PL/pgSQL, the native PostgreSQL procedural language, as well as information and examples on the JDBC interface, and the LXP web-based application server.