MySQL and PostgreSQL Schema Guides

Choose data types, define foreign keys, design useful indexes, compare DDL, and understand the schema-level differences between MySQL and PostgreSQL.

Guides in this topic

Choose numeric, string, date, time, JSON, and identifier types.

Use PostgreSQL numeric, temporal, UUID, JSONB, array, and identity types.

Apply foreign-key syntax, index requirements, and referential actions.

Design B-tree and composite indexes around the leftmost-prefix rule.

Choose B-tree, GIN, GiST, BRIN, partial, and covering indexes.

Compare types, constraints, JSON support, and schema-design tradeoffs.

Compare CREATE TABLE and ALTER TABLE syntax across five databases.