Setting up Local PostgreSQL Database

Shen Lu

Posted on May 08, 2023

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3 min read (578 words)

Last month, I create a database on Vercel Postgres to store the data in a wildlife conservation webiste. However, the free version has monthly limitations on data storage and transfers. To avoid wasting online resources, I decide to set up a local PostgreSQL environment to facilitate the debugging process for the upcoming web application development.

Install PostgreSQL

To install PostgreSQL server, update your computer's local package cache with the latest set of packages. Afterwards, install the postgresql package:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install postgresql

By default, PostgreSQL is configured to use peer authentication, which allows users to log in if their operating system user name matches a PostgreSQL internal name.

The installation process created an operating system user called postgres to match the postgres database administrative account. To log into PostgreSQL with the psql client, use sudo to run the command as the postgres user:

sudo -u postgres psql

Set User Password in PostgreSQL

ALTER USER postgres PASSWORD 'yourpassword';
-- ALTER ROLE

Connect PostgreSQL with Connection URIs

After setting password for user postgres, you can connect to postgres with URI:

psql 'postgresql://postgres:yourpassword@localhost:5432/postgres?connect_timeout=10&sslmode=require'

For more details, you can refer to:

Create Table in PostgreSQL

The CSV file, animals.csv, containing the data given below:

less animals.csv
# 1,Mammalia,Primates,Lorisidae,Nycticebus bengalensis,Bengal slow loris,蜂猴,I,EN,false,false,I
# 2,Mammalia,Primates,Lorisidae,Nycticebus pygmaeus,Pygmy slow loris,倭蜂猴,I,EN,false,false,I
# 3,Mammalia,Primates,Cercopithecidae,Macaca arctoides,Stump-tailed macaque,短尾猴,II,VU,false,false,
# ...

In this table, the following columns should be present:

Animal ID: A unique animals identification number.
Class: The animal's class.
Order: The animal's order.
Family: The animal's family.
Scientific Name: The animal's scientific name.
Common Name: The animal's common name.
Chinese Name: The animal's Chinese name.
Protection Class: The animal's protection class.
Conservation Status: The animal's protection status.
Aquatic: Whether or not the animal is aquatic.
Endemic: Whether or not the animal is endemic.
CITES: CITES appendices.

Create the animals table with the above schema with the following SQL:

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS animals (
  id serial PRIMARY KEY,
  class VARCHAR ( 50 ) NOT NULL,
  "order" VARCHAR ( 50 ) NOT NULL,
  family VARCHAR ( 50 ) NOT NULL,
  scientific_name VARCHAR ( 50 ) UNIQUE NOT NULL,
  common_name VARCHAR ( 50 ) NOT NULL,
  chinese_name VARCHAR ( 50 ) NOT NULL,
  protection_class VARCHAR ( 2 ) NOT NULL,
  conservation_status CHAR ( 2 ) NOT NULL DEFAULT 'DD',
  aquatic BOOLEAN NOT NULL DEFAULT FALSE,
  endemic BOOLEAN NOT NULL DEFAULT FALSE,
  cites VARCHAR(50)
);
-- CREATE TABLE

Import CSV Data in PostgreSQL

Now you can easily import CSV to PostgreSQL via using the COPY Command:

 \COPY animals
FROM '/path/xxx/animals.csv'
WITH csv;
-- COPY 186

and show table contnet:

\d
--                List of relations
--  Schema |      Name      |   Type   |  Owner
-- --------+----------------+----------+----------
--  public | animals        | table    | postgres
--  public | animals_id_seq | sequence | postgres
-- (2 rows)
 
table animals;
 
--  id  |  class   |     order      |     family      |       scientific_name        |           common_name           |   chinese_name   | protection_class | conservation_status | aquatic | endemic |   cites
-- -----+----------+----------------+-----------------+------------------------------+---------------------------------+------------------+------------------+---------------------+---------+---------+-----------
--    1 | Mammalia | Primates       | Lorisidae       | Nycticebus bengalensis       | Bengal slow loris               | 蜂猴             | I                | EN                  | f       | f       | I

Setting up Local PostgreSQL Database

Setting up Local PostgreSQL Database

Install PostgreSQL

Login PostgreSQL

Set User Password in PostgreSQL

Connect PostgreSQL with Connection URIs

Create Table in PostgreSQL

Import CSV Data in PostgreSQL

References: