Unlike prior chapters, this chapter does not discuss the capabilities or applications of PostGIS. Instead, this chapter focuses on the techniques for organizing the database, improving query performance, and ensuring the long-term viability of the spatial data.

These techniques are frequently ignored or set aside by most PostGIS users until it is too late, such as data loss due to user action or decreasing performance as the volume of data or users increases. Such neglect is often due to the amount of time required to learn about each technique as well as implement it. This chapter attempts to demonstrate each technique in a distilled manner that minimizes the learning curve and maximizes the benefits.