--- /dev/null
+PostgreSQL 13 Beta 1 Released
+=============================
+
+The PostgreSQL Global Development Group announces that the first beta release of
+PostgreSQL 13 is now available for download. This release contains previews of
+all features that will be available in the final release of PostgreSQL 13,
+though some details of the release could change before then.
+
+You can find information about all of the features and changes found in
+PostgreSQL 13 in the [release notes](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/13/release-13.html):
+
+ [https://www.postgresql.org/docs/13/release-13.html](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/13/release-13.html)
+
+In the spirit of the open source PostgreSQL community, we strongly encourage you
+to test the new features of PostgreSQL 13 in your database systems to help us
+eliminate any bugs or other issues that may exist. While we do not advise you to
+run PostgreSQL 13 Beta 1 in your production environments, we encourage you to
+find ways to run your typical application workloads against this beta release.
+
+Your testing and feedback will help the community ensure that the PostgreSQL 13
+release upholds our standards of providing a stable, reliable release of the
+world's most advanced open source relational database. You can read more about
+the [beta testing process](https://www.postgresql.org/developer/beta/) and how
+you can contribute here:
+
+ [https://www.postgresql.org/developer/beta/](https://www.postgresql.org/developer/beta/)
+
+PostgreSQL 13 Feature Highlights
+--------------------------------
+
+PostgreSQL 13 introduces many features and improvements to the world's most
+advanced open source database. The following is just a small sample of new
+features introduced into this latest version of PostgreSQL.
+
+Our goal is to make you aware of the upcoming features so you can help with the
+[testing effort](https://www.postgresql.org/developer/beta/). We strongly
+encourage you provide feedback as well as any bug reports so we can ensure we
+can continue to deliver stable, reliable database software.
+
+
+### Functionality
+
+There are many new features that improve the overall performance of
+PostgreSQL 13 and make it easier to work with simple and complex workloads.
+
+On the performance front, B-tree indexes, the standard index of PostgreSQL,
+received improvements to how duplicate data is handled in the index. This helps
+to shrink the index size and improve the speed of lookups, particularly for
+indexes that have significant duplicates.
+
+PostgreSQL 13 adds incremental sorting, which accelerates sorting data when
+existing data in a query is already sorted. Queries with OR clauses or IN/ANY
+constant lists can now make use of extended statistics, created with
+`CREATE STATISTICS`, which can lead to better planning and performance gains.
+PostgreSQL 13 can now use disk storage for hash aggregation (used as part of
+aggregate queries) with large aggregation sets.
+
+There are more improvements added to PostgreSQL's partitioning functionality in
+this release, including an increased number of cases where a
+"partitionwise join" (a join between matching partitions) can be used, which
+can improve overall query execution time. Partitioned tables now support
+`BEFORE` row-level triggers, and a partitioned table can now be fully replicated
+via logical replication without having to publish individual partitions.
+
+PostgreSQL 13 brings more convenience to writing queries and introduces features
+such as `FETCH FIRST WITH TIES` that will return any additional rows that match
+the last row. There is also the addition of the ".datetime" function for
+jsonpath queries, which will automatically convert a date-like or time-like
+string to the appropriate PostgreSQL date/time datatype. It is also even easier
+now to generate random UUIDs, as the `gen_random_uuid()` can be used without
+having to enable any extensions.
+
+### Administration
+
+One of the most anticipated features of PostgreSQL 13 is the ability for the
+`VACUUM` command to process indexes in parallel. This functionality can be
+accessed with the new `PARALLEL` option on the `VACUUM` command (or `--parallel`
+on `vacuumdb`) allows you to specify the number of parallel workers to use for
+vacuuming indexes. Note that this does not work with the `FULL` option.
+
+The `reindexdb` command can now benefit from parallelism too: the new `--jobs`
+flag lets you specify the number of parallel workers to use when reindexing a
+database.
+
+PostgreSQL 13 introduces the concept of a "trusted extension", which allows for
+a superuser to specify extensions that a user can install in their database so
+long as they have a `CREATE` privilege.
+
+This release includes more ways to track what is going on within a PostgreSQL
+database, as PostgreSQL 13 can now track WAL usage statistics and the progress
+of streaming `pg_basebackup`s, and the progress of an `ANALYZE` command.
+`pg_basebackup` can also generate a manifest that can be used to verify the
+integrity of a backup using a new tool called `pg_verifybackup`.
+
+`pg_dump` now includes the `--include-foreign-data` flag that, if set, will
+include data from servers referenced by foreign data wrappers in the dump.
+
+The `pg_rewind` command also has improvements in PostgreSQL 13. In addition to
+`pg_rewind` automatically performing crash recovery, you can now configure use
+it to configure standby PostgreSQL instances using the `--write-recovery-conf`
+flag. `pg_rewind` can also use the `restore_command` of the target instance to
+fetch needed write-ahead logs.
+
+### Security
+
+PostgreSQL continues to improve on its security capabilities in this latest
+release, introducing several features to help further deploy PostgreSQL safely.
+
+libpq, the connection library that powers `psql` and many PostgreSQL connection
+drivers, added several new parameters to help secure connections. PostgreSQL 13
+introduces the `channel_binding` connection parameters, which lets a client
+specify that they want to require the channel binding functionality as part of
+SCRAM. Additionally, a client that is using a password protected TLS certificate
+can now specify its password using the `sslpassword` parameter. PostgreSQL 13
+also adds support for DER encoded certificates.
+
+The PostgreSQL foreign data wrapper (`postgres_fdw`) also received several
+enhancements to how it can secure connections, including the ability to use
+certificate-based authentication to connect to other PostgreSQL clusters.
+Additionally, unprivileged accounts can now connect to another PostgreSQL
+database via the `postgres_fdw` without using a password.
+
+PostgreSQL 13 continues to improve operability on Windows, as now users who
+run PostgreSQL on Windows now have the option to connect over UNIX domain
+sockets.
+
+### Other Highlights
+
+PostgreSQL 13 introduces a [glossary](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/devel/glossary.html)
+of terms to help people familiarize themselves with both PostgreSQL and general
+database concepts. This coincides with a significant rework in the display of
+functions and operators in tables, which helps to improve readability both on
+the web and in the PDF documentation.
+
+The `pgbench` utility, used for performance testing, now supports the
+partitioning of the "accounts" table that it uses, making it easier to benchmark
+workloads involving partitions.
+
+`psql` now includes the `\warn` command that is similar to the `\echo` command
+in terms of outputting data, except `\warn` sends it to stderr. And in case you
+need additional guidance on any of the PostgreSQL commands, the `--help` flag
+now includes a link to [https://www.postgresql.org](https://www.postgresql.org).
+
+Additional Features
+-------------------
+
+Many other new features and improvements have been added to PostgreSQL 13, some
+of which may be as or more important to specific users than what is mentioned
+above. Please see the [Release Notes](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/13/release-13.html)
+for a complete list of new and changed features.
+
+Testing for Bugs & Compatibility
+--------------------------------
+
+The stability of each PostgreSQL release greatly depends on you, the community,
+to test the upcoming version with your workloads and testing tools in order to
+find bugs and regressions before the general availability of PostgreSQL 13. As
+this is a Beta, minor changes to database behaviors, feature details, and APIs
+are still possible. Your feedback and testing will help determine the final
+tweaks on the new features, so please test in the near future. The quality of
+user testing helps determine when we can make a final release.
+
+A list of [open issues](https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/PostgreSQL_13_Open_Items)
+is publicly available in the PostgreSQL wiki. You can
+[report bugs](https://www.postgresql.org/account/submitbug/) using this form on
+the PostgreSQL website:
+
+ [https://www.postgresql.org/account/submitbug/](https://www.postgresql.org/account/submitbug/)
+
+Beta Schedule
+-------------
+
+This is the first beta release of version 13. The PostgreSQL Project will
+release additional betas as required for testing, followed by one or more
+release candidates, until the final release in late 2020. For further
+information please see the [Beta Testing](https://www.postgresql.org/developer/beta/) page.
+
+Links
+-----
+
+* [Download](https://www.postgresql.org/download/)
+* [Beta Testing Information](https://www.postgresql.org/developer/beta/)
+* [PostgreSQL 13 Beta Release Notes](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/devel/release-13.html)
+* [PostgreSQL 13 Open Issues](https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/PostgreSQL_13_Open_Items)
+* [Submit a Bug](https://www.postgresql.org/account/submitbug/)
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