How I got started with FerretDB (& why we chose Postgres) with Peter Farkas

How does a trek to K2 base camp in the Himalayas spark the idea for a database company? In Episode 27 of Talking Postgres with Claire Giordano, guest Peter Farkas—CEO and co-founder of FerretDB—shares the origin story of this open source MongoDB alternative. (Spoiler: “Ferret” wasn’t the original name). We dig into why Postgres was the obvious choice, what “true open source” means to Peter, and how FerretDB is now powered by the open source DocumentDB extension from Microsoft. Plus, why Hungarian Trappist cheese might deserve a footnote in database history. Links mentioned in this episode:GitHub: FerretDB/FerretDB repoBlog: FerretDB 2.0 GA: Open Source MongoDB alternative, ready for productionACM SIGMOD: The Design of Postgres, published 15 June 1986Postgres Weekly: Issue 591 featuring FerretDBGitHub: Microsoft/DocumentDB open source repoConference talk: From MongoDB to Postgres: Building an Open Standard for Document Databases at POSETTE 2025OSI Blog: The SSL is Not an Open Source LicenseRedMonk Blog: OSS: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back, by Stephen O’GradyTalking Postgres Ep18: How I got started as a developer (& in Postgres) with David RowleyOpenDocDB: initiative to define an open standardWikipedia: K2 (yes, the mountain)Go Blog: The Go Gopherxkcd: webcomic 927 on StandardsWikipedia: Trappista cheeseCal invite: LIVE recording of Ep28 of Talking Postgres to happen on Wed Jun 18, 2025