Switching over to Postgresql for a Ruby on Rails application on a Windows machine is pretty simple.

1. Download Postgresql and install it
2. Install postgres-pr in the Ruby console with: gem install postgres-pr
3. Add Postgresql’s /bin path to your PATH environment variable in Windows. Do this by going to:

   Start->Control Panel->System->Advanced->Environment Variables->Select PATH->Click Edit

   Add the full path to the Postgresql bin directory to the end. What you append should look something like

   ;C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\8.4\bin

4. Edit your /config/database.yml file to use the Postgresql database. It should look something like

   development:
   adapter: postgresql
   database: DATABASENAME
   username: YOURUSERNAME
   password: YOURPASSWORD
   host: localhost
   encoding: UTF8

5. Run your migrations

   rake db:migrate

You’re done! Wasn’t so bad, was it?

[via Sensorial'Org]