EdgeDB 1.0 alpha 1 introduces a powerful query language, EdgeQL, designed for performance and usability, with notable features like stable syntax, enhanced JSON support, and a robust type system that avoids NULL values by treating missing data as empty sets. The release comes after incorporating user feedback from its Technology Preview and is now ready for evaluation. EdgeDB aims to simplify data access and manipulation by offering a modern database solution that supports meta-programming, a new binary protocol, and native Python client support, with future plans to extend to NodeJS and Golang. The blog post outlines a comparison of EdgeDB with other databases and ORMs, showcasing its efficiency in building a simple movie catalog app. Benchmarks reveal that EdgeDB performs competitively, requiring less code to set up schemas and queries compared to traditional methods, while supporting both HTTP and GraphQL interfaces. Although PostgreSQL with asyncpg currently shows the best performance, EdgeDB's unique capabilities, such as handling deep relation hierarchies more easily, highlight its potential for future enhancements and optimizations in upcoming releases.