[postgis-devel] postgis front-end interface

[strk]

Trying to do WKB crunching for loader/dumper I came to this conclusion:
postgis objects and functionality should be also available for front-end
applications.

If we can handle GEOMETRY objects and convert them to/from WKB/WKT
we will also be able to quickly write any convertion tool (eg. SVG).

This would also allow easy access to other functionality as
reprojection, simplification, GEOS relational operators from within
a consistent framework.

The first step to do going in that direction would be making
GEOMETRY structs available (right now I would have to include
postgis.h to get definitions and that file will include geo_utils
from postgres which in turn will make the preprocessor crazy).
This could be done putting GEOM structs in a separate file,
possibly togheter with geometry type defines, then making postgis.h
include that file.

When the geometry objects are safely available some functions
can be written to be postgres-indipendent (like WKB/WKT codec)
and - with time - old functions ported to this out-of-context
scope keeping current signature as a postgres connector.

I think the first and second steps are worth taking for making
loader/dumper use WKB *and* for future SVG/GML codec.

Please share your thoughts.

--strk;