[postgis-devel]WKTRaster:WhyhavingtocompilePostgreSQL&PostGISfirst?

Mateusz Loskot Mateusz.Loskot at cadcorp.com
Wed Mar 4 08:59:12 PST 2009


Pierre Racine wrote:
> Please never, ho never say again on this mailing list that:
> 
> 1) You don't have to compile PostgreSQL. You DO have to compile
> PostgreSQL in order to compile PostGIS.

Pierre,

I can't agree, unless a few details are clarified: system and building system.
There is plenty of variants, even the popular configurations may vary.
When it comes to report a problem, it's good to answer basic questions:
1. Is it Unix or Windows?
2. Is it Unix with GNU toolchain (GCC & autotools: Autoconf, Automake, libtool, etc.)?
3. Is it Unix with non-GNU stuff (ie. Solaris and its native compiler)?
4. Is it Windows with native compiler - Microsoft Visual C++?
5. Is it Windows with GNU GCC compiler?
5.1. Is it MinGW or GCC from Cygwin?
6. Is it Windows with yet other compiler?

There shouldn't be any need to (re)build PostgreSQL if you use Visual C++.
Support (or lack of it) of easy configuration of PostGIS for Visual C++ is a different story.


> Luckily we don't have to compile Linux to compile PostgreSQL...
> And to compile ArcGIS to compile our own ArcGIS Python script...

I understand the irony, but if things are done right and the right tools are used on
supported platforms, then there is no need for prosthesis.
It's just that developers care or not. If they don't, you may expect problems :-)

> 2) That it takes 20 minutes. The setup is very different on Windows.
> All this is a Linux thing and you have to do a lot trial and error to get
> it to work on Windows. Took me three days (and two nights).

I won't repeat myself, but MinGW should be banned as it's more a troublemaker than helps.

> I promess I will write a compilation procedure if I can convince
> PostGIS people to migrate the PostGIS wiki from a 90's wiki to a new millenium
> wiki.

I'm far from starting a holy war, but actually, I've found the Wiki on cef-cfr.ca far from being friendly.
Just compare to MediaWiki or Trac and you will know what I mean.

Best regards,
--
Mateusz Loskot
Senior Programmer, Cadcorp
http://www.cadcorp.com


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