[Mapserver-users] CGI-Question

[Thorsten Fischer]

On Wed, 2003-05-21 at 19:49, Mapserver wrote:
> Hi list,
> 
> I'm quite new to mapserver and I have a question concerning the
> mapserver-cgi:
> I have a pc with suse-linux and i'm able to compile mapserver to get a cgi.
> Now - can I upload that cgi to any webspace-hoster?

It's not very likely to work.

First of all, if you compiled using the 'normal' configure/make process,
you have a dynamically linked binary which requires the libraries it
uses to be present on the target system. It's unlikely that your average
web hoster has proj.4 installed, for example.

Even if they do, you still have to watch out for library versions,
dependencies among them that you might not like, etc.

If you have built a _static_ binary, which is more work than the usual
way, you can just copy it over, it will most likely run (if the system
is not _too_ old). A static binary is one that has all library
dependencies built into it. The problem with such a thing is that it
grows quite quickly for each library you build into it. It can easily be
several megabytes in size with things like proj.4, gd and (great maker,
help) gdal.

Try a static build if you need to, but more likely you want a machine
with better means of access, like a shell account and the possibility to
build programs and install libraries.

This situation is contrary to windows, where you (most of the time) can
take a .dll and use it, no matter where you are. I simplify matters a
bit here. But windows is more homogenous and easier to predict. In
matters of putting pre-built software on a system, this is what you
want. In matters of someone trying to breaking into your system, you do
not want this at all. I just added this paragraph in case you wanted to
throw the linux idea out of the window :)


hth,

thorsten