[postgis-users] Documentation lacking & AddGeometryColumn schema_name vs db_name

Boyce, Greg GBoyce at NRCan.gc.ca
Wed Jul 21 12:47:17 PDT 2004


And if I might add, the documentation has problems, and is skimpy
in many areas:

1 What version of PostGIS does the online docs correspond to?

2 There's no search function in the online docs

3 There are very few or no examples in the "OpenGIS Functions"
  and "Other Functions" sections.

4 The OpenGIS function, SetSRID, is missing the SRID in the 
  definition.

5 Conflicting information on the AddGeometryColumn function.  Is
  it <db_name> or <schema_name>?
  Chapter 4. Creating a spatial table:
	http://postgis.refractions.net/docs/x321.html#AEN391
  says 
	AddGeometryColumn(<db_name>, <table_name>, <column_name>, ...
	SELECT AddGeometryColumn('roads_db', 'roads_geom', 'geom', ...

  Yet in Chapter 5. -- OpenGIS Functions:
	http://postgis.refractions.net/docs/c673.html
  it says
	AddGeometryColumn(<schema_name>, <table_name>, <column_name>, ...
  (What do mean by saying that schema_name is a table schema?)

  The example given in the recent MUM presentation on Mapserver & 
  PostGIS uses [dbname].

6 I've a database called "magdb".  I add the geometry column:
	SELECT AddGeometryColumn('magdb', 'surveys2', 'boundary', -1,
'POLYGON', 2);
  and it gives an Notice message:
	NOTICE:  Invalid schema name - using current_schema()
	CONTEXT:  PL/pgSQL function "addgeometrycolumn" line 4 at select
into variables
                addgeometrycolumn

  The geometry_columns table contains (note the "public" not "magdb"):
	 f_table_catalog | f_table_schema | f_table_name | f_geometry_column
| coord_dimension | srid |  type   | attrelid | varattnum | stats 
-----------------+----------------+--------------+-------------------+------
-----------+------+---------+----------+-----------+-------
                 | public         | surveys2     | boundary          |
2 |   -1 | POLYGON |   299809 |         3 | 

  A DropGeometryColumn on "magdb" of course doesn't work!
	SELECT DropGeometryColumn('magdb', 'surveys', 'boundary27');

  What's wrong?  (I'm using PostgreSQL 7.4.3 and PostGIS 0.8.2)


Many thanks,
Greg Boyce
___________________________________________________
Regional Geophysics section    /   Section de la géophysique régionale
Geological Survey of Canada    /   Commission Géologique du Canada
Natural Resources Canada       /   Ressources naturelles Canada
Government of Canada           /   Gouvernement du Canada



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