[postgis-users] newbie: Error in first atttempt to use postgis with mapserver?

[Mark Cave-Ayland]

Nicolas Ribot wrote:

> Hi
> 
> MapServer is looking for the hidden OID column, that does not exist
> anymore in recent postgresql versions (tables are now created without
> oid by default.

I do find it really frustrating that Mapserver still defaults to looking 
for the oid column. The practice of using sequences rather than oids to 
identify individual rows has been recommended practice for as long as I 
can remember, and has been the default setting for over 3 years (and 
would have been done earlier if it hadn't been for legacy applications).

> Try adding a "USING unique <ID>" in your mapfile postgis data
> connection (replace <ID> by a unique identifier defined for the
> bc_municipality table.

Since it is impossible to automatically determine which unique ID in a 
table is relevant for any particular application, why can't Mapserver 
enforce the use of "USING unique <ID>" in the DATA clause for a PostGIS 
layer? It's scary how many people I meet who think it is a bug in 
PostgreSQL and then spend several days reloading their entire database 
with oids enabled... *sigh*


ATB,

Mark.

-- 
Mark Cave-Ayland
Sirius Corporation - The Open Source Experts
http://www.siriusit.co.uk
T: +44 870 608 0063