Re: Fw: Please Help - Mailing list pgsql-general

On Wed, Mar 14, 2001 at 12:25:31PM -0800, keith wrote:
> I am lost. I am a developer, new to Linux and to postgreSQL.

boy, you're in for a juorney. linux, after intimate familiarity
with mac os or windon't, will seem like you've been thrown into a
wet dungeon, blindfolded and naked. everything you seek is
already in there, but you'll have difficulty in finding it. don't
give up hope -- askthe right questions and you'll do fine...

> I am trying to install postgreSQL on a linux machine. Every
> command I try to run gives me a command not found error. I
> cannot seem to do anything. I tried running all the commands. I
> tried being the root user as well as other users, no
> difference. I tried going to the scr directory and 'make all'
> still nothing. I see the html documents and can run them, but
> that is it.
>
> Does anyone have any advice for someone who is an idiot when it
> comes to this???

yes.

to answer the next question, "what should i look for?" i'd
try these -- and these are merely guesses:


- don't forget that linux is a multi-user system; user "doogie"
  may have priviliges to get into the database, where user
  "biscuit" has access to the printer... each user/login has to
  be set up with memberships in the necessary groups and have the
  necessary environment attributes, and so forth.

NOTE -- i use debian "potato" (2.2) so any specific paths i offer
will work if yuo're no the same distribution, and might not apply
otherwise. your mileage is likely to vary.

- the documents (/usr/share/doc/postgres*/ or /usr/doc/postgres*/)
  will give you hints on what went where. short of that, you can
  find files on your own:

    locate postmaster   <-- if you've done 'updatedb' as root lately
    find / -name psql -print    <-- if your machine has nothing
                                    better to do

- your $PATH might not include the postgres-specific directories.
  for postgresql users, make sure their environment is properly
  set at login (in ~/.bashrc or, for tcsh users, ~/.login) via
  something like

    source /etc/postgresql/postmaster.init

  or at least

    # bash:
    export PATH="/usr/lib/postgresql/bin/:$PATH"
    # csh:
    setenv PATH "/usr/lib/postgresql/bin/:$PATH"

- there's also some other environment variables to consider
  including

    PGDATA=/var/postgres/data
    PGLIB=/usr/lib/postgresql/lib

  but i think these are more for setting up your postgresql
  environment itself, as opposed to a user's environment who's
  trying to connect with postgresql.

- once you can find the commands, you'll need to get going on
  database security and access. the only user that postgres knows
  about initially is user "postgres". (duh!) so

      % su
    root password:
    # su postgres
    $ psql

  now you can get in and set a password for master-database user
  postgres (so nobody else can scramble your tables) and create
  normal users, giving them access to various abilities, like
  database creation, table insertion and selection, yada yada.

  (hmm! maybe even this will work, initially:
    /path/to/psql -u postgres
  but then again it may not.)

- again, once you can find the documentation that came with
  postgresql, it'll guide you as to what should be where, and how
  to get it all to work.

  even tho it's a mountain of info, what you see really is likely
  to be in there.  to see if a text file contains a string, try

    grep -i 'shortsearchstring' *file*pattern*


hth!

--
It is always hazardous to ask "Why?" in science, but it is often
interesting to do so just the same.
        -- Isaac Asimov, 'The Genetic Code'

will@serensoft.com
http://newbieDoc.sourceforge.net/ -- we need your brain!
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