Talk:Spatial data management using PostGIS

Re: the "synaptic package manager"

Actually, when you use the apt-get program on the command line, technically I believe you are using the "Debian packaging system", which created the apt-__ commands. This predates the synaptic software, which I'm pretty sure is the GUI that went on top of the pre-existing packaging system.

In other words, when the tutorial says that it is using the "command line version" of synaptic, that isn't quite true. But close enough that I'm leaving it alone for now.

Postgresql installation and initialization of superuser in the database

I edited the wording (see history) to more accurately describe what's happening with these commands.

PostGIS version problem

I tried to follow along your tutorial on an Ubunto 10.0.04 system that has been just minimally configured. I ran into troubles trying to execute the SQL GRANT steps you reference in section 4.2. I found that I do not have a directory .../contrib/postgis-1.5

• I do have the contrib directory
• the SQL file names you refer to are in the contrib directory, but it appears they belong to postgis-1.4
• I have tried updating the system, but it seems that 1.4 is the current default postgis version for this version of ubuntu... ? Ah-ha, I see later on you say that you installed the unstable-2.0 version... that must be the difference. So the tutorial has a glitch as a result, as currently written.
• as a result, the geography_columns relation does not exist, so I gave up following along at that step.

2024 additions

Very nice to have an update to this tutorial, and using Windows diversifies it. Would be nice for a further revision to bring the Linux portion up to date, since it is now quite old and those software versions aren't likely in wide use or easy to get working. A macOS version might also be nice, as we have discussed. If anyone takes that on, please try to have comparable examples across platforms, and ideally the same data, and make sure it's done with open data.