Re: added pkg-config script

On Sun, 22 Aug 2004, Czuczy Gergely wrote:

> I've attached a corrected patch, the postgresql.pc.in was missing.
>
> On Sun, Aug 22, 2004 at 01:49:08PM -0400, Tom Lane wrote:
> > phoemix(at)harmless(dot)hu (Czuczy Gergely) writes:
> > > I've added a pkg-config script.
> > > The "diff -rc -x configure from to" output is attached.
> >
> > Considering that this patch is lacking both the script itself, and any
> > documentation, it's not got much hope of being accepted...
> What kind of documentation does it need? i don't see.

Well, you've added a configure option, so the installation sgml at the
very least. If it's meant to replace or do the same general thing as
pg_config, then the places pg_config is mentioned in mainline docs should
probably be added to as well (libpq and xfunc).

> > But before you run off to produce those things, I would suggest
> > putting up a proposal on pghackers about what you want to do
> > and why. In particular, what problem are you solving that isn't
> The most common way to get a package's libflags and cflags is the solution
> that pkg-config offers. the problem with pg_config that it's not in the path,
> it's place depends on the prefix, so to use it required an extra effort.
> pkg-config is a standardized way to check for a package's libs and cflags.
> The patch I've made adds the generation of this script, and extends the Makefiles
> to install them. The place of this .pc (Pkg-Config) file is at /usr/lib/pkgconfig/,
> but with the patch it can be altered with --with-pkgconfig-dir.

How is the pkg-config stuff meant to interact with having multiple
different installations on a machine? I might, for example, have two or
three copies of the same version of postgresql with different options
under some circumstances.