Re: Installing support for python on windows

On Sunday 31 December 2006 2:09 pm, novnov wrote:
> I've spent a couple of hours on this and would like to ask for an assist at
> this point. I need to install python support on windows. The postgresql
> install is the windows 8.2.0-1 binary, and pl/pgsql was included in the
> initial installation. I have python 2.5 installed. The workstation's path
> does not ref either the python or postgres directories.
>
> - I take it that plpython is what I should be installing? I first read in
> this list that psycopg is commonly used to work with python in postgres,
> and I installed the windows port of that, but 'nothing happened' ie no
> python lang support materialized. I'm not at all sure what the score is
> with psycopg and plpython, but am now aiming for plpython as that seems to
> be the offering that is included with the postgres installer. But I'm
> curious, why psycopg when plpython is there? Are they complimentary, or
> should it be one or the other?
Psycopg is an interface from Python to Postgres. In other words it works from the outside. You use it to connect a Postgres database and manipulate data as needed. plpython is a procedural language for Postgres that allows one to use Python from within the server. For what you want to do plpython is the choice.
>
> - The postgresql docs reference plpythonu (untrusted) but what I find in
> \lib is plpython? Are the docs out of date or am I mixing up information?
> (http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.2/interactive/plpython.html)
>
I haven't installed Postgres on Windows so I am not familiar with the naming there. At one time there was a plpython but this has been replaced by plpythonu as Python did not have a robust mechanism for keeping the language from straying outside the server.
> - Per most docs the installation of a language is done with createlang.
> I've tried many times and cannot get the syntax right. Typically I log in
> to psql in the \bin directory as the main postgres user. After that, a
> typical attempt is looks like this:
>
> postgres=# createlang 'd:\postgresql\lib\plpython' mydb;
>
> Typical error is:
> ERROR: syntax error at or near "createlang"
> LINE 1: createlang d:
>
> This is a later attempt where I've added the lib path. I've tried no path,
> double quotes, many things. I've tried executing from the windows command
> line (ie not while in psql), adding the dll extension. Rather than spending
> the rest of the year on this (ie ten hours <g>) I hope someone can knock
> out a line or two to steer me in the right direction.

Just for reference sake, did you try createlang -d mydb plpythonu

See URL below for more information
http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.2/interactive/app-createlang.html

--
Adrian Klaver
aklaver(at)comcast(dot)net