VSI-I64VMS-LIBPQ-V1100-0B-1-RELNOTE.PDF

This document describes LIBPQ for OpenVMS I64, a client API and embedded SQL pre-processor utility for PostgreSQL 11.0.

Key Features and Components:

• Provides the C application programmer's interface to PostgreSQL.
• Includes the ECPG embedded SQL pre-processor for developing C/C++ applications.
• Comes with the PSQL interactive query tool.
• A significant update from Sector7 in this release addresses previous limitations on the maximum number of arguments in OpenVMS function calls, allowing queries to return large numbers of columns and null-indicator values.

Requirements:

• OpenVMS 8.4-1H1 I64
• HP TCP/IP Services V5.7 ECO 2 (MultiNet support is unverified)
• HP C V7.3-018 compiler
• Users need a good understanding of OpenVMS, software development, the PostgreSQL client API, and ECPG.

Installation (VSI-I64VMS-LIBPQ-V1100B-0-1.PCSI):

• Installed using the PRODUCT INSTALL LIBPQ command.
• Critical post-installation steps involve adding lines to SYS$MANAGER:SYSTARTUP_VMS.COM and SYS$MANAGER:SYSHUTDWN.COM to define necessary logical names (LIBPQ$ROOT, LIBPQ$SHR) and manage startup/shutdown scripts.
• For development, mixed-case symbols in the libraries require the /NAMES=(AS_IS) compiler option, and header files are located in LIBPQ$ROOT:[INCLUDE].
• While generally not requiring special privileges, a high BYTLM is recommended for large data transfers.
• Installing to an alternative location requires manually copying startup/shutdown scripts from the new installation's [.SYS$STARTUP] subdirectory to the system's SYS$STARTUP directory.

Development & Usage:

• Sample applications are provided in LIBPQ$ROOT:[EXAMPLES] to demonstrate API usage and compilation/linking procedures (using EXAMPLES.COM). These examples typically link with the LIBPQ$SHR shareable image, but static linking (which requires linking SSL) is also possible and may be preferred for production deployments.
• Developers are encouraged to read the official PostgreSQL 11 documentation.

Other Important Notes:

• LIBPQ is built using IEEE floating point; all linked code should also use this format to avoid unexpected results.
• For correct command-line argument parsing with ECPG and PSQL, users should set process/parse_style=extended or enclose arguments in double quotes.
• The current kit includes all PostgreSQL C/C++ client API and ECPG functionality (including Oracle Pro*C compatibility), with future releases potentially offering wrapper APIs for other languages like COBOL, FORTRAN, Pascal, and BASIC.