1.1. Installation

1.1. Installation
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+ Before you can use PostgreSQL you need + to install it, of course. It is possible that + PostgreSQL is already installed at your + site, either because it was included in your operating system + distribution or because the system administrator already installed + it. If that is the case, you should obtain information from the + operating system documentation or your system administrator about + how to access PostgreSQL. +

+ If you are not sure whether PostgreSQL + is already available or whether you can use it for your + experimentation then you can install it yourself. Doing so is not + hard and it can be a good exercise. + PostgreSQL can be installed by any + unprivileged user; no superuser (root) + access is required. +

+ If you are installing PostgreSQL + yourself, then refer to Chapter 17 + for instructions on installation, and return to + this guide when the installation is complete. Be sure to follow + closely the section about setting up the appropriate environment + variables. +

+ If your site administrator has not set things up in the default + way, you might have some more work to do. For example, if the + database server machine is a remote machine, you will need to set + the PGHOST environment variable to the name of the + database server machine. The environment variable + PGPORT might also have to be set. The bottom line is + this: if you try to start an application program and it complains + that it cannot connect to the database, you should consult your + site administrator or, if that is you, the documentation to make + sure that your environment is properly set up. If you did not + understand the preceding paragraph then read the next section. +