= How to install PostGIS 1.5 on Debian 6.0 (''squeeze'') from source =

== Prerequisites ==
Several components are needed, which can either be built from source or installed from pre-built packages, as shown below.

As `root` (or prefix "`sudo`", if available), install prerequisite packages using:
{{{
apt-get install proj postgresql-server-dev-8.4 libxml2-dev libgeos-dev
}}}

Optional packages for testing PostGIS:
{{{
apt-get install libcunit1-dev
}}}
Optional packages for building documentation:
{{{
apt-get install xsltproc docbook-xsl imagemagick
}}}
(for building PDF documentation, add `dblatex`, but expect a large download)

== Build ==

PostGIS can be built built from any user account:
{{{
wget http://postgis.refractions.net/download/postgis-1.5.5.tar.gz
tar xfvz postgis-1.5.5.tar.gz
cd postgis-1.5.5
./configure
make
}}}
And as `root`:
{{{
make install
}}}

=== Documentation/comments ===
From the `postgis-1.5.5` directory:
{{{
cd doc
make
}}}
and as `root`:
{{{
make install
make comments-install
}}}

== Template ==
Complete a post-install by creating a template, which can be re-used for creating multiple spatially-enabled databases. Or if you just want to make one spatially enabled database, you can modify the commands for your needs.

Log-in as `postgres` from `root` using "`su - postgres`", and use the following commands:
{{{
createdb template_postgis
createlang plpgsql template_postgis
psql -d template_postgis -c "UPDATE pg_database SET datistemplate=true WHERE datname='template_postgis'"
psql -d template_postgis -f /usr/share/postgresql/8.4/contrib/postgis-1.5/postgis.sql
psql -d template_postgis -f /usr/share/postgresql/8.4/contrib/postgis-1.5/spatial_ref_sys.sql
psql -d template_postgis -f /usr/share/postgresql/8.4/contrib/postgis-1.5/postgis_comments.sql
}}}