How to Install PostgreSQL Using the Source Code

1. 
   1
   Obtain the source code from PostgreSQL website [1].
   Ad
2. 
   2
   Unpack the source code package. Use the following bash/console command:
   
   gunzip postgresql-8.3.3.tar.gz
   tar xf postgresql-8.3.3.tar
   • postgresql-8.3.3 is the name of the current version. Future versions might differ in the 8.3.3 part.
   • A directory named postgresql-8.3.3 will be created under the current directory (the one you executed the above script from).
     
3. 
   3
   Change the current directory to the newly created one (postgresql-8.3.3)
4. 
   4
   Configure the source tree for your system and choose the installation options you want:
   • Default Configuration: run the command
     ./configure
     on your bash/console
   • Custom Configuration (this is for advanced users only): you can set a lot of custom configuration options using command line options listed in the PostgreSql documentation [2]
5. 
   5
   Start the build process by executing the command line
   gmake
   in your console/bash. This might take a few minutes depending on your hardware. The last line displayed should be:
   All of PostgreSQL is successfully made. Ready to install.
6. 
   6
   Install PostgreSql files by executing the bash/console command:
   gmake install
   which will install the files to /usr/local/pgsql unless you used the --prefix=PREFIX command line option, in which case the files will be installed to the path specified by PREFIX
7. 
   7
   Create a super-user account for PostgreSQL by executing the following command in the bash console:
   adduser postgres
8. 
   8
   Create a directory to hold PostgreSQL data tree by executing the following commands in the bash console:
   mkdir /p01/pgsql/data
   chown postgres /p01/pgsql/data
9. 
   9
   Create PostgreSQL cluster by executing:
   su - postgres
   /usr/local/pgsql/bin/initdb -D /p01/pgsql/data
10. 
    10
    Start up the PostgreSQL server (postmaster process) by executing:
    /usr/local/pgsql/bin/postmaster -D /p01/pgsql/data >logfile 2>&1 &
11. 
    11
    Create a PostgreSQL database in the cluster by executing:
    /usr/local/pgsql/bin/createdb test
12. 
    12
    Log-in to the database using the psql command:
    /usr/local/pgsql/bin/psql test

This is the full list of commands to be executed that are described in this article to install the server. This can be saved into a script to be executed later.

./configure
gmake
su
gmake install
adduser postgres
mkdir /usr/local/pgsql/data
chown postgres /usr/local/pgsql/data
su - postgres
/usr/local/pgsql/bin/initdb -D /usr/local/pgsql/data
/usr/local/pgsql/bin/postgres -D /usr/local/pgsql/data >logfile 2>&1 &
/usr/local/pgsql/bin/createdb test
/usr/local/pgsql/bin/psql test