This difficult-to-trace error occurs when you start the app server and you have an error in your database.yml. Instead of

username: user

I had

user: user

I saw a post saying that postgres and ruby-postgres are the same project (and had the same versions at some point: 0.7.1). This is how I chose to use postgres rather than ruby-postgres. Oh, and that Robby on Rails chooses it in his rails stack for Leopard at Planet Argon.

$ gem search -r postgres

postgres (0.7.9.2008.01.28, 0.7.9.2008.01.24, 0.7.9.2008.01.09, 0.7.9.2008.01.03, 0.7.9.2007.12.22, 0.7.9.2007.12.12)
ruby-postgres (0.7.1.2006.04.06, 0.7.1.2006.04.05, 0.7.1.2005.12.21, 0.7.1.2005.12.20, 0.7.1.2005.12.19, 0.7.1.2005.11.27, 0.7.1.2005.11.26, 0.7.1.2005.11.24, 0.7.1.2005.11.23)
$

I will admit I was watching for the MacWorld keynote announcement with some interest. After some thought I think I’ll wait for three things before I jump:

1. Built-in HSDPA (3G wireless) – why do I want to carry an external modem?
2. Capacity for 3GB of RAM – this is the maximum Windows can address.
3. FullHD resolution: 1920×1080 – ok, this is only a nice to have.

Other than these things, it’s pretty cool.

Unwinding macports to use Apple’s ruby stack I found that
sudo port install postgresql82 postgresql82-server
fails. Able to install from source with the same configuration settings. Missing optional stuff like tsearch2 though.

More of a concern is the problems installing
sudo gem install ruby-postgres. The first problem is that configure doesn’t find certain functions due to problems linking to the ppc symbols. The ARCHFLAGS="-arch i386" doesn’t solve this – still builds for ppc as well. Can override #defines in the postgres.c file and override the contents of the Makefile to build successfully though.

Update ARCHFLAGS does work in compiling ruby-postgres, I just had to be more sophisticated about passing it through sudo.

…is this thing on?? testing 1-2-3… ok, we’re go.