PostgreSQL 7.2.1 Documentation
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# 4.2. Loading pgtcl into your application

Before using pgtcl commands, you must load `libpgtcl` into your Tcl application. This is normally done with the Tcl `load` command. Here is an example:

    load libpgtcl[info sharedlibextension]

The use of `info sharedlibextension` is recommended in preference to hard-wiring `.so` or `.sl` into the program.

The `load` command will fail unless the system's dynamic loader knows where to look for the `libpgtcl` shared library file. You may need to work with ldconfig, or set the environment variable `LD_LIBRARY_PATH`, or use some equivalent facility for your platform to make it work. Refer to the PostgreSQL installation instructions for more information.

`libpgtcl` in turn depends on `libpq`, so the dynamic loader must also be able to find the `libpq` shared library. In practice this is seldom an issue, since both of these shared libraries are normally stored in the same directory, but it can be a stumbling block in some configurations.

If you use a custom executable for your application, you might choose to statically bind `libpgtcl` into the executable and thereby avoid the `load` command and the potential problems of dynamic linking. See the source code for pgtclsh for an example.

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