FreeTDS Development Group

["James K. Lowden" <jklowden AT freetds.org>]

Ed Avis wrote:
> 
> %configure \
>         --disable-dependency-tracking \
>         --disable-rpath \
>         %{!?_with_static: --disable-static} \
>         --with-tdsver="4.2" \
>         --with-unixodbc="%{_prefix}" \
>         --enable-msdblib \
>         --enable-sybase-compat \
>         --with-gnutls
> 
> Now, I do want to use FreeTDS to connect to an MSSQL server, so do I
> need to keep that flag in there?

http://www.freetds.org/userguide/config.htm#EVERYONE

As the UG says, these flags provide a small degree of compatibility.  In
the case of msdblib, it adjusts the date structure; sybase-compat adds a
symbol.  

So, no, you don't need --enable-msdblib to connect to a Microsoft server;
you need it only if you're working with code that expects Microsoft's
db-lib conventions.  (That's why it's calls msdblib and not, say, ms-tds.)
 Sybperl, on the contrary, expects Sybase db-lib conventions.  

> If so, I guess Sybperl needs patching to build against a FreeTDS
> configured this way.  I might go through the Sybperl source and add
> various #ifdef MSDBLIB sections.  Does that sound a reasonable way to
> proceed?

Well, it *could* be.  Easiest is to rebuild FreeTDS without those two
flags.  Modifying Sybperl might possibly be of some service, in that it
would facilitate using Fedora as-is, or even potentially using Microsoft's
library.  

HTH.

--jkl