Logo ← PostgreSQL Blog

GDAL with Full Database Support (PostgreSQL, Oracle, MSSQL, MySQL) on Rocky 9

GDAL with Full Database Support (PostgreSQL, Oracle, MSSQL, MySQL)

Geospatial professionals often rely on GDAL (Geospatial Data Abstraction Library) for seamless data conversion, spatial ETL processes, and interoperability across various formats and spatial databases. But when your workflows demand access to enterprise-grade databases like Oracle Spatial, SQL Server, PostgreSQL/PostGIS, and MySQL/MariaDB you’ll need a custom-built GDAL. This post walks you through the entire process of building GDAL from source on Rocky 9, with full support for:

  • Oracle (OCI)
  • PostgreSQL (PostGIS)
  • SQL Server (ODBC/MSSQLSpatial)
  • MySQL (MariaDB)
  • SQLite / GeoTIFF / JPEG / PNG / PROJ and more

Install System Dependencies

Make sure your system has all the essential build tools and libraries:


dnf install -y \
  git gcc-c++ make cmake wget unzip swig tar \
  python3 python3-devel python3-numpy \
  zlib-devel libdeflate-devel libzstd-devel openssl-devel curl-devel expat-devel \
  libjpeg-devel libpng-devel libtiff-devel libgeotiff-devel \
  proj-devel \
  postgresql-devel \
  sqlite-devel \
  unixODBC-devel \
  mariadb-connector-c-devel \
  libxml2-devel xerces-c-devel \
  libaio libaio-devel \
  cryptopp-devel


Explanation
-----------
  # Build tools
  git gcc-c++ make cmake wget unzip swig tar \
  python3 python3-devel python3-numpy \

  # Basic libraries
  zlib-devel libdeflate-devel libzstd-devel openssl-devel curl-devel expat-devel \

  # Image and raster format support
  libjpeg-devel libpng-devel libtiff-devel libgeotiff-devel \

  # Geographic projection
  proj-devel \

  # Database drivers
  postgresql-devel \
  sqlite-devel \
  unixODBC-devel \
  mariadb-connector-c-devel \

  # XML processing and configuration
  libxml2-devel xerces-c-devel \

  # Oracle Instant Client dependencies (Oracle .rpm files must be installed separately)
  libaio libaio-devel \

  # Optional cryptography support
  cryptopp-devel

Install Oracle Instant Client

GDAL requires Oracle’s proprietary client libraries to enable OCI (Oracle Spatial) support.

dnf -y install https://download.oracle.com/otn_software/linux/instantclient/oracle-instantclient-basic-linuxx64.rpm 
dnf -y install https://download.oracle.com/otn_software/linux/instantclient/oracle-instantclient-devel-linuxx64.rpm

For version-specific setups, adjust 23 accordingly in paths later.

Install Microsoft SQL Server ODBC Driver

To enable MSSQLSpatial and ODBC drivers:

curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/9/prod.repo -o /etc/yum.repos.d/mssql-release.repo 
ACCEPT_EULA=Y dnf install -y msodbcsql17

Set Oracle Environment Variables

echo 'export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/oracle/23/client64/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH' > /etc/profile.d/oracle.sh
chmod +x /etc/profile.d/oracle.sh
source /etc/profile.d/oracle.sh
ldconfig

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/src/gdal-3.11.3/build:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

Build GDAL from Source with Full Driver Support

Download GDAL

cd /usr/local/src
wget https://download.osgeo.org/gdal/3.11.3/gdal-3.11.3.tar.gz
tar xzf gdal-3.11.3.tar.gz
cd gdal-3.11.3
mkdir build && cd build

Configure with CMake

cmake .. \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=ON \
  -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local/gdal-oracle \
  -DGDAL_USE_POSTGRESQL=ON \
  -DPOSTGRESQL_INCLUDE_DIR=/usr/include/pgsql \
  -DPOSTGRESQL_LIBRARY=/usr/lib64/libpq.so \
  -DGDAL_USE_MSSQLSPATIAL=ON \
  -DODBC_INCLUDE_DIR=/usr/include \
  -DODBC_LIBRARY=/usr/lib64/libodbc.so \
  -DOGR_ENABLE_DRIVER_OCI=ON \
  -DOGR_BUILD_OCI=ON \
  -DOracle_INCLUDE_DIR=/usr/include/oracle/23/client64 \
  -DOracle_LIBRARY=/usr/lib/oracle/23/client64/lib/libclntsh.so \
  -DGDAL_ENABLE_DRIVER_MYSQL=ON \
  -DMYSQL_INCLUDE_DIR=/usr/include/mysql \
  -DMYSQL_LIBRARY=/usr/lib64/libmariadb.so \
  -DGDAL_USE_SQLITE3=ON \
  -DGDAL_USE_GEOTIFF=ON \
  -DGDAL_USE_CURL=ON \
  -DGDAL_USE_PNG=ON \
  -DGDAL_USE_JPEG=ON \
  -DGDAL_USE_EXPAT=ON \
  -DGDAL_USE_LIBZ=ON \
  -DGDAL_USE_PROJ=ON

Confirm Support

Make sure your CMake output includes:

Oracle support: yes
OCI driver enabled
PostgreSQL support: yes
MSSQL (ODBC) support: yes
MySQL support: yes

If Oracle support: no, double-check the paths to oci.h and libclntsh.so.

Compile and Install

make -j$(nproc)
make install
ldconfig

Set Runtime PATH

echo 'export PATH=/usr/local/gdal-oracle/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/gdal-oracle/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Verify Installed Drivers

ogrinfo --formats | grep -E "OCI|PostgreSQL|ODBC|MySQL|SQLite|GeoTIFF|MSSQL"

You should see output like:

SQLite -vector- (rw+uv): SQLite / Spatialite
  ODBC -vector- (ro): Open Database Connectivity
  MSSQLSpatial -vector- (rw+u): Microsoft SQL Server Spatial
  PostgreSQL -vector- (rw+u): PostgreSQL/PostGIS
  MySQL -vector- (rw+u): MySQL
  OCI -vector- (rw+u): Oracle Spatial

Example: Convert Oracle Spatial to PostGIS

Export from Oracle

ogr2ogr -f GeoJSON STREETS.json \
  OCI:TEST/test@**.**.**.**:1907/Servisname \
  -sql "SELECT * FROM TEST.STREETS WHERE rownum < 10000"

Import into PostgreSQL

ogr2ogr -f "PostgreSQL" PG:"host=**.**.**.** port=1907 dbname=gis_db user=etl_user password=test123" \
  STREETS.json \
  -nln streets \
  -lco FID=objectid \
  -lco GEOMETRY_NAME=geom \
  -a_srs "EPSG:5254"

Bonus: Convert Esri ST_Geometry to PostGIS

Some Oracle Spatial tables store geometries in Esri’s ST_Geometry format. You can convert them using:

ogr2ogr -f GeoJSON ANADOLU.json \
  OCI:TEST/test@exa3-scan.ibb.gov.tr:1472/PUBCBS \
  -sql "SELECT OBJECTID, ..., sdo_util.from_wktgeometry(sde.st_astext(shape)) AS SHAPE_SDO FROM TEST.ANADOLU"

Then import as usual into PostGIS:

ogr2ogr -f "PostgreSQL" PG:"host=**.***.**.** port=1907 dbname=gis_db user=etl_user password=test123" \
  ANADOLU.json \
  -nln anadolu \
  -lco FID=objectid \
  -lco GEOMETRY_NAME=geom \
  -a_srs "EPSG:5254"

Building GDAL from source might sound like a headache, but it unlocks full potential across Oracle Spatial, PostGIS, MSSQL, MySQL, and more — giving you full control and compatibility.