DBM(3)

NAME

       DBM::Any - object-oriented interface to AnyDBM_File

SYNOPSIS

         BEGIN {
           @AnyDBM_File::ISA = qw(DB_File GDBM_File SDBM_File);
         }
         use DBM::Any;

         $db = new DBM::Any($filename, $flags, $mode[, optional...]);

         $val = $db->get($key);

         $db->put($key, $val);

         $db->delete($key);

         if ($db->exists($key)) { ... }

         for my $k ($db->keys()) { ... }

         for my $v ($db->values()) { ... }

         while (($k, $v) = $db->each()) { ... }

         $db->close();

DESCRIPTION

       DBM::Any provides an object-oriented complement to AnyDBM_File's tied
       interface.  It was written because it didn't seem to exist on CPAN, and
       the author likes BerkeleyDB's object-oriented interface, but doesn't
       want to force people to get BerkeleyDB if they don't want.

       The interface is a least common denominator among all available
       database types; it contains the basic elements for keeping a persistent
       hash on disk.

       The methods should map fairly well to regular operations on hashes.
       Which is why I won't painstakingly document every method here; you
       should already know how to deal with hashes.

       DBM::Any Objects should be considered opaque.  Even if you know what
       sort of database is underneath, you're a very naughty person if you
       attempt to circumvent the prescribed intreface. :-)

BUGS

       Currently only supports DB_File access to Sleepycat's Berkeley DB.  I'd
       like to support BerkeleyDB.pm access as well.  If there is an elegant
       solution to this, I need more time to figure it out.

       The exists() method could be called on a database format which does not
       support a simple existence check.  For these I use a heuristic, and
       attempt to retrieve the value associated with the key in question.  If
       the value is defined, then we say it exists.  Because of this, I advise
       against explicit storage

AUTHOR

       Tony Monroe <tmonroe+perl@nog.net>

SEE ALSO

       perl, AnyDBM_File

perl v5.8.0                       2001-07-26                            Any(3)