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BerkeleyDB(3)	      User Contributed Perl Documentation	 BerkeleyDB(3)

NAME
       BerkeleyDB - Perl extension for Berkeley DB version 2, 3, 4 or 5

SYNOPSIS
	 use BerkeleyDB;

	 $env = new BerkeleyDB::Env [OPTIONS] ;

	 $db  = tie %hash, 'BerkeleyDB::Hash', [OPTIONS] ;
	 $db  = new BerkeleyDB::Hash [OPTIONS] ;

	 $db  = tie %hash, 'BerkeleyDB::Btree', [OPTIONS] ;
	 $db  = new BerkeleyDB::Btree [OPTIONS] ;

	 $db  = tie @array, 'BerkeleyDB::Recno', [OPTIONS] ;
	 $db  = new BerkeleyDB::Recno [OPTIONS] ;

	 $db  = tie @array, 'BerkeleyDB::Queue', [OPTIONS] ;
	 $db  = new BerkeleyDB::Queue [OPTIONS] ;

	 $db  = new BerkeleyDB::Heap [OPTIONS] ;

	 $db  = new BerkeleyDB::Unknown [OPTIONS] ;

	 $status = BerkeleyDB::db_remove [OPTIONS]
	 $status = BerkeleyDB::db_rename [OPTIONS]
	 $status = BerkeleyDB::db_verify [OPTIONS]

	 $hash{$key} = $value ;
	 $value = $hash{$key} ;
	 each %hash ;
	 keys %hash ;
	 values %hash ;

	 $env = $db->Env()
	 $status = $db->db_get()
	 $status = $db->db_exists() ;
	 $status = $db->db_put() ;
	 $status = $db->db_del() ;
	 $status = $db->db_sync() ;
	 $status = $db->db_close() ;
	 $status = $db->db_pget()
	 $hash_ref = $db->db_stat() ;
	 $status = $db->db_key_range();
	 $type = $db->type() ;
	 $status = $db->status() ;
	 $boolean = $db->byteswapped() ;
	 $status = $db->truncate($count) ;
	 $status = $db->compact($start, $stop, $c_data, $flags, $end);

	 $bool = $env->cds_enabled();
	 $bool = $db->cds_enabled();
	 $lock = $db->cds_lock();
	 $lock->cds_unlock();

	 ($flag, $old_offset, $old_length) = $db->partial_set($offset, $length) ;
	 ($flag, $old_offset, $old_length) = $db->partial_clear() ;

	 $cursor = $db->db_cursor([$flags]) ;
	 $newcursor = $cursor->c_dup([$flags]);
	 $status = $cursor->c_get() ;
	 $status = $cursor->c_put() ;
	 $status = $cursor->c_del() ;
	 $status = $cursor->c_count() ;
	 $status = $cursor->c_pget() ;
	 $status = $cursor->status() ;
	 $status = $cursor->c_close() ;

	 $cursor = $db->db_join() ;
	 $status = $cursor->c_get() ;
	 $status = $cursor->c_close() ;

	 $status = $env->txn_checkpoint()
	 $hash_ref = $env->txn_stat()
	 $status = $env->set_mutexlocks()
	 $status = $env->set_flags()
	 $status = $env->set_timeout()
	 $status = $env->lock_detect()
	 $status = $env->lsn_reset()

	 $txn = $env->txn_begin() ;
	 $db->Txn($txn);
	 $txn->Txn($db1, $db2,...);
	 $status = $txn->txn_prepare()
	 $status = $txn->txn_commit()
	 $status = $txn->txn_abort()
	 $status = $txn->txn_id()
	 $status = $txn->txn_discard()
	 $status = $txn->set_timeout()

	 $status = $env->set_lg_dir();
	 $status = $env->set_lg_bsize();
	 $status = $env->set_lg_max();

	 $status = $env->set_data_dir() ;
	 $status = $env->set_tmp_dir() ;
	 $status = $env->set_verbose() ;
	 $db_env_ptr = $env->DB_ENV() ;

	 $BerkeleyDB::Error
	 $BerkeleyDB::db_version

	 # DBM Filters
	 $old_filter = $db->filter_store_key  ( sub { ... } ) ;
	 $old_filter = $db->filter_store_value( sub { ... } ) ;
	 $old_filter = $db->filter_fetch_key  ( sub { ... } ) ;
	 $old_filter = $db->filter_fetch_value( sub { ... } ) ;

	 # deprecated, but supported
	 $txn_mgr = $env->TxnMgr();
	 $status = $txn_mgr->txn_checkpoint()
	 $hash_ref = $txn_mgr->txn_stat()
	 $txn = $txn_mgr->txn_begin() ;

DESCRIPTION
       NOTE: This document is still under construction. Expect it to be
       incomplete in places.

       This Perl module provides an interface to most of the functionality
       available in Berkeley DB versions 2, 3 and 4. In general it is safe to
       assume that the interface provided here to be identical to the Berkeley
       DB interface. The main changes have been to make the Berkeley DB API
       work in a Perl way. Note that if you are using Berkeley DB 2.x, the new
       features available in Berkeley DB 3.x or DB 4.x are not available via
       this module.

       The reader is expected to be familiar with the Berkeley DB
       documentation. Where the interface provided here is identical to the
       Berkeley DB library and the... TODO

       The db_appinit, db_cursor, db_open and db_txn man pages are
       particularly relevant.

       The interface to Berkeley DB is implemented with a number of Perl
       classes.

The BerkeleyDB::Env Class
       The BerkeleyDB::Env class provides an interface to the Berkeley DB
       function db_appinit in Berkeley DB 2.x or db_env_create and DBENV->open
       in Berkeley DB 3.x/4.x. Its purpose is to initialise a number of sub-
       systems that can then be used in a consistent way in all the databases
       you make use of in the environment.

       If you don't intend using transactions, locking or logging, then you
       shouldn't need to make use of BerkeleyDB::Env.

       Note that an environment consists of a number of files that Berkeley DB
       manages behind the scenes for you. When you first use an environment,
       it needs to be explicitly created. This is done by including
       "DB_CREATE" with the "Flags" parameter, described below.

   Synopsis
	   $env = new BerkeleyDB::Env
		    [ -Home	    => $path, ]
		    [ -Server	    => $name, ]
		    [ -CacheSize    => $number, ]
		    [ -Config	    => { name => value, name => value }, ]
		    [ -ErrFile	    => filename, ]
		    [ -MsgFile	    => filename, ]
		    [ -ErrPrefix    => "string", ]
		    [ -Flags	    => number, ]
		    [ -SetFlags	    => bitmask, ]
		    [ -LockDetect   => number, ]
		    [ -TxMax	    => number, ]
		    [ -LogConfig    => number, ]
		    [ -MaxLockers   => number, ]
		    [ -MaxLocks	    => number, ]
		    [ -MaxObjects   => number, ]
		    [ -SharedMemKey => number, ]
		    [ -Verbose	    => boolean, ]
		    [ -Encrypt	    => { Password => "string",
					 Flags	  => number }, ]

       All the parameters to the BerkeleyDB::Env constructor are optional.

       -Home
	    If present, this parameter should point to an existing directory.
	    Any files that aren't specified with an absolute path in the sub-
	    systems that are initialised by the BerkeleyDB::Env class will be
	    assumed to live in the Home directory.

	    For example, in the code fragment below the database "fred.db"
	    will be opened in the directory "/home/databases" because it was
	    specified as a relative path, but "joe.db" will be opened in
	    "/other" because it was part of an absolute path.

		$env = new BerkeleyDB::Env
			 -Home	       => "/home/databases"
		...

		$db1 = new BerkeleyDB::Hash
			 -Filename => "fred.db",
			 -Env => $env
		...

		$db2 = new BerkeleyDB::Hash
			 -Filename => "/other/joe.db",
			 -Env => $env
		...

       -Server
	    If present, this parameter should be the hostname of a server that
	    is running the Berkeley DB RPC server. All databases will be
	    accessed via the RPC server.

       -Encrypt
	    If present, this parameter will enable encryption of  all data
	    before it is written to the database. This parameters must be
	    given a hash reference. The format is shown below.

		-Encrypt => { -Password => "abc", Flags => DB_ENCRYPT_AES }

	    Valid values for the Flags are 0 or "DB_ENCRYPT_AES".

	    This option requires Berkeley DB 4.1 or better.

       -Cachesize
	    If present, this parameter sets the size of the environments
	    shared memory buffer pool.

       -TxMax
	    If present, this parameter sets the number of simultaneous
	    transactions that are allowed.  Default 100.  This default is
	    definitely too low for programs using the MVCC capabilities.

       -LogConfig
	    If present, this parameter is used to configure log options.

       -MaxLockers
	    If present, this parameter is used to configure the maximum number
	    of processes doing locking on the database.	 Default 1000.

       -MaxLocks
	    If present, this parameter is used to configure the maximum number
	    of locks on the database.  Default 1000.  This is often lower than
	    required.

       -MaxObjects
	    If present, this parameter is used to configure the maximum number
	    of locked objects.	Default 1000.  This is often lower than
	    required.

       -SharedMemKey
	    If present, this parameter sets the base segment ID for the shared
	    memory region used by Berkeley DB.

	    This option requires Berkeley DB 3.1 or better.

	    Use "$env->get_shm_key($id)" to find out the base segment ID used
	    once the environment is open.

       -ThreadCount
	    If present, this parameter declares the approximate number of
	    threads that will be used in the database environment. This
	    parameter is only necessary when the $env->failchk method will be
	    used. It does not actually set the maximum number of threads but
	    rather is used to determine memory sizing.

	    This option requires Berkeley DB 4.4 or better. It is only
	    supported on Unix/Linux.

       -Config
	    This is a variation on the "-Home" parameter, but it allows finer
	    control of where specific types of files will be stored.

	    The parameter expects a reference to a hash. Valid keys are:
	    DB_DATA_DIR, DB_LOG_DIR and DB_TMP_DIR

	    The code below shows an example of how it can be used.

		$env = new BerkeleyDB::Env
			 -Config => { DB_DATA_DIR => "/home/databases",
				      DB_LOG_DIR  => "/home/logs",
				      DB_TMP_DIR  => "/home/tmp"
				    }
		...

       -ErrFile
	    Expects a filename or filenhandle. Any errors generated internally
	    by Berkeley DB will be logged to this file. A useful debug setting
	    is to open environments with either

		-ErrFile => *STDOUT

	    or

		-ErrFile => *STDERR

       -ErrPrefix
	    Allows a prefix to be added to the error messages before they are
	    sent to -ErrFile.

       -Flags
	    The Flags parameter specifies both which sub-systems to
	    initialise, as well as a number of environment-wide options.  See
	    the Berkeley DB documentation for more details of these options.

	    Any of the following can be specified by OR'ing them:

	    DB_CREATE

	    If any of the files specified do not already exist, create them.

	    DB_INIT_CDB

	    Initialise the Concurrent Access Methods

	    DB_INIT_LOCK

	    Initialise the Locking sub-system.

	    DB_INIT_LOG

	    Initialise the Logging sub-system.

	    DB_INIT_MPOOL

	    Initialize the shared memory buffer pool subsystem. This subsystem
	    should be used whenever an application is using any Berkeley DB
	    access method.

	    DB_INIT_TXN

	    Initialize the transaction subsystem. This subsystem should be
	    used when recovery and atomicity of multiple operations are
	    important. The DB_INIT_TXN flag implies the DB_INIT_LOG flag.

	    DB_MPOOL_PRIVATE

	    Create a private memory pool; see memp_open. Ignored unless
	    DB_INIT_MPOOL is also specified.

	    DB_INIT_MPOOL is also specified.

	    DB_NOMMAP

	    Do not map this database into process memory.

	    DB_RECOVER

	    Run normal recovery on this environment before opening it for
	    normal use. If this flag is set, the DB_CREATE flag must also be
	    set since the regions will be removed and recreated.

	    The db_appinit function returns successfully if DB_RECOVER is
	    specified and no log files exist, so it is necessary to ensure all
	    necessary log files are present before running recovery.

	    DB_PRIVATE

	    DB_RECOVER_FATAL

	    Run catastrophic recovery on this environment before opening it
	    for normal use. If this flag is set, the DB_CREATE flag must also
	    be set since the regions will be removed and recreated.

	    The db_appinit function returns successfully if DB_RECOVER_FATAL
	    is specified and no log files exist, so it is necessary to ensure
	    all necessary log files are present before running recovery.

	    DB_THREAD

	    Ensure that handles returned by the Berkeley DB subsystems are
	    useable by multiple threads within a single process, i.e., that
	    the system is free-threaded.

	    DB_TXN_NOSYNC

	    On transaction commit, do not synchronously flush the log; see
	    txn_open. Ignored unless DB_INIT_TXN is also specified.

	    DB_USE_ENVIRON

	    The Berkeley DB process' environment may be permitted to specify
	    information to be used when naming files; see Berkeley DB File
	    Naming. As permitting users to specify which files are used can
	    create security problems, environment information will be used in
	    file naming for all users only if the DB_USE_ENVIRON flag is set.

	    DB_USE_ENVIRON_ROOT

	    The Berkeley DB process' environment may be permitted to specify
	    information to be used when naming files; see Berkeley DB File
	    Naming. As permitting users to specify which files are used can
	    create security problems, if the DB_USE_ENVIRON_ROOT flag is set,
	    environment information will be used for file naming only for
	    users with a user-ID matching that of the superuser (specifically,
	    users for whom the getuid(2) system call returns the user-ID 0).

       -SetFlags
	    Calls ENV->set_flags with the supplied bitmask. Use this when you
	    need to make use of DB_ENV->set_flags before DB_ENV->open is
	    called.

	    Only valid when Berkeley DB 3.x or better is used.

       -LockDetect
	    Specifies what to do when a lock conflict occurs. The value should
	    be one of

	    DB_LOCK_DEFAULT

	    Use the default policy as specified by db_deadlock.

	    DB_LOCK_OLDEST

	    Abort the oldest transaction.

	    DB_LOCK_RANDOM

	    Abort a random transaction involved in the deadlock.

	    DB_LOCK_YOUNGEST

	    Abort the youngest transaction.

       -Verbose
	    Add extra debugging information to the messages sent to -ErrFile.

   Methods
       The environment class has the following methods:

       $env->errPrefix("string") ;
	    This method is identical to the -ErrPrefix flag. It allows the
	    error prefix string to be changed dynamically.

       $env->set_flags(bitmask, 1|0);
       $txn = $env->TxnMgr()
	    Constructor for creating a TxnMgr object.  See "TRANSACTIONS" for
	    more details of using transactions.

	    This method is deprecated. Access the transaction methods using
	    the txn_ methods below from the environment object directly.

       $env->txn_begin()
	    TODO

       $env->txn_stat()
	    TODO

       $env->txn_checkpoint()
	    TODO

       $env->status()
	    Returns the status of the last BerkeleyDB::Env method.

       $env->DB_ENV()
	    Returns a pointer to the underlying DB_ENV data structure that
	    Berkeley DB uses.

       $env->get_shm_key($id)
	    Writes the base segment ID for the shared memory region used by
	    the Berkeley DB environment into $id. Returns 0 on success.

	    This option requires Berkeley DB 4.2 or better.

	    Use the "-SharedMemKey" option when opening the environemt to set
	    the base segment ID.

       $env->set_isalive()
	    Set the callback that determines if the thread of control,
	    identified by the pid and tid arguments, is still running.	This
	    method should only be used in combination with $env->failchk.

	    This option requires Berkeley DB 4.4 or better.

       $env->failchk($flags)
	    The $env->failchk method checks for threads of control (either a
	    true thread or a process) that have exited while manipulating
	    Berkeley DB library data structures, while holding a logical
	    database lock, or with an unresolved transaction (that is, a
	    transaction that was never aborted or committed).

	    If $env->failchk determines a thread of control exited while
	    holding database read locks, it will release those locks. If
	    $env->failchk determines a thread of control exited with an
	    unresolved transaction, the transaction will be aborted.

	    Applications calling the $env->failchk method must have already
	    called the $env->set_isalive method, on the same DB environement,
	    and must have configured their database environment using the
	    -ThreadCount flag. The ThreadCount flag cannot be used on an
	    environment that wasn't previously initialized with it.

	    This option requires Berkeley DB 4.4 or better.

       $env->stat_print
	    Prints statistical information.

	    If the "MsgFile" option is specified the output will be sent to
	    the file. Otherwise output is sent to standard output.

	    This option requires Berkeley DB 4.3 or better.

       $env->lock_stat_print
	    Prints locking subsystem statistics.

	    If the "MsgFile" option is specified the output will be sent to
	    the file. Otherwise output is sent to standard output.

	    This option requires Berkeley DB 4.3 or better.

       $env->mutex_stat_print
	    Prints mutex subsystem statistics.

	    If the "MsgFile" option is specified the output will be sent to
	    the file. Otherwise output is sent to standard output.

	    This option requires Berkeley DB 4.4 or better.

       $env->set_timeout($timeout, $flags)
       $env->status()
	    Returns the status of the last BerkeleyDB::Env method.

   Examples
       TODO.

Global Classes
	 $status = BerkeleyDB::db_remove [OPTIONS]
	 $status = BerkeleyDB::db_rename [OPTIONS]
	 $status = BerkeleyDB::db_verify [OPTIONS]

THE DATABASE CLASSES
       BerkeleyDB supports the following database formats:

       BerkeleyDB::Hash
	    This database type allows arbitrary key/value pairs to be stored
	    in data files. This is equivalent to the functionality provided by
	    other hashing packages like DBM, NDBM, ODBM, GDBM, and SDBM.
	    Remember though, the files created using BerkeleyDB::Hash are not
	    compatible with any of the other packages mentioned.

	    A default hashing algorithm, which will be adequate for most
	    applications, is built into BerkeleyDB. If you do need to use your
	    own hashing algorithm it is possible to write your own in Perl and
	    have BerkeleyDB use it instead.

       BerkeleyDB::Btree
	    The Btree format allows arbitrary key/value pairs to be stored in
	    a B+tree.

	    As with the BerkeleyDB::Hash format, it is possible to provide a
	    user defined Perl routine to perform the comparison of keys. By
	    default, though, the keys are stored in lexical order.

       BerkeleyDB::Recno
	    TODO.

       BerkeleyDB::Queue
	    TODO.

       BerkeleyDB::Heap
	    TODO.

       BerkeleyDB::Unknown
	    This isn't a database format at all. It is used when you want to
	    open an existing Berkeley DB database without having to know what
	    type is it.

       Each of the database formats described above is accessed via a
       corresponding BerkeleyDB class. These will be described in turn in the
       next sections.

BerkeleyDB::Hash
       Equivalent to calling db_open with type DB_HASH in Berkeley DB 2.x and
       calling db_create followed by DB->open with type DB_HASH in Berkeley DB
       3.x or greater.

       Two forms of constructor are supported:

	   $db = new BerkeleyDB::Hash
		       [ -Filename	=> "filename", ]
		       [ -Subname	=> "sub-database name", ]
		       [ -Flags		=> flags,]
		       [ -Property	=> flags,]
		       [ -Mode		=> number,]
		       [ -Cachesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Lorder	=> number,]
		       [ -Pagesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Env		=> $env,]
		       [ -Txn		=> $txn,]
		       [ -Encrypt	=> { Password => "string",
					     Flags    => number }, ],
		       # BerkeleyDB::Hash specific
		       [ -Ffactor	=> number,]
		       [ -Nelem		=> number,]
		       [ -Hash		=> code reference,]
		       [ -DupCompare	=> code reference,]

       and this

	   [$db =] tie %hash, 'BerkeleyDB::Hash',
		       [ -Filename	=> "filename", ]
		       [ -Subname	=> "sub-database name", ]
		       [ -Flags		=> flags,]
		       [ -Property	=> flags,]
		       [ -Mode		=> number,]
		       [ -Cachesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Lorder	=> number,]
		       [ -Pagesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Env		=> $env,]
		       [ -Txn		=> $txn,]
		       [ -Encrypt	=> { Password => "string",
					     Flags    => number }, ],
		       # BerkeleyDB::Hash specific
		       [ -Ffactor	=> number,]
		       [ -Nelem		=> number,]
		       [ -Hash		=> code reference,]
		       [ -DupCompare	=> code reference,]

       When the "tie" interface is used, reading from and writing to the
       database is achieved via the tied hash. In this case the database
       operates like a Perl associative array that happens to be stored on
       disk.

       In addition to the high-level tied hash interface, it is possible to
       make use of the underlying methods provided by Berkeley DB

   Options
       In addition to the standard set of options (see "COMMON OPTIONS")
       BerkeleyDB::Hash supports these options:

       -Property
	    Used to specify extra flags when opening a database. The following
	    flags may be specified by bitwise OR'ing together one or more of
	    the following values:

	    DB_DUP

	    When creating a new database, this flag enables the storing of
	    duplicate keys in the database. If DB_DUPSORT is not specified as
	    well, the duplicates are stored in the order they are created in
	    the database.

	    DB_DUPSORT

	    Enables the sorting of duplicate keys in the database. Ignored if
	    DB_DUP isn't also specified.

       -Ffactor
       -Nelem
	    See the Berkeley DB documentation for details of these options.

       -Hash
	    Allows you to provide a user defined hash function. If not
	    specified, a default hash function is used. Here is a template for
	    a user-defined hash function

		sub hash
		{
		    my ($data) = shift ;
		    ...
		    # return the hash value for $data
		    return $hash ;
		}

		tie %h, "BerkeleyDB::Hash",
		    -Filename => $filename,
		    -Hash     => \&hash,
		    ...

	    See "" for an example.

       -DupCompare
	    Used in conjunction with the DB_DUPOSRT flag.

		sub compare
		{
		    my ($key, $key2) = @_ ;
		    ...
		    # return  0 if $key1 eq $key2
		    #	     -1 if $key1 lt $key2
		    #	      1 if $key1 gt $key2
		    return (-1 , 0 or 1) ;
		}

		tie %h, "BerkeleyDB::Hash",
		    -Filename	=> $filename,
		    -Property	=> DB_DUP|DB_DUPSORT,
		    -DupCompare => \&compare,
		    ...

   Methods
       BerkeleyDB::Hash only supports the standard database methods.  See
       "COMMON DATABASE METHODS".

   A Simple Tied Hash Example
	   use strict ;
	   use BerkeleyDB ;
	   use vars qw( %h $k $v ) ;

	   my $filename = "fruit" ;
	   unlink $filename ;
	   tie %h, "BerkeleyDB::Hash",
		       -Filename => $filename,
		       -Flags	 => DB_CREATE
	       or die "Cannot open file $filename: $! $BerkeleyDB::Error\n" ;

	   # Add a few key/value pairs to the file
	   $h{"apple"} = "red" ;
	   $h{"orange"} = "orange" ;
	   $h{"banana"} = "yellow" ;
	   $h{"tomato"} = "red" ;

	   # Check for existence of a key
	   print "Banana Exists\n\n" if $h{"banana"} ;

	   # Delete a key/value pair.
	   delete $h{"apple"} ;

	   # print the contents of the file
	   while (($k, $v) = each %h)
	     { print "$k -> $v\n" }

	   untie %h ;

       here is the output:

	   Banana Exists

	   orange -> orange
	   tomato -> red
	   banana -> yellow

       Note that the like ordinary associative arrays, the order of the keys
       retrieved from a Hash database are in an apparently random order.

   Another Simple Hash Example
       Do the same as the previous example but not using tie.

	   use strict ;
	   use BerkeleyDB ;

	   my $filename = "fruit" ;
	   unlink $filename ;
	   my $db = new BerkeleyDB::Hash
		       -Filename => $filename,
		       -Flags	 => DB_CREATE
	       or die "Cannot open file $filename: $! $BerkeleyDB::Error\n" ;

	   # Add a few key/value pairs to the file
	   $db->db_put("apple", "red") ;
	   $db->db_put("orange", "orange") ;
	   $db->db_put("banana", "yellow") ;
	   $db->db_put("tomato", "red") ;

	   # Check for existence of a key
	   print "Banana Exists\n\n" if $db->db_get("banana", $v) == 0;

	   # Delete a key/value pair.
	   $db->db_del("apple") ;

	   # print the contents of the file
	   my ($k, $v) = ("", "") ;
	   my $cursor = $db->db_cursor() ;
	   while ($cursor->c_get($k, $v, DB_NEXT) == 0)
	     { print "$k -> $v\n" }

	   undef $cursor ;
	   undef $db ;

   Duplicate keys
       The code below is a variation on the examples above. This time the hash
       has been inverted. The key this time is colour and the value is the
       fruit name.  The DB_DUP flag has been specified to allow duplicates.

	   use strict ;
	   use BerkeleyDB ;

	   my $filename = "fruit" ;
	   unlink $filename ;
	   my $db = new BerkeleyDB::Hash
		       -Filename => $filename,
		       -Flags	 => DB_CREATE,
		       -Property  => DB_DUP
	       or die "Cannot open file $filename: $! $BerkeleyDB::Error\n" ;

	   # Add a few key/value pairs to the file
	   $db->db_put("red", "apple") ;
	   $db->db_put("orange", "orange") ;
	   $db->db_put("green", "banana") ;
	   $db->db_put("yellow", "banana") ;
	   $db->db_put("red", "tomato") ;
	   $db->db_put("green", "apple") ;

	   # print the contents of the file
	   my ($k, $v) = ("", "") ;
	   my $cursor = $db->db_cursor() ;
	   while ($cursor->c_get($k, $v, DB_NEXT) == 0)
	     { print "$k -> $v\n" }

	   undef $cursor ;
	   undef $db ;

       here is the output:

	   orange -> orange
	   yellow -> banana
	   red -> apple
	   red -> tomato
	   green -> banana
	   green -> apple

   Sorting Duplicate Keys
       In the previous example, when there were duplicate keys, the values are
       sorted in the order they are stored in. The code below is identical to
       the previous example except the DB_DUPSORT flag is specified.

	   use strict ;
	   use BerkeleyDB ;

	   my $filename = "fruit" ;
	   unlink $filename ;
	   my $db = new BerkeleyDB::Hash
		       -Filename => $filename,
		       -Flags	 => DB_CREATE,
		       -Property  => DB_DUP | DB_DUPSORT
	       or die "Cannot open file $filename: $! $BerkeleyDB::Error\n" ;

	   # Add a few key/value pairs to the file
	   $db->db_put("red", "apple") ;
	   $db->db_put("orange", "orange") ;
	   $db->db_put("green", "banana") ;
	   $db->db_put("yellow", "banana") ;
	   $db->db_put("red", "tomato") ;
	   $db->db_put("green", "apple") ;

	   # print the contents of the file
	   my ($k, $v) = ("", "") ;
	   my $cursor = $db->db_cursor() ;
	   while ($cursor->c_get($k, $v, DB_NEXT) == 0)
	     { print "$k -> $v\n" }

	   undef $cursor ;
	   undef $db ;

       Notice that in the output below the duplicate values are sorted.

	   orange -> orange
	   yellow -> banana
	   red -> apple
	   red -> tomato
	   green -> apple
	   green -> banana

   Custom Sorting Duplicate Keys
       Another variation

       TODO

   Changing the hash
       TODO

   Using db_stat
       TODO

BerkeleyDB::Btree
       Equivalent to calling db_open with type DB_BTREE in Berkeley DB 2.x and
       calling db_create followed by DB->open with type DB_BTREE in Berkeley
       DB 3.x or greater.

       Two forms of constructor are supported:

	   $db = new BerkeleyDB::Btree
		       [ -Filename	=> "filename", ]
		       [ -Subname	=> "sub-database name", ]
		       [ -Flags		=> flags,]
		       [ -Property	=> flags,]
		       [ -Mode		=> number,]
		       [ -Cachesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Lorder	=> number,]
		       [ -Pagesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Env		=> $env,]
		       [ -Txn		=> $txn,]
		       [ -Encrypt	=> { Password => "string",
					     Flags    => number }, ],
		       # BerkeleyDB::Btree specific
		       [ -Minkey	=> number,]
		       [ -Compare	=> code reference,]
		       [ -DupCompare	=> code reference,]
		       [ -Prefix	=> code reference,]

       and this

	   [$db =] tie %hash, 'BerkeleyDB::Btree',
		       [ -Filename	=> "filename", ]
		       [ -Subname	=> "sub-database name", ]
		       [ -Flags		=> flags,]
		       [ -Property	=> flags,]
		       [ -Mode		=> number,]
		       [ -Cachesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Lorder	=> number,]
		       [ -Pagesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Env		=> $env,]
		       [ -Txn		=> $txn,]
		       [ -Encrypt	=> { Password => "string",
					     Flags    => number }, ],
		       # BerkeleyDB::Btree specific
		       [ -Minkey	=> number,]
		       [ -Compare	=> code reference,]
		       [ -DupCompare	=> code reference,]
		       [ -Prefix	=> code reference,]

   Options
       In addition to the standard set of options (see "COMMON OPTIONS")
       BerkeleyDB::Btree supports these options:

       -Property
	    Used to specify extra flags when opening a database. The following
	    flags may be specified by bitwise OR'ing together one or more of
	    the following values:

	    DB_DUP

	    When creating a new database, this flag enables the storing of
	    duplicate keys in the database. If DB_DUPSORT is not specified as
	    well, the duplicates are stored in the order they are created in
	    the database.

	    DB_DUPSORT

	    Enables the sorting of duplicate keys in the database. Ignored if
	    DB_DUP isn't also specified.

       Minkey
	    TODO

       Compare
	    Allow you to override the default sort order used in the database.
	    See "Changing the sort order" for an example.

		sub compare
		{
		    my ($key, $key2) = @_ ;
		    ...
		    # return  0 if $key1 eq $key2
		    #	     -1 if $key1 lt $key2
		    #	      1 if $key1 gt $key2
		    return (-1 , 0 or 1) ;
		}

		tie %h, "BerkeleyDB::Hash",
		    -Filename	=> $filename,
		    -Compare	=> \&compare,
		    ...

       Prefix
		sub prefix
		{
		    my ($key, $key2) = @_ ;
		    ...
		    # return number of bytes of $key2 which are
		    # necessary to determine that it is greater than $key1
		    return $bytes ;
		}

		tie %h, "BerkeleyDB::Hash",
		    -Filename	=> $filename,
		    -Prefix	=> \&prefix,
		    ...
	    =item DupCompare

		sub compare
		{
		    my ($key, $key2) = @_ ;
		    ...
		    # return  0 if $key1 eq $key2
		    #	     -1 if $key1 lt $key2
		    #	      1 if $key1 gt $key2
		    return (-1 , 0 or 1) ;
		}

		tie %h, "BerkeleyDB::Hash",
		    -Filename	=> $filename,
		    -DupCompare => \&compare,
		    ...

       set_bt_compress
	    Enabled compression of the btree data. The callback interface is
	    not supported at present. Need Berkeley DB 4.8 or better.

   Methods
       BerkeleyDB::Btree supports the following database methods.  See also
       "COMMON DATABASE METHODS".

       All the methods below return 0 to indicate success.

       $status = $db->db_key_range($key, $less, $equal, $greater [, $flags])
	    Given a key, $key, this method returns the proportion of keys less
	    than $key in $less, the proportion equal to $key in $equal and the
	    proportion greater than $key in $greater.

	    The proportion is returned as a double in the range 0.0 to 1.0.

   A Simple Btree Example
       The code below is a simple example of using a btree database.

	   use strict ;
	   use BerkeleyDB ;

	   my $filename = "tree" ;
	   unlink $filename ;
	   my %h ;
	   tie %h, 'BerkeleyDB::Btree',
		       -Filename   => $filename,
		       -Flags	   => DB_CREATE
	     or die "Cannot open $filename: $! $BerkeleyDB::Error\n" ;

	   # Add a key/value pair to the file
	   $h{'Wall'} = 'Larry' ;
	   $h{'Smith'} = 'John' ;
	   $h{'mouse'} = 'mickey' ;
	   $h{'duck'}  = 'donald' ;

	   # Delete
	   delete $h{"duck"} ;

	   # Cycle through the keys printing them in order.
	   # Note it is not necessary to sort the keys as
	   # the btree will have kept them in order automatically.
	   foreach (keys %h)
	     { print "$_\n" }

	   untie %h ;

       Here is the output from the code above. The keys have been sorted using
       Berkeley DB's default sorting algorithm.

	   Smith
	   Wall
	   mouse

   Changing the sort order
       It is possible to supply your own sorting algorithm if the one that
       Berkeley DB used isn't suitable. The code below is identical to the
       previous example except for the case insensitive compare function.

	   use strict ;
	   use BerkeleyDB ;

	   my $filename = "tree" ;
	   unlink $filename ;
	   my %h ;
	   tie %h, 'BerkeleyDB::Btree',
		       -Filename   => $filename,
		       -Flags	   => DB_CREATE,
		       -Compare	   => sub { lc $_[0] cmp lc $_[1] }
	     or die "Cannot open $filename: $!\n" ;

	   # Add a key/value pair to the file
	   $h{'Wall'} = 'Larry' ;
	   $h{'Smith'} = 'John' ;
	   $h{'mouse'} = 'mickey' ;
	   $h{'duck'}  = 'donald' ;

	   # Delete
	   delete $h{"duck"} ;

	   # Cycle through the keys printing them in order.
	   # Note it is not necessary to sort the keys as
	   # the btree will have kept them in order automatically.
	   foreach (keys %h)
	     { print "$_\n" }

	   untie %h ;

       Here is the output from the code above.

	   mouse
	   Smith
	   Wall

       There are a few point to bear in mind if you want to change the
       ordering in a BTREE database:

       1.   The new compare function must be specified when you create the
	    database.

       2.   You cannot change the ordering once the database has been created.
	    Thus you must use the same compare function every time you access
	    the database.

   Using db_stat
       TODO

BerkeleyDB::Recno
       Equivalent to calling db_open with type DB_RECNO in Berkeley DB 2.x and
       calling db_create followed by DB->open with type DB_RECNO in Berkeley
       DB 3.x or greater.

       Two forms of constructor are supported:

	   $db = new BerkeleyDB::Recno
		       [ -Filename	=> "filename", ]
		       [ -Subname	=> "sub-database name", ]
		       [ -Flags		=> flags,]
		       [ -Property	=> flags,]
		       [ -Mode		=> number,]
		       [ -Cachesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Lorder	=> number,]
		       [ -Pagesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Env		=> $env,]
		       [ -Txn		=> $txn,]
		       [ -Encrypt	=> { Password => "string",
					     Flags    => number }, ],
		       # BerkeleyDB::Recno specific
		       [ -Delim		  => byte,]
		       [ -Len		  => number,]
		       [ -Pad		  => byte,]
		       [ -Source	  => filename,]

       and this

	   [$db =] tie @arry, 'BerkeleyDB::Recno',
		       [ -Filename	=> "filename", ]
		       [ -Subname	=> "sub-database name", ]
		       [ -Flags		=> flags,]
		       [ -Property	=> flags,]
		       [ -Mode		=> number,]
		       [ -Cachesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Lorder	=> number,]
		       [ -Pagesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Env		=> $env,]
		       [ -Txn		=> $txn,]
		       [ -Encrypt	=> { Password => "string",
					     Flags    => number }, ],
		       # BerkeleyDB::Recno specific
		       [ -Delim		  => byte,]
		       [ -Len		  => number,]
		       [ -Pad		  => byte,]
		       [ -Source	  => filename,]

   A Recno Example
       Here is a simple example that uses RECNO (if you are using a version of
       Perl earlier than 5.004_57 this example won't work -- see "Extra RECNO
       Methods" for a workaround).

	   use strict ;
	   use BerkeleyDB ;

	   my $filename = "text" ;
	   unlink $filename ;

	   my @h ;
	   tie @h, 'BerkeleyDB::Recno',
		       -Filename   => $filename,
		       -Flags	   => DB_CREATE,
		       -Property   => DB_RENUMBER
	     or die "Cannot open $filename: $!\n" ;

	   # Add a few key/value pairs to the file
	   $h[0] = "orange" ;
	   $h[1] = "blue" ;
	   $h[2] = "yellow" ;

	   push @h, "green", "black" ;

	   my $elements = scalar @h ;
	   print "The array contains $elements entries\n" ;

	   my $last = pop @h ;
	   print "popped $last\n" ;

	   unshift @h, "white" ;
	   my $first = shift @h ;
	   print "shifted $first\n" ;

	   # Check for existence of a key
	   print "Element 1 Exists with value $h[1]\n" if $h[1] ;

	   untie @h ;

       Here is the output from the script:

	   The array contains 5 entries
	   popped black
	   shifted white
	   Element 1 Exists with value blue
	   The last element is green
	   The 2nd last element is yellow

BerkeleyDB::Queue
       Equivalent to calling db_create followed by DB->open with type DB_QUEUE
       in Berkeley DB 3.x or greater. This database format isn't available if
       you use Berkeley DB 2.x.

       Two forms of constructor are supported:

	   $db = new BerkeleyDB::Queue
		       [ -Filename	=> "filename", ]
		       [ -Subname	=> "sub-database name", ]
		       [ -Flags		=> flags,]
		       [ -Property	=> flags,]
		       [ -Mode		=> number,]
		       [ -Cachesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Lorder	=> number,]
		       [ -Pagesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Env		=> $env,]
		       [ -Txn		=> $txn,]
		       [ -Encrypt	=> { Password => "string",
					     Flags    => number }, ],
		       # BerkeleyDB::Queue specific
		       [ -Len		  => number,]
		       [ -Pad		  => byte,]
		       [ -ExtentSize	=> number, ]

       and this

	   [$db =] tie @arry, 'BerkeleyDB::Queue',
		       [ -Filename	=> "filename", ]
		       [ -Subname	=> "sub-database name", ]
		       [ -Flags		=> flags,]
		       [ -Property	=> flags,]
		       [ -Mode		=> number,]
		       [ -Cachesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Lorder	=> number,]
		       [ -Pagesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Env		=> $env,]
		       [ -Txn		=> $txn,]
		       [ -Encrypt	=> { Password => "string",
					     Flags    => number }, ],
		       # BerkeleyDB::Queue specific
		       [ -Len		  => number,]
		       [ -Pad		  => byte,]

BerkeleyDB::Heap
       Equivalent to calling db_create followed by DB->open with type DB_HEAP
       in Berkeley DB 5.2.x or greater. This database format isn't available
       if you use an older version of Berkeley DB.

       One form of constructor is supported:

	   $db = new BerkeleyDB::Heap
		       [ -Filename	=> "filename", ]
		       [ -Subname	=> "sub-database name", ]
		       [ -Flags		=> flags,]
		       [ -Property	=> flags,]
		       [ -Mode		=> number,]
		       [ -Cachesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Lorder	=> number,]
		       [ -Pagesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Env		=> $env,]
		       [ -Txn		=> $txn,]
		       [ -Encrypt	=> { Password => "string",
					     Flags    => number }, ],
		       # BerkeleyDB::Heap specific
		       [ -HeapSize	=> number, ]
		       [ -HeapSizeGb	=> number, ]

BerkeleyDB::Unknown
       This class is used to open an existing database.

       Equivalent to calling db_open with type DB_UNKNOWN in Berkeley DB 2.x
       and calling db_create followed by DB->open with type DB_UNKNOWN in
       Berkeley DB 3.x or greater.

       The constructor looks like this:

	   $db = new BerkeleyDB::Unknown
		       [ -Filename	=> "filename", ]
		       [ -Subname	=> "sub-database name", ]
		       [ -Flags		=> flags,]
		       [ -Property	=> flags,]
		       [ -Mode		=> number,]
		       [ -Cachesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Lorder	=> number,]
		       [ -Pagesize	=> number,]
		       [ -Env		=> $env,]
		       [ -Txn		=> $txn,]
		       [ -Encrypt	=> { Password => "string",
					     Flags    => number }, ],

   An example
COMMON OPTIONS
       All database access class constructors support the common set of
       options defined below. All are optional.

       -Filename
	    The database filename. If no filename is specified, a temporary
	    file will be created and removed once the program terminates.

       -Subname
	    Specifies the name of the sub-database to open.  This option is
	    only valid if you are using Berkeley DB 3.x or greater.

       -Flags
	    Specify how the database will be opened/created. The valid flags
	    are:

	    DB_CREATE

	    Create any underlying files, as necessary. If the files do not
	    already exist and the DB_CREATE flag is not specified, the call
	    will fail.

	    DB_NOMMAP

	    Not supported by BerkeleyDB.

	    DB_RDONLY

	    Opens the database in read-only mode.

	    DB_THREAD

	    Not supported by BerkeleyDB.

	    DB_TRUNCATE

	    If the database file already exists, remove all the data before
	    opening it.

       -Mode
	    Determines the file protection when the database is created.
	    Defaults to 0666.

       -Cachesize
       -Lorder
       -Pagesize
       -Env When working under a Berkeley DB environment, this parameter

	    Defaults to no environment.

       -Encrypt
	    If present, this parameter will enable encryption of  all data
	    before it is written to the database. This parameters must be
	    given a hash reference. The format is shown below.

		-Encrypt => { -Password => "abc", Flags => DB_ENCRYPT_AES }

	    Valid values for the Flags are 0 or "DB_ENCRYPT_AES".

	    This option requires Berkeley DB 4.1 or better.

       -Txn TODO.

COMMON DATABASE METHODS
       All the database interfaces support the common set of methods defined
       below.

       All the methods below return 0 to indicate success.

   $env = $db->Env();
       Returns the environment object the database is associated with or
       "undef" when no environment was used when opening the database.

   $status = $db->db_get($key, $value [, $flags])
       Given a key ($key) this method reads the value associated with it from
       the database. If it exists, the value read from the database is
       returned in the $value parameter.

       The $flags parameter is optional. If present, it must be set to one of
       the following values:

       DB_GET_BOTH
	    When the DB_GET_BOTH flag is specified, db_get checks for the
	    existence of both the $key and $value in the database.

       DB_SET_RECNO
	    TODO.

       In addition, the following value may be set by bitwise OR'ing it into
       the $flags parameter:

       DB_RMW
	    TODO

       The variant "db_pget" allows you to query a secondary database:

	       $status = $sdb->db_pget($skey, $pkey, $value);

       using the key $skey in the secondary db to lookup $pkey and $value from
       the primary db.

   $status = $db->db_exists($key [, $flags])
       This method checks for the existence of the given key ($key), but does
       not read the value. If the key is not found, db_exists will return
       DB_NOTFOUND. Requires BDB 4.6 or better.

   $status = $db->db_put($key, $value [, $flags])
       Stores a key/value pair in the database.

       The $flags parameter is optional. If present it must be set to one of
       the following values:

       DB_APPEND
	    This flag is only applicable when accessing a BerkeleyDB::Recno
	    database.

	    TODO.

       DB_NOOVERWRITE
	    If this flag is specified and $key already exists in the database,
	    the call to db_put will return DB_KEYEXIST.

   $status = $db->db_del($key [, $flags])
       Deletes a key/value pair in the database associated with $key.  If
       duplicate keys are enabled in the database, db_del will delete all
       key/value pairs with key $key.

       The $flags parameter is optional and is currently unused.

   $status = $env->stat_print([$flags])
       Prints statistical information.

       If the "MsgFile" option is specified the output will be sent to the
       file. Otherwise output is sent to standard output.

       This option requires Berkeley DB 4.3 or better.

   $status = $db->db_sync()
       If any parts of the database are in memory, write them to the database.

   $cursor = $db->db_cursor([$flags])
       Creates a cursor object. This is used to access the contents of the
       database sequentially. See CURSORS for details of the methods available
       when working with cursors.

       The $flags parameter is optional. If present it must be set to one of
       the following values:

       DB_RMW
	    TODO.

   ($flag, $old_offset, $old_length) = $db->partial_set($offset, $length) ;
       TODO

   ($flag, $old_offset, $old_length) = $db->partial_clear() ;
       TODO

   $db->byteswapped()
       TODO

   $db->type()
       Returns the type of the database. The possible return code are DB_HASH
       for a BerkeleyDB::Hash database, DB_BTREE for a BerkeleyDB::Btree
       database and DB_RECNO for a BerkeleyDB::Recno database. This method is
       typically used when a database has been opened with
       BerkeleyDB::Unknown.

   $bool = $env->cds_enabled();
       Returns true if the Berkeley DB environment $env has been opened on CDS
       mode.

   $bool = $db->cds_enabled();
       Returns true if the database $db has been opened on CDS mode.

   $lock = $db->cds_lock();
       Creates a CDS write lock object $lock.

       It is a fatal error to attempt to create a cds_lock if the Berkeley DB
       environment has not been opened in CDS mode.

   $lock->cds_unlock();
       Removes a CDS lock. The destruction of the CDS lock object
       automatically calls this method.

       Note that if multiple CDS lock objects are created, the underlying
       write lock will not be released until all CDS lock objects are either
       explictly unlocked with this method, or the CDS lock objects have been
       destroyed.

   $ref = $db->db_stat()
       Returns a reference to an associative array containing information
       about the database. The keys of the associative array correspond
       directly to the names of the fields defined in the Berkeley DB
       documentation. For example, in the DB documentation, the field
       bt_version stores the version of the Btree database. Assuming you
       called db_stat on a Btree database the equivalent field would be
       accessed as follows:

	   $version = $ref->{'bt_version'} ;

       If you are using Berkeley DB 3.x or better, this method will work will
       all database formats. When DB 2.x is used, it only works with
       BerkeleyDB::Btree.

   $status = $db->status()
       Returns the status of the last $db method called.

   $status = $db->truncate($count)
       Truncates the datatabase and returns the number or records deleted in
       $count.

   $status = $db->compact($start, $stop, $c_data, $flags, $end);
       Compacts the database $db.

       All the parameters are optional - if only want to make use of some of
       them, use "undef" for those you don't want.  Trailing unusused
       parameters can be omitted. For example, if you only want to use the
       $c_data parameter to set the "compact_fillpercent", write you code like
       this

	   my %hash;
	   $hash{compact_fillpercent} = 50;
	   $db->compact(undef, undef, \%hash);

       The parameters operate identically to the C equivalent of this method.
       The $c_data needs a bit of explanation - it must be a hash reference.
       The values of the following keys can be set before calling "compact"
       and will affect the operation of the compaction.

       ·    compact_fillpercent

       ·    compact_timeout

       The following keys, along with associated values, will be created in
       the hash reference if the "compact" operation was successful.

       ·    compact_deadlock

       ·    compact_levels

       ·    compact_pages_free

       ·    compact_pages_examine

       ·    compact_pages_truncated

       You need to be running Berkeley DB 4.4 or better if you want to make
       use of "compact".

   $status = $db->associate($secondary, \&key_callback)
       Associate $db with the secondary DB $secondary

       New key/value pairs inserted to the database will be passed to the
       callback which must set its third argument to the secondary key to
       allow lookup. If an array reference is set multiple keys secondary keys
       will be associated with the primary database entry.

       Data may be retrieved fro the secondary database using "db_pget" to
       also obtain the primary key.

       Secondary databased are maintained automatically.

   $status = $db->associate_foreign($secondary, callback, $flags)
       Associate a foreign key database $db with the secondary DB $secondary.

       The second parameter must be a reference to a sub or "undef".

       The $flags parameter must be either "DB_FOREIGN_CASCADE",
       "DB_FOREIGN_ABORT" or "DB_FOREIGN_NULLIFY".

       When the flags parameter is "DB_FOREIGN_NULLIFY" the second parameter
       is a reference to a sub of the form

	   sub foreign_cb
	   {
	       my $key = \$_[0];
	       my $value = \$_[1];
	       my $foreignkey = \$_[2];
	       my $changed = \$_[3] ;

	       # for ... set $$value and set $$changed to 1

	       return 0;
	   }

	   $foreign_db->associate_foreign($secondary, \&foreign_cb, DB_FOREIGN_NULLIFY);

CURSORS
       A cursor is used whenever you want to access the contents of a database
       in sequential order.  A cursor object is created with the "db_cursor"

       A cursor object has the following methods available:

   $newcursor = $cursor->c_dup($flags)
       Creates a duplicate of $cursor. This method needs Berkeley DB 3.0.x or
       better.

       The $flags parameter is optional and can take the following value:

       DB_POSITION
	    When present this flag will position the new cursor at the same
	    place as the existing cursor.

   $status = $cursor->c_get($key, $value, $flags)
       Reads a key/value pair from the database, returning the data in $key
       and $value. The key/value pair actually read is controlled by the
       $flags parameter, which can take one of the following values:

       DB_FIRST
	    Set the cursor to point to the first key/value pair in the
	    database. Return the key/value pair in $key and $value.

       DB_LAST
	    Set the cursor to point to the last key/value pair in the
	    database. Return the key/value pair in $key and $value.

       DB_NEXT
	    If the cursor is already pointing to a key/value pair, it will be
	    incremented to point to the next key/value pair and return its
	    contents.

	    If the cursor isn't initialised, DB_NEXT works just like DB_FIRST.

	    If the cursor is already positioned at the last key/value pair,
	    c_get will return DB_NOTFOUND.

       DB_NEXT_DUP
	    This flag is only valid when duplicate keys have been enabled in a
	    database.  If the cursor is already pointing to a key/value pair
	    and the key of the next key/value pair is identical, the cursor
	    will be incremented to point to it and their contents returned.

       DB_PREV
	    If the cursor is already pointing to a key/value pair, it will be
	    decremented to point to the previous key/value pair and return its
	    contents.

	    If the cursor isn't initialised, DB_PREV works just like DB_LAST.

	    If the cursor is already positioned at the first key/value pair,
	    c_get will return DB_NOTFOUND.

       DB_CURRENT
	    If the cursor has been set to point to a key/value pair, return
	    their contents.  If the key/value pair referenced by the cursor
	    has been deleted, c_get will return DB_KEYEMPTY.

       DB_SET
	    Set the cursor to point to the key/value pair referenced by $key
	    and return the value in $value.

       DB_SET_RANGE
	    This flag is a variation on the DB_SET flag. As well as returning
	    the value, it also returns the key, via $key.  When used with a
	    BerkeleyDB::Btree database the key matched by c_get will be the
	    shortest key (in length) which is greater than or equal to the key
	    supplied, via $key. This allows partial key searches.  See ??? for
	    an example of how to use this flag.

       DB_GET_BOTH
	    Another variation on DB_SET. This one returns both the key and the
	    value.

       DB_SET_RECNO
	    TODO.

       DB_GET_RECNO
	    TODO.

       In addition, the following value may be set by bitwise OR'ing it into
       the $flags parameter:

       DB_RMW
	    TODO.

   $status = $cursor->c_put($key, $value, $flags)
       Stores the key/value pair in the database. The position that the data
       is stored in the database is controlled by the $flags parameter, which
       must take one of the following values:

       DB_AFTER
	    When used with a Btree or Hash database, a duplicate of the key
	    referenced by the current cursor position will be created and the
	    contents of $value will be associated with it - $key is ignored.
	    The new key/value pair will be stored immediately after the
	    current cursor position.  Obviously the database has to have been
	    opened with DB_DUP.

	    When used with a Recno ... TODO

       DB_BEFORE
	    When used with a Btree or Hash database, a duplicate of the key
	    referenced by the current cursor position will be created and the
	    contents of $value will be associated with it - $key is ignored.
	    The new key/value pair will be stored immediately before the
	    current cursor position.  Obviously the database has to have been
	    opened with DB_DUP.

	    When used with a Recno ... TODO

       DB_CURRENT
	    If the cursor has been initialised, replace the value of the
	    key/value pair stored in the database with the contents of $value.

       DB_KEYFIRST
	    Only valid with a Btree or Hash database. This flag is only really
	    used when duplicates are enabled in the database and sorted
	    duplicates haven't been specified.	In this case the key/value
	    pair will be inserted as the first entry in the duplicates for the
	    particular key.

       DB_KEYLAST
	    Only valid with a Btree or Hash database. This flag is only really
	    used when duplicates are enabled in the database and sorted
	    duplicates haven't been specified.	In this case the key/value
	    pair will be inserted as the last entry in the duplicates for the
	    particular key.

   $status = $cursor->c_del([$flags])
       This method deletes the key/value pair associated with the current
       cursor position. The cursor position will not be changed by this
       operation, so any subsequent cursor operation must first initialise the
       cursor to point to a valid key/value pair.

       If the key/value pair associated with the cursor have already been
       deleted, c_del will return DB_KEYEMPTY.

       The $flags parameter is not used at present.

   $status = $cursor->c_count($cnt [, $flags])
       Stores the number of duplicates at the current cursor position in $cnt.

       The $flags parameter is not used at present. This method needs Berkeley
       DB 3.1 or better.

   $status = $cursor->status()
       Returns the status of the last cursor method as a dual type.

   $status = $cursor->c_pget() ;
       See "db_pget"

   $status = $cursor->c_close()
       Closes the cursor $cursor.

   Cursor Examples
       TODO

       Iterating from first to last, then in reverse.

       examples of each of the flags.

JOIN
       Join support for BerkeleyDB is in progress. Watch this space.

       TODO

TRANSACTIONS
       Transactions are created using the "txn_begin" method on
       BerkeleyDB::Env:

	       my $txn = $env->txn_begin;

       If this is a nested transaction, supply the parent transaction as an
       argument:

	       my $child_txn = $env->txn_begin($parent_txn);

       Then in order to work with the transaction, you must set it as the
       current transaction on the database handles you want to work with:

	       $db->Txn($txn);

       Or for multiple handles:

	       $txn->Txn(@handles);

       The current transaction is given by BerkeleyDB each time to the various
       BDB operations. In the C api it is required explicitly as an argument
       to every operation.

       To commit a transaction call the "commit" method on it:

	       $txn->txn_commit;

       and to roll back call abort:

	       $txn->txn_abort

       After committing or aborting a child transaction you need to set the
       active transaction again using "Txn".

Berkeley DB Concurrent Data Store (CDS)
       The Berkeley DB Concurrent Data Store (CDS) is a lightweight locking
       mechanism that is useful in scenarios where transactions are overkill.

   What is CDS?
       The Berkeley DB CDS interface is a simple lightweight locking mechanism
       that allows safe concurrent access to Berkeley DB databases. Your
       application can have multiple reader and write processes, but Berkeley
       DB will arrange it so that only one process can have a write lock
       against the database at a time, i.e. multiple processes can read from a
       database concurrently, but all write processes will be serialised.

   Should I use it?
       Whilst this simple locking model is perfectly adequate for some
       applications, it will be too restrictive for others. Before deciding on
       using CDS mode, you need to be sure that it is suitable for the
       expected behaviour of your application.

       The key features of this model are

       ·    All writes operations are serialised.

       ·    A write operation will block until all reads have finished.

       There are a few of the attributes of your application that you need to
       be aware of before choosing to use CDS.

       Firstly, if you application needs either recoverability or transaction
       support, then CDS will not be suitable.

       Next what is the ratio of read operation to write operations will your
       application have?

       If it is carrying out mostly read operations, and very few writes, then
       CDS may be appropriate.

       What is the expected throughput of reads/writes in your application?

       If you application does 90% writes and 10% reads, but on average you
       only have a transaction every 5 seconds, then the fact that all writes
       are serialised will not matter, because there will hardly ever be
       multiple writes processes blocking.

       In summary CDS mode may be appropriate for your application if it
       performs mostly reads and very few writes or there is a low throughput.
       Also, if you do not need to be able to roll back a series of database
       operations if an error occurs, then CDS is ok.

       If any of these is not the case you will need to use Berkeley DB
       transactions. That is outside the scope of this document.

   Locking Used
       Berkeley DB implements CDS mode using two kinds of lock behind the
       scenes - namely read locks and write locks. A read lock allows multiple
       processes to access the database for reading at the same time. A write
       lock will only get access to the database when there are no read or
       write locks active.  The write lock will block until the process
       holding the lock releases it.

       Multiple processes with read locks can all access the database at the
       same time as long as no process has a write lock. A process with a
       write lock can only access the database if there are no other active
       read or write locks.

       The majority of the time the Berkeley DB CDS mode will handle all
       locking without your application having to do anything. There are a
       couple of exceptions you need to be aware of though - these will be
       discussed in "Safely Updating Records" and "Implicit Cursors" below.

       A Berkeley DB Cursor (created with "$db->db_cursor") will by hold a
       lock on the database until it is either explicitly closed or destroyed.
       This means the lock has the potential to be long lived.

       By default Berkeley DB cursors create a read lock, but it is possible
       to create a cursor that holds a write lock, thus

	   $cursor = $db->db_cursor(DB_WRITECURSOR);

       Whilst either a read or write cursor is active, it will block any other
       processes that wants to write to the database.

       To avoid blocking problems, only keep cursors open as long as they are
       needed. The same is true when you use the "cursor" method or the
       "cds_lock" method.

       For full information on CDS see the "Berkeley DB Concurrent Data Store
       applications" section in the Berkeley DB Reference Guide.

   Opening a database for CDS
       Here is the typical signature that is used when opening a database in
       CDS mode.

	   use BerkeleyDB ;

	   my $env = new BerkeleyDB::Env
			 -Home	 => "./home" ,
			 -Flags	 => DB_CREATE| DB_INIT_CDB | DB_INIT_MPOOL
	       or die "cannot open environment: $BerkeleyDB::Error\n";

	   my $db  = new BerkeleyDB::Hash
		       -Filename       => 'test1.db',
		       -Flags	       => DB_CREATE,
		       -Env	       => $env
	       or die "cannot open database: $BerkeleyDB::Error\n";

       or this, if you use the tied interface

	   tie %hash, "BerkeleyDB::Hash",
		       -Filename       => 'test2.db',
		       -Flags	       => DB_CREATE,
		       -Env	       => $env
	       or die "cannot open database: $BerkeleyDB::Error\n";

       The first thing to note is that you MUST always use a Berkeley DB
       environment if you want to use locking with Berkeley DB.

       Remember, that apart from the actual database files you explicitly
       create yourself, Berkeley DB will create a few behind the scenes to
       handle locking - they usually have names like "__db.001". It is
       therefore a good idea to use the "-Home" option, unless you are happy
       for all these files to be written in the current directory.

       Next, remember to include the "DB_CREATE" flag when opening the
       environment for the first time. A common mistake is to forget to add
       this option and then wonder why the application doesn't work.

       Finally, it is vital that all processes that are going to access the
       database files use the same Berkeley DB environment.

   Safely Updating a Record
       One of the main gotchas when using CDS is if you want to update a
       record in a database, i.e. you want to retrieve a record from a
       database, modify it in some way and put it back in the database.

       For example, say you are writing a web application and you want to keep
       a record of the number of times your site is accessed in a Berkeley DB
       database. So your code will have a line of code like this (assume, of
       course, that %hash has been tied to a Berkeley DB database):

	   $hash{Counter} ++ ;

       That may look innocent enough, but there is a race condition lurking in
       there. If I rewrite the line of code using the low-level Berkeley DB
       API, which is what will actually be executed, the race condition may be
       more apparent:

	   $db->db_get("Counter", $value);
	   ++ $value ;
	   $db->db_put("Counter", $value);

       Consider what happens behind the scenes when you execute the commands
       above.  Firstly, the existing value for the key "Counter" is fetched
       from the database using "db_get". A read lock will be used for this
       part of the update.  The value is then incremented, and the new value
       is written back to the database using "db_put". This time a write lock
       will be used.

       Here's the problem - there is nothing to stop two (or more) processes
       executing the read part at the same time. Remember multiple processes
       can hold a read lock on the database at the same time. So both will
       fetch the same value, let's say 7, from the database. Both increment
       the value to 8 and attempt to write it to the database. Berkeley DB
       will ensure that only one of the processes gets a write lock, while the
       other will be blocked. So the process that happened to get the write
       lock will store the value 8 to the database and release the write lock.
       Now the other process will be unblocked, and it too will write the
       value 8 to the database. The result, in this example, is we have missed
       a hit in the counter.

       To deal with this kind of scenario, you need to make the update atomic.
       A convenience method, called "cds_lock", is supplied with the
       BerkeleyDB module for this purpose. Using "cds_lock", the counter
       update code can now be rewritten thus:

	   my $lk = $dbh->cds_lock() ;
	   $hash{Counter} ++ ;
	   $lk->cds_unlock;

       or this, where scoping is used to limit the lifetime of the lock object

	   {
	       my $lk = $dbh->cds_lock() ;
	       $hash{Counter} ++ ;
	   }

       Similarly, "cds_lock" can be used with the native Berkeley DB API

	   my $lk = $dbh->cds_lock() ;
	   $db->db_get("Counter", $value);
	   ++ $value ;
	   $db->db_put("Counter", $value);
	   $lk->unlock;

       The "cds_lock" method will ensure that the current process has
       exclusive access to the database until the lock is either explicitly
       released, via the "$lk->cds_unlock()" or by the lock object being
       destroyed.

       If you are interested, all that "cds_lock" does is open a "write"
       cursor.	This has the useful side-effect of holding a write-lock on the
       database until the cursor is deleted. This is how you create a write-
       cursor

	   $cursor = $db->db_cursor(DB_WRITECURSOR);

       If you have instantiated multiple "cds_lock" objects for one database
       within a single process, that process will hold a write-lock on the
       database until ALL "cds_lock" objects have been destroyed.

       As with all write-cursors, you should try to limit the scope of the
       "cds_lock" to as short a time as possible. Remember the complete
       database will be locked to other process whilst the write lock is in
       place.

   Cannot write with a read cursor while a write cursor is active
       This issue is easier to demonstrate with an example, so consider the
       code below. The intention of the code is to increment the values of all
       the elements in a database by one.

	   # Assume $db is a database opened in a CDS environment.

	   # Create a write-lock
	   my $lock = $db->db_cursor(DB_WRITECURSOR);
	   # or
	   # my $lock = $db->cds_lock();

	   my $cursor = $db->db_cursor();

	   # Now loop through the database, and increment
	   # each value using c_put.
	   while ($cursor->c_get($key, $value, DB_NEXT) == 0)
	   {
		$cursor->c_put($key, $value+1, DB_CURRENT) == 0
		    or die "$BerkeleyDB::Error\n";
	   }

       When this code is run, it will fail on the "c_put" line with this error

	   Write attempted on read-only cursor

       The read cursor has automatically disallowed a write operation to
       prevent a deadlock.

       So the rule is -- you CANNOT carry out a write operation using a read-
       only cursor (i.e. you cannot use "c_put" or "c_del") whilst another
       write-cursor is already active.

       The workaround for this issue is to just use "db_put" instead of
       "c_put", like this

	   # Assume $db is a database opened in a CDS environment.

	   # Create a write-lock
	   my $lock = $db->db_cursor(DB_WRITECURSOR);
	   # or
	   # my $lock = $db->cds_lock();

	   my $cursor = $db->db_cursor();

	   # Now loop through the database, and increment
	   # each value using c_put.
	   while ($cursor->c_get($key, $value, DB_NEXT) == 0)
	   {
		$db->db_put($key, $value+1) == 0
		    or die "$BerkeleyDB::Error\n";
	   }

   Implicit Cursors
       All Berkeley DB cursors will hold either a read lock or a write lock on
       the database for the existence of the cursor. In order to prevent
       blocking of other processes you need to make sure that they are not
       long lived.

       There are a number of instances where the Perl interface to Berkeley DB
       will create a cursor behind the scenes without you being aware of it.
       Most of these are very short-lived and will not affect the running of
       your script, but there are a few notable exceptions.

       Consider this snippet of code

	   while (my ($k, $v) = each %hash)
	   {
	       # do something
	   }

       To implement the "each" functionality, a read cursor will be created
       behind the scenes to allow you to iterate through the tied hash, %hash.
       While that cursor is still active, a read lock will obviously be held
       against the database. If your application has any other writing
       processes, these will be blocked until the read cursor is closed. That
       won't happen until the loop terminates.

       To avoid blocking problems, only keep cursors open as long as they are
       needed. The same is true when you use the "cursor" method or the
       "cds_lock" method.

       The locking behaviour of the "values" or "keys" functions, shown below,
       is subtly different.

	   foreach my $k (keys %hash)
	   {
	       # do something
	   }

	   foreach my $v (values %hash)
	   {
	       # do something
	   }

       Just as in the "each" function, a read cursor will be created to
       iterate over the database in both of these cases. Where "keys" and
       "values" differ is the place where the cursor carries out the iteration
       through the database. Whilst "each" carried out a single iteration
       every time it was invoked, the "keys" and "values" functions will
       iterate through the entire database in one go -- the complete database
       will be read into memory before the first iteration of the loop.

       Apart from the fact that a read lock will be held for the amount of
       time required to iterate through the database, the use of "keys" and
       "values" is not recommended because it will result in the complete
       database being read into memory.

   Avoiding Deadlock with multiple databases
       If your CDS application uses multiple database files, and you need to
       write to more than one of them, you need to be careful you don't create
       a deadlock.

       For example, say you have two databases, D1 and D2, and two processes,
       P1 and P2. Assume you want to write a record to each database. If P1
       writes the records to the databases in the order D1, D2 while process
       P2 writes the records in the order D2, D1, there is the potential for a
       deadlock to occur.

       This scenario can be avoided by either always acquiring the write locks
       in exactly the same order in your application code, or by using the
       "DB_CDB_ALLDB" flag when opening the environment. This flag will make a
       write-lock apply to all the databases in the environment.

       Add example here

DBM Filters
       A DBM Filter is a piece of code that is be used when you always want to
       make the same transformation to all keys and/or values in a DBM
       database. All of the database classes (BerkeleyDB::Hash,
       BerkeleyDB::Btree and BerkeleyDB::Recno) support DBM Filters.

       There are four methods associated with DBM Filters. All work
       identically, and each is used to install (or uninstall) a single DBM
       Filter. Each expects a single parameter, namely a reference to a sub.
       The only difference between them is the place that the filter is
       installed.

       To summarise:

       filter_store_key
	    If a filter has been installed with this method, it will be
	    invoked every time you write a key to a DBM database.

       filter_store_value
	    If a filter has been installed with this method, it will be
	    invoked every time you write a value to a DBM database.

       filter_fetch_key
	    If a filter has been installed with this method, it will be
	    invoked every time you read a key from a DBM database.

       filter_fetch_value
	    If a filter has been installed with this method, it will be
	    invoked every time you read a value from a DBM database.

       You can use any combination of the methods, from none, to all four.

       All filter methods return the existing filter, if present, or "undef"
       in not.

       To delete a filter pass "undef" to it.

   The Filter
       When each filter is called by Perl, a local copy of $_ will contain the
       key or value to be filtered. Filtering is achieved by modifying the
       contents of $_. The return code from the filter is ignored.

   An Example -- the NULL termination problem.
       Consider the following scenario. You have a DBM database that you need
       to share with a third-party C application. The C application assumes
       that all keys and values are NULL terminated. Unfortunately when Perl
       writes to DBM databases it doesn't use NULL termination, so your Perl
       application will have to manage NULL termination itself. When you write
       to the database you will have to use something like this:

	   $hash{"$key\0"} = "$value\0" ;

       Similarly the NULL needs to be taken into account when you are
       considering the length of existing keys/values.

       It would be much better if you could ignore the NULL terminations issue
       in the main application code and have a mechanism that automatically
       added the terminating NULL to all keys and values whenever you write to
       the database and have them removed when you read from the database. As
       I'm sure you have already guessed, this is a problem that DBM Filters
       can fix very easily.

	   use strict ;
	   use BerkeleyDB ;

	   my %hash ;
	   my $filename = "filt.db" ;
	   unlink $filename ;

	   my $db = tie %hash, 'BerkeleyDB::Hash',
		       -Filename   => $filename,
		       -Flags	   => DB_CREATE
	     or die "Cannot open $filename: $!\n" ;

	   # Install DBM Filters
	   $db->filter_fetch_key  ( sub { s/\0$//    } ) ;
	   $db->filter_store_key  ( sub { $_ .= "\0" } ) ;
	   $db->filter_fetch_value( sub { s/\0$//    } ) ;
	   $db->filter_store_value( sub { $_ .= "\0" } ) ;

	   $hash{"abc"} = "def" ;
	   my $a = $hash{"ABC"} ;
	   # ...
	   undef $db ;
	   untie %hash ;

       Hopefully the contents of each of the filters should be self-
       explanatory. Both "fetch" filters remove the terminating NULL, and both
       "store" filters add a terminating NULL.

   Another Example -- Key is a C int.
       Here is another real-life example. By default, whenever Perl writes to
       a DBM database it always writes the key and value as strings. So when
       you use this:

	   $hash{12345} = "something" ;

       the key 12345 will get stored in the DBM database as the 5 byte string
       "12345". If you actually want the key to be stored in the DBM database
       as a C int, you will have to use "pack" when writing, and "unpack" when
       reading.

       Here is a DBM Filter that does it:

	   use strict ;
	   use BerkeleyDB ;
	   my %hash ;
	   my $filename = "filt.db" ;
	   unlink $filename ;

	   my $db = tie %hash, 'BerkeleyDB::Btree',
		       -Filename   => $filename,
		       -Flags	   => DB_CREATE
	     or die "Cannot open $filename: $!\n" ;

	   $db->filter_fetch_key  ( sub { $_ = unpack("i", $_) } ) ;
	   $db->filter_store_key  ( sub { $_ = pack ("i", $_) } ) ;
	   $hash{123} = "def" ;
	   # ...
	   undef $db ;
	   untie %hash ;

       This time only two filters have been used -- we only need to manipulate
       the contents of the key, so it wasn't necessary to install any value
       filters.

Using BerkeleyDB with MLDBM
       Both BerkeleyDB::Hash and BerkeleyDB::Btree can be used with the MLDBM
       module. The code fragment below shows how to open associate MLDBM with
       BerkeleyDB::Btree. To use BerkeleyDB::Hash just replace
       BerkeleyDB::Btree with BerkeleyDB::Hash.

	   use strict ;
	   use BerkeleyDB ;
	   use MLDBM qw(BerkeleyDB::Btree) ;
	   use Data::Dumper;

	   my $filename = 'testmldbm' ;
	   my %o ;

	   unlink $filename ;
	   tie %o, 'MLDBM', -Filename => $filename,
			    -Flags    => DB_CREATE
			   or die "Cannot open database '$filename: $!\n";

       See the MLDBM documentation for information on how to use the module
       and for details of its limitations.

EXAMPLES
       TODO.

HINTS & TIPS
   Sharing Databases With C Applications
       There is no technical reason why a Berkeley DB database cannot be
       shared by both a Perl and a C application.

       The vast majority of problems that are reported in this area boil down
       to the fact that C strings are NULL terminated, whilst Perl strings are
       not. See "An Example -- the NULL termination problem." in the DBM
       FILTERS section for a generic way to work around this problem.

   The untie Gotcha
       TODO

COMMON QUESTIONS
       This section attempts to answer some of the more common questions that
       I get asked.

   Relationship with DB_File
       Before Berkeley DB 2.x was written there was only one Perl module that
       interfaced to Berkeley DB. That module is called DB_File. Although
       DB_File can be build with Berkeley DB 1.x, 2.x, 3.x or 4.x, it only
       provides an interface to the functionality available in Berkeley DB
       1.x. That means that it doesn't support transactions, locking or any of
       the other new features available in DB 2.x or better.

   How do I store Perl data structures with BerkeleyDB?
       See "Using BerkeleyDB with MLDBM".

HISTORY
       See the Changes file.

AVAILABILITY
       The most recent version of BerkeleyDB can always be found on CPAN (see
       "CPAN" in perlmod for details), in the directory
       modules/by-module/BerkeleyDB.

       The official web site for Berkeley DB is
       http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/berkeley-db/db/index.html.

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright (c) 1997-2004 Paul Marquess. All rights reserved. This
       program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
       under the same terms as Perl itself.

       Although BerkeleyDB is covered by the Perl license, the library it
       makes use of, namely Berkeley DB, is not. Berkeley DB has its own
       copyright and its own license. Please take the time to read it.

       Here are few words taken from the Berkeley DB FAQ (at
       http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/berkeley-db/db/index.html)
       regarding the license:

	   Do I have to license DB to use it in Perl scripts?

	   No. The Berkeley DB license requires that software that uses
	   Berkeley DB be freely redistributable. In the case of Perl, that
	   software is Perl, and not your scripts. Any Perl scripts that you
	   write are your property, including scripts that make use of Berkeley
	   DB. Neither the Perl license nor the Berkeley DB license
	   place any restriction on what you may do with them.

       If you are in any doubt about the license situation, contact either the
       Berkeley DB authors or the author of BerkeleyDB.	 See "AUTHOR" for
       details.

AUTHOR
       Paul Marquess <pmqs@cpan.org>.

SEE ALSO
       perl(1), DB_File, Berkeley DB.

perl v5.16.2			  2011-08-06			 BerkeleyDB(3)
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