Provided by: libgdbm-dev_1.14.1-6_amd64 bug

NAME

       GDBM - The GNU database manager.  Includes dbm and ndbm compatibility.

SYNOPSIS

       #include <gdbm.h>

       extern gdbm_error gdbm_errno;
       extern char *gdbm_version;
       GDBM_FILE gdbm_open (const char *name, int block_size,
                            int flags, int mode,
                            void (*fatal_func)(const char *));
       void gdbm_close (GDBM_FILE dbf);
       int gdbm_store (GDBM_FILE dbf, datum key, datum content, int flag);
       datum gdbm_fetch (GDBM_FILE dbf, datum key);
       int gdbm_delete (GDBM_FILE dbf, datum key);
       datum gdbm_firstkey (GDBM_FILE dbf);
       datum gdbm_nextkey (GDBM_FILE dbf, datum key);
       int gdbm_reorganize (GDBM_FILE dbf);
       void gdbm_sync (GDBM_FILE dbf);
       int gdbm_exists (GDBM_FILE dbf, datum key);
       const char *gdbm_strerror (gdbm_error errno);
       int gdbm_setopt (GDBM_FILE dbf, int option, int value, int size);
       int gdbm_fdesc (GDBM_FILE dbf);

   DBM Compatibility routines:
       #include <dbm.h>

       int dbminit (const char *name);
       int store (datum key, datum content);
       datum fetch (datum key);
       int delete (datum key);
       datum firstkey (void);
       datum nextkey (datum key);
       int dbmclose (void);

   NDBM Compatibility routines:
       #include <ndbm.h>

       DBM *dbm_open (const char *name, int flags, int mode);
       void dbm_close (DBM *file);
       datum dbm_fetch (DBM *file, datum key);
       int dbm_store (DBM *file, datum key, datum content, int flags);
       int dbm_delete (DBM *file, datum key);
       datum dbm_firstkey (DBM *file);
       datum dbm_nextkey (DBM *file, datum key);
       int dbm_error (DBM *file);
       int dbm_clearerr (DBM *file);
       int dbm_pagfno (DBM *file);
       int dbm_dirfno (DBM *file);
       int dbm_rdonly (DBM *file);

DESCRIPTION

       GNU dbm is a library of routines that manages data files that contain key/data pairs.  The
       access provided is that of storing, retrieval,  and  deletion  by  key  and  a  non-sorted
       traversal of all keys.  A process is allowed to use multiple data files at the same time.

       This  manpage  is  a  short  description  of the GDBM library.  For a detailed discussion,
       including examples of the configuration and  usage  recommendations,  refer  to  the  GDBM
       Manual available in Texinfo format.  To access it, run:

         info gdbm

       Should  any  discrepancies occur between this manpage and the GDBM Manual, the later shall
       be considered the authoritative source.

       A process that opens a gdbm file is designated as a "reader"  or  a  "writer".   Only  one
       writer  may  open a gdbm file and many readers may open the file.  Readers and writers can
       not open the gdbm file at the same time. The procedure for opening a gdbm file is:

       GDBM_FILE gdbm_open (const char *name, int block_size,
                            int flags, int mode,
                            void (*fatal_func)(const char *));

       Name is the name of the file (the complete name, gdbm does not append  any  characters  to
       this  name).   Block_size  is  the  size  of  a  single transfer from disk to memory. This
       parameter is ignored unless the file is a new file.  The minimum size is 512.   If  it  is
       less  than 512, dbm will use the stat block size for the file system.  Read_write can have
       one of the following values:

       GDBM_READER
              reader

       GDBM_WRITER
              writer

       GDBM_WRCREAT
              writer - if database does not exist create new one

       GDBM_NEWDB
              writer - create new database regardless if one exists

       The GDBM_NOMMAP added to read_write by bitwise or instructs gdbm_open to disable  the  use
       of mmap(2).

       For  the  last  three  (writers  of  the  database)  the  following  may be added added to
       read_write by bitwise or:

       GDBM_SYNC
              Causes all database operations to be synchronized to the disk,

       GDBM_NOLOCK
              Prevents the library from performing any locking on the database file.

       The option GDBM_FAST is now obsolete, since gdbm defaults to no-sync mode.

       Mode is the file mode (see chmod(2) and open(2)) if the file is created. (*Fatal_func)  ()
       is  a  function  for  dbm  to call if it detects a fatal error. The only parameter of this
       function is a string.  If the value of 0 is provided, gdbm will use a default function.

       The return value is the pointer needed by all other routines to access that gdbm file.  If
       the  return is the NULL pointer, gdbm_open was not successful.  The errors can be found in
       gdbm_errno for gdbm errors and  in  errno  for  system  errors.   (For  error  codes,  see
       gdbmerrno.h.)

       In  all  of  the  following  calls,  the parameter dbf refers to the pointer returned from
       gdbm_open.

       It is important that every file opened is also closed.   This  is  needed  to  update  the
       reader/writer count on the file.  This is done by:

       void gdbm_close (GDBM_FILE dbf);

       The database is used by 3 primary routines.  The first stores data in the database.

       int gdbm_store (GDBM_FILE dbf, datum key, datum content, int flag);

       Dbf is the pointer returned by gdbm_open.  Key is the key data.  Content is the data to be
       associated with the key.  Flag can have one of the following values:

       GDBM_INSERT
              Insert only, generate an error if key exists;

       GDBM_REPLACE
              Replace contents if key exists.

       If a reader calls gdbm_store, the return value will be  -1.  If  called  with  GDBM_INSERT
       and key is in the database, the return value will be 1.  Otherwise, the return value is 0.

       NOTICE:  If  you  store data for a key that is already in the data base, gdbm replaces the
       old data with the new data if called with GDBM_REPLACE.  You do not get two data items for
       the same key and you do not get an error from gdbm_store.

       NOTICE: The size in gdbm is not restricted like in dbm or ndbm.  Your data can be as large
       as you want.

       To search for some data, use:

       datum gdbm_fetch (GDBM_FILE dbf, datum key);

       Dbf is the pointer returned by gdbm_open.  Key is the key data.

       If the dptr element of the return  value  is  NULL,  the  gdbm_errno  variable  should  be
       examined.   The  value of GDBM_ITEM_NOT_FOUND means no data was found for that key.  Other
       value means an error occurred.

       Otherwise the return value is a pointer to the found data.  The storage space for the dptr
       element  is allocated using malloc(3).  Gdbm does not automatically free this data.  It is
       the programmer's responsibility to free this storage when it is no longer needed.

       To search for some data, without retrieving it:

       int gdbm_exists (GDBM_FILE dbf, datum key);

       Dbf is the pointer returned by gdbm_open.  Key is the key data to search for.

       If the key is found within the database, the  return  value  will  be  true.   If  nothing
       appropriate  is  found,  false  is  returned.  This routine is useful for checking for the
       existence of a record, without performing the memory allocation done by gdbm_fetch.

       To remove some data from the database:

       int gdbm_delete (GDBM_FILE dbf, datum key);

       Dbf is the pointer returned by gdbm_open.  Key is the key data.

       The return value is -1 if the item is not present or  the  requester  is  a  reader.   The
       return value is 0 if there was a successful delete.

       The  next  two routines allow for accessing all items in the database.  This access is not
       key sequential, but it is guaranteed to visit every key in the database once.  (The  order
       has to do with the hash values.)

       datum gdbm_firstkey (GDBM_FILE dbf);
       datum gdbm_nextkey (GDBM_FILE dbf, datum key);

       Dbf is the pointer returned by gdbm_open. Key is the key data.

       The  return  values  are  both  of type datum.  If the dptr element of the return value is
       NULL, inspect the gdbm_errno.  If it is GDBM_ITEM_NOT_FOUND, there is no first key or next
       key.  Otherwise, an error occurred.

       Again,  notice  that  dptr points to data allocated by malloc(3) and gdbm will not free it
       for you.

       These functions were intended to visit the database in read-only algorithms, for instance,
       to validate the database or similar operations.

       File  `visiting'  is  based  on a `hash table'.  gdbm_delete re-arranges the hash table to
       make sure that any collisions in the table do not  leave  some  item  `un-findable'.   The
       original key order is NOT guaranteed to remain unchanged in ALL instances.  It is possible
       that some key will not be visited if a loop like the following is executed:

            key = gdbm_firstkey (dbf);
            while (key.dptr)
              {
                nextkey = gdbm_nextkey (dbf, key);
                if (some condition)
                  gdbm_delete ( dbf, key );
                free (key.dptr);
                key = nextkey;
              }

       The following routine should be used very infrequently.

       int gdbm_reorganize (GDBM_FILE dbf);

       If you have had a lot of deletions and would like to shrink the space  used  by  the  gdbm
       file,  this  routine  will reorganize the database.  Gdbm will not shorten the length of a
       gdbm file except by using this reorganization.  (Deleted file space will be reused.)

       Unless your database was opened with the GDBM_SYNC flag, gdbm does not wait for writes  to
       be  flushed to the disk before continuing.  The following routine can be used to guarantee
       that the database is physically written to the disk file.

       void gdbm_sync (GDBM_FILE dbf);

       It will not return until the disk file state is synchronized with the in-memory  state  of
       the database.

       To convert a gdbm error code into English text, use this routine:

       const char *gdbm_strerror (gdbm_error errno);

       Gdbm now supports the ability to set certain options on an already open database.

       int gdbm_setopt (GDBM_FILE dbf, int option, int value, int size);

       Where  dbf  is  the  return  value from a previous call to gdbm_open, and option specifies
       which option to set.  The valid options are currently:

       GDBM_CACHESIZE
              Set the size of the internal bucket cache. This option may only be set once on each
              GDBM_FILE  descriptor, and is set automatically to 100 upon the first access to the
              database.

       GDBM_FASTMODE
               Set fast mode to either on or off.  This allows fast mode  to  be  toggled  on  an
              already open and active database. value (see below) should be set to either TRUE or
              FALSE.  This option is now obsolete.

       GDBM_SYNCMODE
              Turn on or off file system synchronization operations.  This  setting  defaults  to
              off; value (see below) should be set to either TRUE or FALSE.

       GDBM_CENTFREE
              Set  central free block pool to either on or off.  The default is off, which is how
              previous versions of Gdbm handled free blocks.  If  set,  this  option  causes  all
              subsequent  free  blocks to be placed in the global pool, allowing (in thoery) more
              file space to be reused more quickly. value (see below) should  be  set  to  either
              TRUE or FALSE.  NOTICE: This feature is still under study.

       GDBM_COALESCEBLKS
              Set  free  block  merging  to  either  on or off.  The default is off, which is how
              previous versions of Gdbm handled free blocks. If set, this option causes  adjacent
              free  blocks  to  be  merged.   This  can become a CPU expensive process with time,
              though, especially if used in conjunction with  GDBM_CENTFREE.  value  (see  below)
              should be set to either TRUE or FALSE.  NOTICE: This feature is still under study.

       value is the value to set option to, specified as an integer pointer.  size is the size of
       the data pointed to by value.  The return value  will  be  -1  upon  failure,  or  0  upon
       success.  The global variable gdbm_errno will be set upon failure.

       For instance, to set a database to use a cache of 10, after opening it with gdbm_open, but
       prior to accessing it in any way, the following code could be used:

            int value = 10;

            ret = gdbm_setopt( dbf, GDBM_CACHESIZE, &value, sizeof(int));

       If the database was opened with the GDBM_NOLOCK flag, the user may wish to  perform  their
       own  file  locking  on the database file in order to prevent multiple writers operating on
       the same file simultaneously.

       In order to support this, the gdbm_fdesc routine is provided.

       int gdbm_fdesc (GDBM_FILE dbf);

       Where dbf is the return value from a previous call to gdbm_open.  The return value will be
       the file descriptor of the database.

       The following two external variables may be useful:

       gdbm_errno  is the variable that contains more information about gdbm errors.  (gdbm.h has
       the definitions of the error values and defines gdbm_errno as an external variable.)

       gdbm_version is the string containing the version information.

       There are a few more things of interest.  First, gdbm files are  not  "sparse".   You  can
       copy  them  with  the  UNIX cp(1) command and they will not expand in the copying process.
       Also, there is a compatibility mode for use with programs that already use UNIX  dbm.   In
       this  compatibility mode, no gdbm file pointer is required by the programmer, and only one
       file may be opened at a time.  All users in compatibility mode are assumed to be  writers.
       If the gdbm file is a read only, it will fail as a writer, but will also try to open it as
       a reader.  All returned pointers in datum structures point to data that  gdbm  WILL  free.
       They should be treated as static pointers (as standard UNIX dbm does).

LINKING

       This  library  is accessed by specifying -lgdbm as the last parameter to the compile line,
       e.g.:

            gcc -o prog prog.c -lgdbm

       If you wish to use  the  dbm  or  ndbm  compatibility  routines,  you  must  link  in  the
       gdbm_compat library as well.  For example:

            gcc -o prog proc.c -lgdbm -lgdbm_compat

BUG REPORTS

       Send bug reports to <bug-gdbm@gnu.org>.

SEE ALSO

       gdbm_dump(1), gdbm_load(1), gdbmtool(1).

AUTHORS

       by Philip A. Nelson, Jason Downs and Sergey Poznyakoff.

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright © 1990 - 2016 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

       GDBM is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU
       General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 1,  or
       (at your option) any later version.

       GDBM  is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without
       even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
       GNU General Public License for more details.

       You  should  have  received  a copy of the GNU General Public License along with GDBM.  If
       not, see <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>

CONTACTS

       You may contact the original author by:
          e-mail:  phil@cs.wwu.edu
         us-mail:  Philip A. Nelson
       Computer Science Department
       Western Washington University
       Bellingham, WA 98226

       You may contact the current maintainers by:
          e-mail:  downsj@downsj.com
       and
          e-mail:  gray@gnu.org