NAME
   DBIx::SQLEngine::Docs::ReadMe - Welcome to DBIx::SQLEngine

ABSTRACT
   The DBIx::SQLEngine class provides an extended interface for the DBI
   database framework. Each SQLEngine object is a wrapper around a DBI
   database handle, adding methods that support ad-hoc SQL generation and
   query execution in a single call. Dynamic subclassing based on database
   server type enables cross-platform portability.

DESCRIPTION
   DBIx::SQLEngine is the latest generation of a toolkit used by the
   authors for several years to develop business data applications and
   object-relational mapping toolkits. Its goal is to simplify dynamic
   query execution with the following capabilities:

   *   Data-driven SQL: Ad-hoc generation of SQL statements from Perl data
       structures in a variety of formats; simple hash and array references
       are flexibly converted to form clauses in standard SQL query syntax.

   *   High-Level Interface: Standard query operations are handled by a
       single method call each. Error handling is standardized, and routine
       annoyances like timed-out connections are retried automatically.

   *   Full DBI Access: Accepts arbitrary SQL queries with placeholder
       parameters to be passed through, and delegates all other method
       calls to a wrapped database handle, allowing access to the entire
       DBI API for cases when high-level interfaces are insufficient

   *   Portability Subclasses: Uses dynamic subclassing (via DBIx::AnyDBD)
       to allow platform-specific support for driver idiosyncrasies and
       DBMS workarounds. This release includes subclasses for connections
       to MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, and Microsoft SQL servers, as well as
       for the standalone SQLite, AnyData, and CSV packages.

 Data-driven SQL

   Several methods are responsible for converting their arguments into
   commands and placeholder parameters in SQL, the Structured Query
   Language.

   The various methods whose names being with sql_, like sql_select and
   sql_insert, each accept a hash of arguments and combines then to return
   a SQL statement and corresponding parameters. Data for each clause of
   the statement is accepted in multiple formats to facilitate query
   abstraction, often including various strings, array refs, and hash refs.
   Each method also supports passing arbitrary queries through using a
   "sql" parameter.

 High-Level Interface

   The combined query interface provides a useful high-level idiom to
   perform the typical cycle of SQL generation, query execution, and
   results fetching, all through a single method call.

   The various fetch_*, visit_* and do_* methods that don't end in _sql,
   like fetch_select and do_insert, are wrappers that combine a
   SQL-generation and a SQL-execution method to provide a simple ways to
   perform a query in one call.

 Full DBI Access

   Each DBIx::SQLEngine object is implemented as a wrapper around a
   database handle provided by DBI, the Perl Database Interface.

   Arbitrary queries can be executed, bypassing the SQL generation
   capabilities. The methods whose names end in _sql, like fetch_sql and
   do_sql, each accept a SQL statement and parameters, pass it to the DBI
   data source, and return information about the results of the query.

 Portability Subclasses

   Behind the scenes, different subclasses of SQLEngine are instantiated
   depending on the type of server to which you connect, thanks to
   DBIx::AnyData. As a result, some range of SQL dialect ideosyncracies can
   be compensated for.

   For example, the sql_limit method controls the syntax for select
   statements with limit and offset clauses, and both MySQL and Oracle
   override this method to use their local syntax.

   The only method that's actually provided by the DBIx::SQLEngine class
   itself is the new() constructor. All of the other methods are defined in
   DBIx::SQLEngine::Driver::Default, or in one of its automatically-loaded
   subclasses.

   The public interface of DBIx::SQLEngine is shared by all of its
   subclasses. The superclass methods aim to produce and perform generic
   queries in an database-independent fashion, using standard SQL syntax.
   Subclasses may override these methods to compensate for idiosyncrasies
   of their database server or mechanism. To facilitate cross-platform
   subclassing, many of these methods are implemented by calling
   combinations of other methods, which may individually be overridden by
   subclasses.

DISTRIBUTION AND INSTALLATION
 Version

   This version is a routine release of DBIx::SQLEngine intended for public
   use.

   This module's proposed CPAN registration should read:

     Name            DSLIP  Description
     --------------  -----  ---------------------------------------------
     DBIx::
     ::SQLEngine     Rdpop  Extends DBI with high-level operations

 Prerequisites

   This package requires these other modules and libraries:

     DBI                           1.0
     DBIx::AnyDBD                  2.0
     Class::MakeMethods            1.003

   You must also have at least one working DBD module installed.

   If you run into trouble, check that your DBI and DBD modules are
   up-to-date; in particular, if you are using DBD::CSV or DBD::AnyData,
   make sure you have upgraded to SQL::Statement 1.0 or later.

 Installation

   You should be able to install this module using the CPAN shell
   interface:

     perl -MCPAN -e 'install DBIx::SQLEngine'

   In order for the test to succeed, you must also have at least one
   working DBD module installed, and must provide a DSN to which the script
   can connect with permissions to create tables.

   Alternately, you may retrieve this package from CPAN or from the
   author's site:

   * http://search.cpan.org/~evo/

   * http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-authors/id/E/EV/EVO

   * http://www.evoscript.org/DBIx-SQLEngine/

   After downloading the distribution, follow the normal procedure to
   unpack and install it, using the commands shown below or their local
   equivalents on your system:

     tar xzf DBIx-SQLEngine-*.tar.gz
     cd DBIx-SQLEngine-*
     perl Makefile.PL
     make test && sudo make install

   Furthermore, thanks to the kind generosity of other members of the Perl
   community, this distribution is also available repackaged in the FreeBSD
   "ports" and Linux RPM formats. This may simplify installation for some
   users, but be aware that these alternate distributions may lag a few
   versions behind the latest release on CPAN.

   * http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/ports.cgi?query=DBIx-SQLEngine

   * http://www.rpmfind.net/linux/rpm2html/search.php?query=perl-DBIx-SQLEn
     gine

 Tested Platforms

   This release has been tested succesfully on the following platforms:

     5.6.1 on darwin

   You may also review the current test results from CPAN-Testers:

   * http://testers.cpan.org/show/DBIx-SQLEngine.html

BUGS AND SUPPORT
 Known Problems

   Many types of database servers are not yet supported.

   Database driver/server combinations that do not support placeholders
   will fail.
   (http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=dftza.3519%24ol.117790%40news.chel
   lo.at)

   See the DBIx::SQLEngine::ToDo manpage for additional bugs and missing
   features.

 Release Status

   This module has been used in a variety of production systems and has
   been available on CPAN for over a year, with several other distributions
   dependant on it, so it would be fair to say that it is fully released.

   However, while the commonly-used portions are well tested, some of the
   more obscure combinations of options are less so, and new bug reports do
   trickle in occasionally. If you do encounter any problems, please inform
   the author and I'll endeavor to patch them promptly.

   Additional features have been outlined for future development, but the
   intent is support these by adding more options to the declaration
   interface, while maintaining backward compatibility.

 Support

   If you have questions or feedback about this module, please feel free to
   contact the author at the below address. Although there is no formal
   support program, I do attempt to answer email promptly.

   I would be particularly interested in any suggestions towards improving
   the documentation, correcting any Perl-version or platform dependencies,
   as well as general feedback and suggested additions.

   Bug reports that contain a failing test case are greatly appreciated,
   and suggested patches will be promptly considered for inclusion in
   future releases.

   To report bugs via the CPAN web tracking system, go to
   "http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/Bugs.html?Dist=DBIx-SQLEngine" or send mail
   to "Dist=DBIx-SQLEngine#rt.cpan.org", replacing the "#" with "@".

 Community

   If you've found this module useful or have feedback about your
   experience with it, consider sharing your opinion with other Perl users
   by posting your comment to CPAN's ratings system:

   * http://cpanratings.perl.org/rate/?distribution=DBIx-SQLEngine

   For more general discussion, you may wish to post a message on PerlMonks
   or the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup:

   * http://www.perlmonks.org/index.pl?node=Seekers%20of%20Perl%20Wisdom

   * http://groups.google.com/groups?group=comp.lang.perl.misc

   There have been a few small discussions of this module on PerlMonks and
   Usenet in the past:

   * http://groups.google.com/groups?q=dbix+sqlengine+-ports&scoring=d

   * http://perlmonks.org/index.pl?node_id=3989&BIT=sqlengine&go=Search

SEE ALSO
   See the DBIx::SQLEngine manpage for interface documentation.

   See the DBIx::SQLEngine::Docs::Changes manpage for revision history.

   See the DBIx::SQLEngine::Docs::Related manpage for notes on related
   modules.

CREDITS AND COPYRIGHT
 Author

   Developed by Matthew Simon Cavalletto at Evolution Softworks.

   You may contact the author directly at "[email protected]" or
   "[email protected]". More free Perl software is available at
   "www.evoscript.org".

 Contributors

   Many thanks to the kind people who have contributed code and other
   feedback:

     Eric Schneider, Evolution Online Systems
     E. J. Evans, Evolution Online Systems
     Matthew Sheahan, Evolution Online Systems
     Eduardo Iturrate, Evolution Online Systems
     Ron Savage
     Christian Glahn, Innsbruck University
     Michael Kroll, Innsbruck University

 Copyright

   Copyright 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Matthew Cavalletto.

   Portions copyright 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Evolution Online Systems, Inc.

   Portions copyright 2002 ZID, Innsbruck University (Austria).

   Portions of the documentation are copyright 2003 Ron Savage.

 License

   You may use, modify, and distribute this software under the same terms
   as Perl.

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