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                       XBase and DBD::XBase
               ------------------------------------

This is the README file for the XBase and DBD::XBase packages. Please
read it if you install this module for the first time or if there are
some problems with the module.

Module XBase provides access to XBase (dBase, Fox*) database files,
namely dbf, dbt, fpt, ndx and ntx. It provides native Perl interface
($table->get_record, $table->update_record) to read and write the tables.
Module DBD::XBase is a DBI driver that uses the XBase module to work with
the data, providing you with DBI compliant processing interface and SQL
commands ($dbh->prepare("SELECT * FROM TABLE")). As an argument to
DBI->connect, specify "dbi:XBase:$dir", where $dir is the directory with
the data files.

So this package offers two ways of accessing your beloved data in dbf
files: XBase and DBD::XBase. You are free to pick any you find more
suitable for your project, I personally prefer the DBD::XBase.

You have to have Perl version 5.004. [Please do not ask me to make these
modules work under 5.003 or older version -- upgrade instead.]

You need a DBI module version at least 1.0 to use the DBD driver. If you
have older DBI and cannot upgrade for some reason, check the CPAN for
DBD::XBase version < 0.090. Those are the last versions that do not
require DBI 1.0. [Please do not ask me to make this line of DBD::XBase
work under older DBI's -- it will not work. Please do not ask me to make
the DBD::XBase work without DBI -- it will not work. Use the XBase
interface or install the DBI module.]

No other servers/software are needed, these modules directly read and
write the files. The main goal was to create a parser, mainly to work
with data from your legacy applications. If you are looking for something
more powerfull, check (for example) MySQL or PostgreSQL.

The distribution also includes a dbfdump script that prints the content
of the table in readable form.

The support for ndx/ntx index files is rather minimal. It currently
allows you to search directly to the record you want, in the XBase
module. But you cannot create the index, nor is the index updated when
you change the dbf. Check the eg/ directory for how you can help to
make it better.

This module is provided in a hope you might find it usefull. My intent
is to support as many variations of formats as possible, but I do not
have dBase/Fox* and do not plan to have, so send me examples of your
data files if you feel your native XBase engines produce data
incompatible with this module.

Man pages for XBase, DBD::XBase and dbfdump are included, examples of
little scripts can also be found in eg/ directory of the distribution.
Read the DBI man page for DBI specific issues.

Installation:
       Download the tar.gz, unpack it, change to the DBD-XBase-*
       directory. Then do

               perl Makefile.PL
               make
               make test
               make install

       or you can use CPAN module and do

               perl -MCPAN -e shell
               cpan> install XBase

       You have to have Perl version 5.004. You need a DBI module version
       1.0 or higher to use the DBD driver.

       Some people asked whether it is possible to use the module
       even if they do not have root access. Even if this is in
       sufficient detail covered in the docs that come with Perl,
       here's the process:

       You install the module

               perl Makefile.PL LIB=/your/directory \
                       INSTALLMAN1DIR=/path/for/man1 \
                       INSTALLMAN3DIR=/path/for/man3

       instead of just perl Makefile.PL, and in your scripts do

               use lib '/your/directory';
               use XBase;

       Some people asked how to use this module when they are not
       able to run make on their system. Even if it's beyond my
       understanding why somebody would want to do such thing, you
       are free to just copy the lib/ directory where you want it to
       have. This should work.

Problems and bug reports:
       If anything goes wrong when installing, please send me output
       of your installation messages and of make test TEST_VERBOSE=1.

       If there are errors when actually using the module on your
       data, please chcek first that it's really a XBase/DBD::XBase
       problem. If so, please send me example of your script, the errstr
       messages you get and (if possible) your data files that cause
       the problems, so that I can trace down the problem. Add info
       about your OS, version of Perl and other modules that might be
       relevant. You can of course also send patches to actual bugs.

       Mention the word "XBase" in the Subject line, otherwise you
       mail will probably just slip through my 4 MB mailbox without
       being even read.

       For general Perl issues, use the comp.lang.perl.m* newsgroups,
       for DBI issues, use [email protected].

If it works for you:
       I'd appreciate any message if you use the module and find it
       usefull -- I'm just curious for what tasks people use the
       module and what they expect from it. You can of course also
       send something more valuable.

Available:
       http://www.fi.muni.cz/~adelton/perl/ and from your favorite
       CPAN site in the authors/id/JANPAZ/ directory.

Copyright: (c) 1997--1998 Jan Pazdziora, [email protected]. All rights
       reserved. This package is free software; you can redistribute
       it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.

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