=head1 NAME
ObjStore - Perl Extension For C<ObjectStore> OODBMS
=head1 SYNOPSIS
Like perl? Sick of SQL? Ready to try something new? This extension
implements something like a relational database management system,
except that s/SQL/Perl/ig.
=head1 PREREQUISITES
- ObjectStore 5.1 (see
http://www.odi.com; evaluations are available!)
- Perl 5.005_03 or 5.005_5x
- Exception::Cxx (only on some operating systems; send email)
See
http://www.perl.com/CPAN/authors/id/JPRIT/ !
=head1 IS THIS FOR GENERIC C++ OBJECTSTORE OR ONLY PERL?
> I was sort of hoping I'd be able to use perl to write quick-and-dirty data
> manipulation scripts to mess around with my databases that are used by my
> C++ applications. I don't know if I'd ever need that, but it sounded like
> a useful thing to have in the toolbox, so to speak.
My experience with ObjectStore is that it is very low-level. This is
an advantage for applications that require the highest level of
performance. However, there is nothing that I do with databases that
needs such extreme degrees of optimization.
Rather, I value ease of use and ease of change slightly above raw
performance. When I designed the perl interface, I was always trying
to optimize for these priorities. For example, I decided to start
with a common, generic schema. This gained some big advantages: All
perl databases are compatible. All perl databases will never
I<require> schema evolution. All perl databases can be edited with a
standard perl shell.
Even so, ObjectStore's recent support of DLL schemas allows the
seemless integration of application specific C++ objects. For
example, a code generator is available (L<ObjStore-REP-HashRecord>)
that creates optimized records (ordered, typed tuple of fields -- like
a C structure declaration). Recently, I also got PDL properly
integrated (L<ObjStore-Lib-PDL>). PDL is a perl extension for matrix
mathematics.
I believe the uncommon ability to integrate with everything at the
lowest level (C) while still remaining maximally generic and easy to
query is unique among database architectures.
=head1 R!CENT CHANGES
** 03-22-99 RELEASE 1.54 [STABLE]
- Minor updates to ObjStore::Serve and ObjStore::Table3.
- Better searching heuristics for MakeMaker.
- Minor documentation updates.
** 02-11-99 RELEASE 1.53 [STABLE]
- osperlserver no longer subscribes to notifications by default. Use
the -subscribe_all command-line option for the old behavior.
- ObjStore::Serve no longer initiates dynamic transactions
automatically. You must invoke begin_dyn() (in the ObjStore::Serve
package) to be sure a transaction is open.
- Various documentation updates.
see ./INSTALL for hints on installation
see ./UPGRADE if you are starting from a prior releases
see ./TODO for a list of stuff in the tuit queue
see ./CHANGES for a visionary perspective
Send any questions or comments to
[email protected].
If you'd like to subscribe to the mailing list, send email to
[email protected]. Thanks!
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Copyright � 1997-1999 Joshua Nathaniel Pritikin. All rights reserved.
This package is free software and is provided "as is" without express
or implied warranty. It may be used, redistributed and/or modified
under the terms of the Perl Artistic License (see
http://www.perl.com/perl/misc/Artistic.html)
