XVII. DBM Functions

These functions allow you to store records stored in a dbm-style database. This type of database (supported by the Berkeley DB, GDBM, and some system libraries, as well as a built-in flatfile library) stores key/value pairs (as opposed to the full-blown records supported by relational databases).

Example 1. DBM example


$dbm = dbmopen ("lastseen", "w");
if (dbmexists ($dbm, $userid)) {
    $last_seen = dbmfetch ($dbm, $userid);
} else {
    dbminsert ($dbm, $userid, time());
}
do_stuff();
dbmreplace ($dbm, $userid, time());
dbmclose ($dbm);
     

Table of Contents
dbmopen — Opens a DBM database
dbmclose — Closes a dbm database
dbmexists — Tells if a value exists for a key in a DBM database
dbmfetch — Fetches a value for a key from a DBM database
dbminsert — Inserts a value for a key in a DBM database
dbmreplace — Replaces the value for a key in a DBM database
dbmdelete — Deletes the value for a key from a DBM database
dbmfirstkey — Retrieves the first key from a DBM database
dbmnextkey — Retrieves the next key from a DBM database
dblist — Describes the DBM-compatible library being used