Table of Contents
Welcome to Berkeley DB (DB). This document introduces DB, version 4.8. It is intended to provide a rapid introduction to the DB API set and related concepts. The goal of this document is to provide you with an efficient mechanism with which you can evaluate DB against your project's technical requirements. As such, this document is intended for C++ developers and senior software architects who are looking for an in-process data management solution. No prior experience with Berkeley DB is expected or required.
The following typographical conventions are used within in this manual:
Class names are represented in monospaced font, as are method
names. For example:
"Db::open() is a
Db class method."
Variable or non-literal text is presented in italics. For example: "Go to your DB_INSTALL directory."
Program examples are displayed in a monospaced font on a shaded background.
For example:
typedef struct vendor {
char name[MAXFIELD]; // Vendor name
char street[MAXFIELD]; // Street name and number
char city[MAXFIELD]; // City
char state[3]; // Two-digit US state code
char zipcode[6]; // US zipcode
char phone_number[13]; // Vendor phone number
} VENDOR;
In some situations, programming examples are updated from one chapter to the next. When
this occurs, the new code is presented in monospaced bold font. For example:
typedef struct vendor {
char name[MAXFIELD]; // Vendor name
char street[MAXFIELD]; // Street name and number
char city[MAXFIELD]; // City
char state[3]; // Two-digit US state code
char zipcode[6]; // US zipcode
char phone_number[13]; // Vendor phone number
char sales_rep[MAXFIELD]; // Name of sales representative
char sales_rep_phone[MAXFIELD]; // Sales rep's phone number
} VENDOR;
Finally, notes of interest are represented using a note block such as this.
Beyond this manual, you may also find the following sources of information useful when building a DB application: