|
Availability: Unix.
The dbm module provides an interface to the Unix
(n)dbm library. Dbm objects behave like mappings
(dictionaries), except that keys and values are always strings.
Printing a dbm object doesn't print the keys and values, and the
items() and values() methods are not supported.
This module can be used with the ``classic'' ndbm interface, the BSD
DB compatibility interface, or the GNU GDBM compatibility interface.
On Unix, the configure script will attempt to locate the
appropriate header file to simplify building this module.
The module defines the following:
- exception error
-
Raised on dbm-specific errors, such as I/O errors.
KeyError is raised for general mapping errors like
specifying an incorrect key.
- library
-
Name of the
ndbm implementation library used.
| open( |
filename[, flag[, mode]]) |
-
Open a dbm database and return a dbm object. The filename
argument is the name of the database file (without the .dir or
.pag extensions; note that the BSD DB implementation of the
interface will append the extension .db and only create one
file).
The optional flag argument must be one of these values:
| Value |
Meaning |
'r' |
Open existing database for reading only (default) |
'w' |
Open existing database for reading and writing |
'c' |
Open database for reading and writing, creating it if
it doesn't exist |
'n' |
Always create a new, empty database, open for reading
and writing |
The optional mode argument is the Unix mode of the file, used
only when the database has to be created. It defaults to octal
0666.
See Also:
- Module anydbm:
- Generic interface to
dbm-style databases.
- Module gdbm:
- Similar interface to the GNU GDBM library.
- Module whichdb:
- Utility module used to determine the type of an
existing database.
Release 2.5.2, documentation updated on 21th February, 2008.
See About this document... for information on suggesting changes.
|
