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<refentry id="ldb.3">

<refmeta>
	<refentrytitle>ldb</refentrytitle>
	<manvolnum>3</manvolnum>
</refmeta>

<refnamediv>
	<refname>ldb</refname>
	<refclass>The Samba Project</refclass>
	<refpurpose>A light-weight database library</refpurpose>
</refnamediv>

<refsynopsisdiv>
	<synopsis>#include &lt;ldb.h&gt;</synopsis>
</refsynopsisdiv>

<refsect1>
	<title>description</title>

	<para>
ldb is a light weight embedded database library and API. With a
programming interface that is very similar to LDAP, ldb can store its
data either in a tdb(3) database or in a real LDAP database.
	</para>

	<para>
When used with the tdb backend ldb does not require any database
daemon. Instead, ldb function calls are processed immediately by the
ldb library, which does IO directly on the database, while allowing
multiple readers/writers using operating system byte range locks. This
leads to an API with very low overheads, often resulting in speeds of
more than 10x what can be achieved with a more traditional LDAP
architecture.
	</para>

	<para>
In a taxonomy of databases ldb would sit half way between key/value
pair databases (such as berkley db or tdb) and a full LDAP
database. With a structured attribute oriented API like LDAP and good
indexing capabilities, ldb can be used for quite sophisticated
applications that need a light weight database, without the
administrative overhead of a full LDAP installation.
	</para>

	<para>
Included with ldb are a number of useful command line tools for
manipulating a ldb database. These tools are similar in style to the
equivalent ldap command line tools.
	</para>

	<para>
In its default mode of operation with a tdb backend, ldb can also be
seen as a "schema-less LDAP". By default ldb does not require a
schema, which greatly reduces the complexity of getting started with
ldb databases. As the complexity of you application grows you can take
advantage of some of the optional schema-like attributes that ldb
offers, or you can migrate to using the full LDAP api while keeping
your exiting ldb code.
	</para>

	<para>
If you are new to ldb, then I suggest starting with the manual pages
for ldbsearch(1) and ldbedit(1), and experimenting with a local
database. Then I suggest you look at the ldb_connect(3) and
ldb_search(3) manual pages.
	</para>
</refsect1>

<refsect1>
	<title>TOOLS</title>

	<itemizedlist>
		<listitem><para>
			<application>ldbsearch(1)</application>
			  - command line ldb search utility
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<application>ldbedit(1)</application>
			 - edit all or part of a ldb database using your favourite editor
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<application>ldbadd(1)</application>
			 - add records to a ldb database using LDIF formatted input
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<application>ldbdel(1)</application>
			 - delete records from a ldb database
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<application>ldbmodify(1)</application>
			 - modify records in a ldb database using LDIF formatted input
		</para></listitem>
	</itemizedlist>
</refsect1>

<refsect1>
	<title>FUNCTIONS</title>

	<itemizedlist>
		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_connect(3)</function>
			 - connect to a ldb backend
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_search(3)</function>
			 - perform a database search
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_add(3)</function>
			 - add a record to the database
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_delete(3)</function>
			 - delete a record from the database
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_modify(3)</function>
			 - modify a record in the database
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_errstring(3)</function>
			 - retrieve extended error information from the last operation
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_ldif_write(3)</function>
			 - write a LDIF formatted message
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_ldif_write_file(3)</function>
			 - write a LDIF formatted message to a file
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_ldif_read(3)</function>
			 - read a LDIF formatted message
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_ldif_read_free(3)</function>
			 - free the result of a ldb_ldif_read()
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_ldif_read_file(3)</function>
			 - read a LDIF message from a file
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_ldif_read_string(3)</function>
			 - read a LDIF message from a string
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_msg_find_element(3)</function>
			 - find an element in a ldb_message
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_val_equal_exact(3)</function>
			 - compare two ldb_val structures
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_msg_find_val(3)</function>
			 - find an element by value
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_msg_add_empty(3)</function>
			 - add an empty message element to a ldb_message
		</para></listitem>


		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_msg_add(3)</function>
			 - add a non-empty message element to a ldb_message
		</para></listitem>


		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_msg_element_compare(3)</function>
			 - compare two ldb_message_element structures
		</para></listitem>


		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_msg_find_int(3)</function>
			 - return an integer value from a ldb_message
		</para></listitem>


		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_msg_find_uint(3)</function>
			 - return an unsigned integer value from a ldb_message
		</para></listitem>


		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_msg_find_double(3)</function>
			 - return a double value from a ldb_message
		</para></listitem>


		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_msg_find_string(3)</function>
			 - return a string value from a ldb_message
		</para></listitem>


		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_set_alloc(3)</function>
			 - set the memory allocation function to be used by ldb
		</para></listitem>


		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_set_debug(3)</function>
			 - set a debug handler to be used by ldb
		</para></listitem>


		<listitem><para>
			<function>ldb_set_debug_stderr(3)</function>
			 - set a debug handler for stderr output
		</para></listitem>
	</itemizedlist>
</refsect1>

<refsect1>
	<title>Author</title>

	<para>
		ldb was written by 
		 <ulink url="http://samba.org/~tridge/">Andrew Tridgell</ulink>.
	</para>

	<para>
If you wish to report a problem or make a suggestion then please see
the <ulink url="http://ldb.samba.org/"/> web site for
current contact and maintainer information.
	</para>

	<para>
ldb is released under the GNU Lesser General Public License version 2
or later. Please see the file COPYING for license details.
	</para>
</refsect1>
</refentry>
