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<refentry id="ldb.3">

<refmeta>
	<refentrytitle>ldb</refentrytitle>
	<manvolnum>3</manvolnum>
	<refmiscinfo class="source">Samba</refmiscinfo>
	<refmiscinfo class="manual">C Library Functions</refmiscinfo>
	<refmiscinfo class="version">3.2</refmiscinfo>
</refmeta>

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

<refsynopsisdiv>
	<synopsis format="linespecific">#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 moreinfo="none">ldbsearch(1)</application>
			  - command line ldb search utility
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<application moreinfo="none">ldbedit(1)</application>
			 - edit all or part of a ldb database using your favourite editor
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<application moreinfo="none">ldbadd(1)</application>
			 - add records to a ldb database using LDIF formatted input
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<application moreinfo="none">ldbdel(1)</application>
			 - delete records from a ldb database
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<application moreinfo="none">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 moreinfo="none">ldb_connect(3)</function>
			 - connect to a ldb backend
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_search(3)</function>
			 - perform a database search
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_add(3)</function>
			 - add a record to the database
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_delete(3)</function>
			 - delete a record from the database
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_modify(3)</function>
			 - modify a record in the database
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_errstring(3)</function>
			 - retrieve extended error information from the last operation
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_ldif_write(3)</function>
			 - write a LDIF formatted message
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_ldif_write_file(3)</function>
			 - write a LDIF formatted message to a file
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_ldif_read(3)</function>
			 - read a LDIF formatted message
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_ldif_read_free(3)</function>
			 - free the result of a ldb_ldif_read()
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_ldif_read_file(3)</function>
			 - read a LDIF message from a file
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_ldif_read_string(3)</function>
			 - read a LDIF message from a string
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_msg_find_element(3)</function>
			 - find an element in a ldb_message
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_val_equal_exact(3)</function>
			 - compare two ldb_val structures
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_msg_find_val(3)</function>
			 - find an element by value
		</para></listitem>

		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_msg_add_empty(3)</function>
			 - add an empty message element to a ldb_message
		</para></listitem>


		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_msg_add(3)</function>
			 - add a non-empty message element to a ldb_message
		</para></listitem>


		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_msg_element_compare(3)</function>
			 - compare two ldb_message_element structures
		</para></listitem>


		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_msg_find_int(3)</function>
			 - return an integer value from a ldb_message
		</para></listitem>


		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_msg_find_uint(3)</function>
			 - return an unsigned integer value from a ldb_message
		</para></listitem>


		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_msg_find_double(3)</function>
			 - return a double value from a ldb_message
		</para></listitem>


		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_msg_find_string(3)</function>
			 - return a string value from a ldb_message
		</para></listitem>


		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_set_alloc(3)</function>
			 - set the memory allocation function to be used by ldb
		</para></listitem>


		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">ldb_set_debug(3)</function>
			 - set a debug handler to be used by ldb
		</para></listitem>


		<listitem><para>
			<function moreinfo="none">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>