Persistent::DBI - An Abstract Persistent Class implemented using a DBI Data Source by David Winters WHAT IS THIS? Persistent is a framework of classes that makes it easier to store and retrieve Perl objects from various types of data stores. Using the common interface that all of these classes inherit, you can store/retrieve objects to/from various types of data stores such as text and DBM files, relational databases, LDAP directories and so on, all with the same programming interface. This package contains an abstract class that is implemented using a DBI database as the data store. Since this class is abstract, it is not instantiated directly, but is inherited by quite a few other Persistent subclasses that use a DBI database as their data store such as the following classes: Persistent::MySQL Persistent::Oracle Persistent::Sybase Persistent::mSQL HOW DO I INSTALL IT? Since this class inherits from the Persistent::Base class and the DBI package is required, the order of installation should be something like this: 1. Install DBI 2. Install DBD::MySQL or Oracle or Sybase or ... 3. Install Persistent::Base 4. Install Persistent::DBI 5. Install Persistent::MySQL or Oracle or Sybase or ... You can download these classes and all other Persistent classes/packages from CPAN. You can also download the Persistent classes from the following web site: http://www.bigsnow.org/persistent/ Install this package by doing the following: perl Makefile.PL make make test make install If you want to install a private copy in your home directory, then use the PREFIX option when you generate the Makefile like this: perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=~/perl_lib This package does require Perl 5.004 or later. WHERE IS THE DOCUMENTATION? You can find the documentation by typing "man Persistent::DBI" or "perldoc Persistent::DBI" after you have installed this software. If you're looking for online documentation, check out: http://www.bigsnow.org/persistent/ You will probably also be interested in the general Persistent documentation that comes in the Persistent Base package. This can be found by typing "man Persistent" or "perldoc Persistent" and is also available online at the above URL. The Persistent documentation for a particular DBI database (MySQL, Oracle, Sybase, etc.) is also available after you install that subclass under the name Persistent::{RDBMS} where {RDBMS} is the name of the DBI database (MySQL, Oracle, Sybase, etc.). WHERE ARE THE EXAMPLES? There are no examples for this package since it only contains an abstract class. You'll most likely be interested in the examples for the Persistent database subclass that you install and those will be included in their respective packages in the "examples" directory. Examples can also be found on the web site mentioned above. WARNING! This software is definitely a work in progress. (Though, it has been used in more than 10 real world applications.) Because of this, the interface is definitely subject to change and bugs may be found. We would definitely love to hear from you regarding bugs or general comments. So please feel free to send mail to: winters@bigsnow.org Thanks, have fun, and let me know what you think! David Winters winters@bigsnow.org