DBM Databases

Most UNIX systems have some kind of DBM database. DBM is a set of library routines that manages data files consisting of key and value pairs. The DBM routines control how users enter and retrieve information from the database. Although it isn't the most powerful mechanism for storing information, using DBM is a faster method of retrieving information than using a flat file. Because most UNIX sites use one of the DBM libraries, the tools you need to store your information to a DBM database are readily available.

Almost as many flavors of the DBM libraries exist as there are UNIX systems. Although most of these libraries are not compatible with each other, they all basically work the same way. This section explores each DBM flavor ...

Get Platinum Edition Using XHTML™, XML, and Java™ 2 now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.