manpage(ldb)(3)(May 2004)()() manpagename(ldb)(A light-weight database library) manpagesynopsis() bf(#include ) manpagedescription() 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. 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. It 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. 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. 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. 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. manpagesection(INDEX) startdit() dit(bf(ldbsearch(1))) command line ldb search utility dit(bf(ldbedit(1))) edit all or part of a ldb databse using your favourite editor dit(bf(ldbedit(1))) edit all or part of a ldb databse using your favourite editor dit(bf(ldbadd(1))) add records to a ldb database using LDIF formatted input dit(bf(ldbdel(1))) delete records from a ldb database dit(bf(ldbmodify(1))) modify records in a ldb database using LDIF formatted input dit(bf(ldb_connect(3))) connect to a ldb backend dit(bf(ldb_close(3))) close a connection to a ldb backend dit(bf(ldb_search(3))) perform a database search dit(bf(ldb_search_free(3))) free the results of a ldb_search dit(bf(ldb_add(3))) add a record to the database dit(bf(ldb_delete(3))) delete a record from the database dit(bf(ldb_modify(3))) modify a record in the database dit(bf(ldb_errstring(3))) retrieve extended error information from the last operation dit(bf(ldb_ldif_write(3))) write a LDIF formatted message dit(bf(ldb_ldif_write_file(3))) write a LDIF formatted message to a file dit(bf(ldb_ldif_read(3))) read a LDIF formatted message dit(bf(ldb_ldif_read_free(3))) free the result of a ldb_ldif_read() dit(bf(ldb_ldif_read_file(3))) read a LDIF message from a file dit(bf(ldb_ldif_read_string(3))) read a LDIF message from a string dit(bf(ldb_msg_find_element(3))) find an element in a ldb_message dit(bf(ldb_val_equal_exact(3))) compare two ldb_val structures dit(bf(ldb_msg_find_val(3))) find an element by value dit(bf(ldb_msg_add_empty(3))) add an empty message element to a ldb_message dit(bf(ldb_msg_add(3))) add a non-empty message element to a ldb_message dit(bf(ldb_msg_element_compare(3))) compare two ldb_message_element structures dit(bf(ldb_msg_find_int(3))) return an integer value from a ldb_message dit(bf(ldb_msg_find_uint(3))) return an unsigned integer value from a ldb_message dit(bf(ldb_msg_find_double(3))) return a double value from a ldb_message dit(bf(ldb_msg_find_string(3))) return a string value from a ldb_message dit(bf(ldb_set_alloc(3))) set the memory allocation function to be used by ldb dit(bf(ldb_set_debug(3))) set a debug handler to be used by ldb dit(bf(ldb_set_debug_stderr(3))) set a debug handler for stderr output enddit() manpageauthor() ldb was written by Andrew Tridgell url(http://samba.org/~tridge/)(http://samba.org/~tridge/) If you wish to report a problem or make a suggestion then please see the url(http://ldb.samba.org/)(http://ldb.samba.org/) web site for current contact and maintainer information. ldb is released under the GNU Lesser General Public License version 2 or later. Please see the file COPYING for license details.