34 lines
1.5 KiB
TeX
34 lines
1.5 KiB
TeX
\section{Standard Modules \sectcode{anydbm} and \sectcode{dumbdbm}}
|
|
\stmodindex{anydbm}
|
|
\stmodindex{dumbdbm}
|
|
|
|
\code{anydbm} is a generic interface to variants of the DBM
|
|
database--DBM, GDBM, or dbhash. If none of these modules is
|
|
installed, the slow-but-simple implementation in module \code{dumbdbm}
|
|
will be used. Both modules provide the same interface:
|
|
|
|
\begin{funcdesc}{open}{filename\optional{\, flag\, mode}}
|
|
Open the database file \var{filename} and return a corresponding object.
|
|
The optional \var{flag} argument can be
|
|
\code{'r'} to open an existing database for reading only,
|
|
\code{'w'} to open an existing database for reading and writing,
|
|
\code{'c'} to create the database if it doesn't exist, or
|
|
\code{'n'}, which will always create a new empty database. If not
|
|
specified, the default value is \code{'r'}.
|
|
|
|
The optional \var{mode} argument is the \UNIX{} mode of the file, used
|
|
only when the database has to be created. It defaults to octal
|
|
\code{0666} (and will be modified by the prevailing umask).
|
|
\end{funcdesc}
|
|
|
|
The object returned by \code{open()} supports most of the same
|
|
functionality as dictionaries; keys and their corresponding values can
|
|
be stored, retrieved, and deleted, and the \code{has_key()} and
|
|
\code{keys()} methods are available. Keys and values must always be
|
|
strings.
|
|
|
|
Both modules also export the exception \code{error}, which is raised
|
|
for various problems. The \code{anydbm.error} exception is simply a
|
|
different name for the \code{error} exception of the underlying
|
|
implementation module used.
|