Michael Lausch

Rodrigo Moya

Sean Allen

GDP compliance, FDL, added mark-up, English and syntax

Xabier Rodriguez Calvar

How to begin and migration formulae

Jose Dapena Paz

Some examples

Bas Driessen

libgda, gda-postgres, gda-mysql

Daniel Espinosa Ortiz

libgda, gda-postgres, gda-mysql

Vivien Malerba

Current maintainer

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license can be found in the appendix.

Many of the names used by companies to distinguish their products and services are claimed as trademarks. Where those names appear in any GNOME documentation, and those trademarks are made aware to the members of the GNOME Documentation Project, the names have been printed in caps or initial caps.

Abstract

GNOME Data Access (GDA) is an architecture whose purpose is to provide universal access to many different kinds and types of data sources. This goes from traditional relational database systems, to any imaginable kind of data source such as a mail server, a LDAP directory...

This universality is obtained through the use of an easily extensible plug-in system as the mechanism for communication between the different components in the architecture.


Table of Contents

I. Getting started
Introduction
Features
Architecture
Installation
Getting the library
Installing from the sources
Compiling with the library
Configuring
Configuration for development
Configuration for accessing a database
Provider's specific information
Code examples
Initialising
Connecting
Executing queries
Managing data models
Example using random access
Example using an iterator
Freeing data models
Managing transactions
Managing connection's events and errors
Full example
DDL example
Other examples
Migration from 1.X versions
GdaValue and GdaDataModel changes
GdaClient, GdaConnection and GdaError
Various API changes
Migration from 3.X versions
Overview
New unique parser
GdaQuery and GdaCommand merge into GdaStatement
Dictionary changes
Statement execution
Other changes
Multi threading environment
Configuration management
API changes
List of removed objects and interfaces
List of removed functions
Limitations
Global limitations
For MySQL
Multi threaded environment
Statements execution
For Oracle
For PostgreSQL
BLOB handling
Last inserted row's values
Multi threaded environment
Statements execution
For SQLite
Last inserted row's values
Date and time
Multi threaded environment
II. Client API reference
HOWTO for common tasks
Open a connection
Define a data source (DSN)
Execute a SELECT command
Modify the result of a SELECT command
Execute an INSERT, UPDATE or DELETE command
Get the last inserted row
Execute a DDL command
Get information about a table's columns
Validate a DML statement
Control value's assignment to various objects
Add your own data to a GdaMetaStore
Object Hierarchy
Initialization and configuration
Configuring Libgda with environment variables
Connections & commands
Description of the data model returned by gda_connection_get_meta_store_data()
GDA_CONNECTION_META_NAMESPACES
GDA_CONNECTION_META_TYPES
GDA_CONNECTION_META_TABLES
GDA_CONNECTION_META_VIEWS
GDA_CONNECTION_META_FIELDS
Virtual connections
Data handling
Custom data validation
GdaHolder controls
GdaSet controls
GdaDataProxy controls
Advanced GdaDataSelect usage
Automatic re-run of the SELECT statement
Invalid parameters
Data conversions
Dictionary - metadata
Setup
Adding custom data
Database structure
Data types
SQL identifiers
Short and full names
Individual table description
Data definition (DDL) queries
Miscellaneous
III. GDA Tools
Introduction
gda-sql-4.0
gda-list-config-4.0
gda-test-connection-4.0
gda-list-server-op-4.0
IV. Reports
Introduction
API reference
V. XSLT extension
Introduction
API reference
Example
VI. Gda SQL console' user manual
Getting started
Features
Execution
Commands
DSN management
Connections management
Virtual connections
Meta data
Information about tables
Information about views
Information about schemas
Information about other objects
Detailled features
Query buffer
Internal parameters
Environment variables
VII. Databases providers for developers
Providers' support API
Virtual methods for providers
Synchronous / asynchronous mode
Multi threaded environment
Methods - provider's information
get_name() - mandatory
get_version() - mandatory
get_server_version() - mandatory
supports_feature()
Methods - connection management
open_connection() - mandatory
close_connection() - mandatory
get_database()
Methods - DDL queries
supports_operation()
create_operation()
render_operation()
perform_operation()
Methods - transactions management
begin_transaction()
commit_transaction()
rollback_transaction()
add_savepoint()
rollback_savepoint()
delete_savepoint()
Methods - DML queries
create_parser()
statement_to_sql()
statement_prepare()
statement_execute() - mandatory
Methods - data representation
get_data_handler()
get_def_dbms_type()
escape_string()
unescape_string()
Methods - metadata
_info()
_btypes()
schemata() and _schemata()
tables_views() and _tables_views()
columns() and _columns()
constraints_tab() and _constraints_tab()
constraints_ref() and _constraints_ref()
key_columns() and _key_columns()
Methods - misc.
cancel()
create_connection()
is_busy()
Virtual methods for recordsets
Virtual methods for Blob operations
Assembling all the parts
libmain.c
plugin_init()
plugin_get_name()
plugin_get_description()
plugin_get_dsn_spec()
plugin_get_auth_spec()
plugin_create_provider()
VIII. Appendix
A. GNU Free Documentation License
0. PREAMBLE
1. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS
2. VERBATIM COPYING
3. COPYING IN QUANTITY
4. MODIFICATIONS
5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS
6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS
7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS
8. TRANSLATION
9. TERMINATION
10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE
Addendum
Index