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  

for version 4.2.8

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.


I. Getting started
Introduction
Features
Architecture
Installation
Getting the library
Installing from the sources
Compiling your code using the Libgda library
Configuring
Configuration for development
Configuration for accessing a database
Provider's specific information
Code examples
Initializing
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
Binary large objects (BLOBs) 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
Reports
Other changes
Multi threading environment
Configuration management
Database provider's changes
API changes
List of removed objects and interfaces
List of removed functions
Provider's notes
For Oracle
For SQLite
The gda_file_exists() function
The gda_hex_print() function
The gda_hex() function
The gda_rmdiacr() function
The gda_upper() and gda_lower() functions
For SQLCipher
How to create and encrypted database
How to encrypt an existing database
How to change the passphrase of an encrypted database
For LDAP
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
Error reporting
For SqlCipher
For LDAP
For JDBC based providers
JDBC drivers' location
Last inserted row's values
Multi threaded environment
II. API reference
Foreword about abstraction
SQL identifiers
Binary large objects (BLOBs)
HOWTO for common tasks
Open a connection
Define a data source (DSN)
Build statements without using a parser
INSERT INTO customers (e, f, g) VALUES (##p1::string, 15, 'joe')
SELECT people.firstname AS person, people.lastname, "date" AS birthdate, age FROM people
SELECT c."date", name AS person FROM "select" AS c INNER JOIN orders USING (id)
UPDATE products set ref='A0E''FESP' WHERE id = 14
DELETE FROM items WHERE id = ##theid::int
SELECT myfunc (a, 5, 'Joe') FROM mytable
SELECT name FROM master WHERE id IN (SELECT id FROM subdata)
INSERT INTO customers (e, f, g) SELECT id, name, location FROM subdate
SELECT id, name FROM subdata1 UNION SELECT ident, lastname FROM subdata2
SELECT CASE tag WHEN 'Alpha' THEN 1 WHEN 'Bravo' THEN 2 WHEN 'Charlie' THEN 3 ELSE 0 END FROM data
SELECT product_id, name, sum (4 * 5 * price * 1.200000) FROM invoice_lines
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
Update the meta data about a table
Validate a DML statement
Control value's assignment to various objects
Add your own data to a GdaMetaStore
Object Hierarchy
Initialization and configuration
Libgda Initialization
Configuration
Configuring Libgda with environment variables
Connections & commands
Convenience functions
GdaConnection
GdaSqlParser
GdaSqlBuilder
GdaStatement
GdaRepetitiveStatement
GdaBatch
GdaHolder
GdaSet
GdaConnectionEvent
GdaTransactionStatus
GdaXaTransaction
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
GDA_CONNECTION_META_INDEXES
Virtual connections
GdaVirtualProvider
GdaVproviderDataModel
GdaVproviderHub
GdaVirtualConnection
GdaVconnectionDataModel
GdaVconnectionHub
Data handling
Gda Value
Custom data validation
GdaHolder controls
GdaSet controls
GdaDataProxy controls
Advanced GdaDataSelect usage
Automatic re-run of the SELECT statement
Invalid parameters
GdaBlobOp
GdaDataModel
GdaDataSelect
GdaColumn
GdaDataModelIter
GdaDataModelImport
GdaDataAccessWrapper
GdaDataModelArray
GdaRow
GdaDataModelBdb
GdaDataModelDir
GdaDataProxy
GdaDataComparator
Trees
GdaTree
GdaTreeManager
GdaTreeNode
GdaTreeMgrLabel
GdaTreeMgrSelect
GdaTreeMgrSchemas
GdaTreeMgrTables
GdaTreeMgrColumns
Data conversions
Default Data handlers
GdaHandlerString
GdaHandlerBoolean
GdaHandlerTime
GdaHandlerNumerical
GdaHandlerBin
GdaHandlerType
Dictionary - metadata
Setup
Adding custom data
Database structure
Data types
SQL identifiers
Short and full names
Declared foreign keys
Individual table description
GdaMetaStore
GdaMetaStruct
Data definition (DDL) queries
GdaServerOperation
GdaServerOperation individual nodes
GdaServerOperation sequences
User interface API reference
LibgdaUI Initialization
GdauiLogin
GdauiProviderSelector
GdauiDataSelector
GdauiDataProxy
GdauiBasicForm
GdauiForm
GdauiRawForm
GdauiGrid
GdauiRawGrid
GdauiCombo
GdauiCloud
GdauiRtEditor
UI plugins
GdauiDataEntry
GdauiDataStore
GdauiDataFilter
GdauiDataProxyInfo
GdauiServerOperation
GdauiTreeStore
UI Utility functions
Multi threading
GdaMutex
GdaLockable
GdaThreadWrapper
Miscellaneous
Utility functions
Logging
Attributes manager
III. GDA Tools
Introduction
gda-sql
gda-list-config-4.0
gda-test-connection-4.0
gda-list-server-op-4.0
Control center
GdaBrowser
IV. Reports
Introduction
API reference
GdaReportEngine
GdaReportDocument
GdaReportDocbookDocument
GdaReportRmlDocument
V. XSLT extension
Introduction
API reference
Example
VI. Gda SQL console's 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
Detailed features
Query buffer
Internal parameters
Embedded HTTP server
Environment variables
VII. Databases providers for developers
Providers' support API
GdaServerProvider
Subclassing GdaDataSelect
GdaPStmt
Quark lists
SQL rendering API
Misc 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
handle_async()
Methods - data representation
get_data_handler()
get_def_dbms_type()
escape_string()
unescape_string()
Methods - metadata
Important note about SQL identifiers
Reserved SQL keywords
_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
SQL parser
Implementation overview
Generic SQL parser
Provider specific SQL parser
Tips to write a custom parser
GdaSqlStatement
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. Packaging
Packaging Libgda
Overview of the components
Runtime component
GObject introspection
Tools
Diagnostic tools
SQL console
Database providers
'Generic' provider
The SQLite provider
The JDBC provider
Development files
Documentation
Localization
Packaging Libgda UI extension
Overview of the components
Runtime component
GObject introspection
Tools
Control center
Gda browser
Development files
IX. Appendix
Index
Index of new symbols in 4.2
Index of new symbols in 4.2.1
Index of new symbols in 4.2.2
Index of new symbols in 4.2.3
Index of new symbols in 4.2.4
Index of new symbols in 4.2.5
Index of new symbols in 4.2.6
Index of new symbols in 4.2.7
Index of new symbols in 4.2.8
Index of deprecated symbols
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