Hi, everyone--
I'm new to the list and to DBI. I'm at the stage where I'm trying to
identify useful resources. I've used Perl for several years and I've had
some formal training in RDBMS design and a little experience with
Paradox back in the dark ages.
Is there a FAQ or something like that which lists books, websites, and
other sources of info for basic DBI activities? Those I've seen so far
have been too general to be of much use to me. The documentation I've
seen on CPAN (actually ActiveState's ppms) have also failed to meet my
needs.
I've got Descartes & Bunce's _Programming the perl dbi_. Any other basic
references I should add to my library?
Specific questions follow:
My first project involves a fairly simple database of 500-1000 records
designed for a single-user environment, using perl/Tk for the front end
and perl2exe to make the executable(s). I need this to be compact enough
for fast downloads and free of any proprietary code (it will be freeware
available over the net). I have identified DBI:CSV as one possible
approach. Are there any options other than CSV that are widely available
on end-user machines? For instance, can I expect that ODBC or ADO will
work on most Windows platforms?
Where can I locate good documentation on CSV? For instance, D&B's book
mentions that DBI:CSV has a rudimentary schema, but I've not found
anything about whether I can directly edit this or even how it is
represented in the files.
I am hoping that despite several hours of searching the net, there is a
single, good source for answers to these questions that I just haven't
located yet-- I'd be really pleased to get a "RTFM suchandsuch"
response.
Thanks in advance,
Will Woodhull
