Programming the Perl DBI

Chapter 1. Introduction

The subject of databases is a large and complex one, spanning many different concepts of structure, form, and expected use. There are also a multitude of different ways to access and manipulate the data stored within these databases.

This book describes and explains an interface called the Perl Database Interface, or DBI, which provides a unified interface for accessing data stored within many of these diverse database systems. The DBI allows you to write Perl code that accesses data without needing to worry about database- or platform-specific issues or proprietary interfaces.

We also take a look at non-DBI ways of storing, retrieving, and manipulating data with Perl, as there are occasions when the use of a database might be considered overkill but some form of structured data storage is required.

To begin, we shall discuss some of the more common uses of database systems in business today and the place that Perl and DBI takes within these frameworks.