Programming the Perl DBI

Database Handle Attributes

Database handle attributes are specific to database handles and are not valid for other types of handles. They include:

AutoCommit

The AutoCommit database handle attribute can be used to allow your programs to use fine-grained transaction behavior (as opposed to the default “commit everything” behavior).

The functionality of this attribute is closely tied into the way in which DBI defines transaction control. Therefore, a complete description of this parameter can be found later in this chapter.

Name

The Name database handle attribute holds the “name” of the database. Usually the same as the "dbi:DriverName:..." string used to connect to the database, but with the leading "dbi:DriverName:" removed.

The DBI Specification in Appendix A provides a complete list of all the database handle attributes defined within the DBI. We’ll discuss statement handle attributes in a moment, but first we’ll explore database metadata.