symbian-qemu-0.9.1-12/python-2.6.1/Doc/library/dumbdbm.rst
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+:mod:`dumbdbm` --- Portable DBM implementation
+==============================================
+
+.. module:: dumbdbm
+   :synopsis: Portable implementation of the simple DBM interface.
+
+.. note::
+   The :mod:`dumbdbm` module has been renamed to :mod:`dbm.dumb` in Python 3.0.
+   The :term:`2to3` tool will automatically adapt imports when converting your
+   sources to 3.0.
+
+.. index:: single: databases
+
+.. note::
+
+   The :mod:`dumbdbm` module is intended as a last resort fallback for the
+   :mod:`anydbm` module when no more robust module is available. The :mod:`dumbdbm`
+   module is not written for speed and is not nearly as heavily used as the other
+   database modules.
+
+The :mod:`dumbdbm` module provides a persistent dictionary-like interface which
+is written entirely in Python.  Unlike other modules such as :mod:`gdbm` and
+:mod:`bsddb`, no external library is required.  As with other persistent
+mappings, the keys and values must always be strings.
+
+The module defines the following:
+
+
+.. exception:: error
+
+   Raised on dumbdbm-specific errors, such as I/O errors.  :exc:`KeyError` is
+   raised for general mapping errors like specifying an incorrect key.
+
+
+.. function:: open(filename[, flag[, mode]])
+
+   Open a dumbdbm database and return a dumbdbm object.  The *filename* argument is
+   the basename of the database file (without any specific extensions).  When a
+   dumbdbm database is created, files with :file:`.dat` and :file:`.dir` extensions
+   are created.
+
+   The optional *flag* argument is currently ignored; the database is always opened
+   for update, and will be created if it does not exist.
+
+   The optional *mode* argument is the Unix mode of the file, used only when the
+   database has to be created.  It defaults to octal ``0666`` (and will be modified
+   by the prevailing umask).
+
+   .. versionchanged:: 2.2
+      The *mode* argument was ignored in earlier versions.
+
+
+.. seealso::
+
+   Module :mod:`anydbm`
+      Generic interface to ``dbm``\ -style databases.
+
+   Module :mod:`dbm`
+      Similar interface to the DBM/NDBM library.
+
+   Module :mod:`gdbm`
+      Similar interface to the GNU GDBM library.
+
+   Module :mod:`shelve`
+      Persistence module which stores non-string data.
+
+   Module :mod:`whichdb`
+      Utility module used to determine the type of an existing database.
+
+
+.. _dumbdbm-objects:
+
+Dumbdbm Objects
+---------------
+
+In addition to the methods provided by the :class:`UserDict.DictMixin` class,
+:class:`dumbdbm` objects provide the following methods.
+
+
+.. method:: dumbdbm.sync()
+
+   Synchronize the on-disk directory and data files.  This method is called by the
+   :meth:`sync` method of :class:`Shelve` objects.
+