=head1 NAME

DBIx::SQLEngine::Docs::ReadMe - Welcome to DBIx::SQLEngine

=head1 ABSTRACT

The DBIx::SQLEngine class provides an extended interface for the
DBI database framework. Each SQLEngine object is a wrapper around
a DBI database handle, adding methods that support ad-hoc SQL
generation and query execution in a single call. Dynamic subclassing
based on database server type enables cross-platform portability.


=head1 INTRODUCTION

DBIx::SQLEngine is the latest generation of a toolkit used by the
authors for several years to develop business data applications
and object-relational mapping toolkits. Its goal is to simplify
dynamic query execution with the following capabilities:

=over 4

=item *

B<High-Level Interface:> Standard query operations are handled by a single
method call each. Error handling is standardized, and routine annoyances like
timed-out connections are retried automatically.

=item *

B<Data-Driven SQL:> Ad-hoc generation of SQL statements from Perl data
structures in a variety of formats; simple hash and array references are
flexibly converted to form clauses in standard SQL query syntax.

=item *

B<Full DBI Access:> Accepts arbitrary SQL queries with placeholder parameters
to be passed through, and delegates any unknown method calls to the wrapped
database handle, allowing access to the entire DBI API for cases when
high-level interfaces are insufficient

=item *

B<Portability Subclasses:> Uses dynamic subclassing to allow platform-specific
support for driver idiosyncrasies and DBMS workarounds. This release includes
subclasses for connections to MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, and Microsoft SQL
servers, as well as for the standalone SQLite, AnyData, and CSV packages.

=item *

B<Named Definitions:> Enables pre-registration of a collection of names for
sets of connection parameters, and a collection of of names for queries in
either data-driven or plain-SQL formats. The definitions may include
placeholders to be replaced by additional values at run-time.

=item *

B<Object Mapping:> An optional layer provides classes for Record, Table and
Column objects which fetch and store information from a SQLEngine. The Schema
objects call methods on a SQLEngine to fetch and store data, while the Record
classes create new subclasses to correspond to rows in a particular table.

=back


=head1 DISTRIBUTION AND INSTALLATION

=head2 Version

This version is a routine release of DBIx::SQLEngine intended for public use.

This module's proposed CPAN registration should read:

  Name            DSLIP  Description
  --------------  -----  ---------------------------------------------
  DBIx::
  ::SQLEngine     Rdpop  Extends DBI with high-level operations

=head2 Prerequisites

This package requires these other modules and libraries:

  DBI				1.0
  DBIx::AnyDBD			2.0
  Class::MakeMethods		1.006

You must also have at least one working DBD module installed. 

If you run into trouble, check that your DBI and DBD modules are
up-to-date; in particular, if you are using DBD::CSV or DBD::AnyData,
make sure you have upgraded to SQL::Statement 1.0 or later.

=head2 Installation

You should be able to install this module using the CPAN shell interface:

  perl -MCPAN -e 'install DBIx::SQLEngine'

In order for the test to succeed, you must also have at least one working DBD module installed, and must provide a DSN to which the script can connect with permissions to create tables.

Alternately, you may retrieve this package from CPAN or from the author's site:

=over 2

=item *

http://search.cpan.org/~evo/

=item *

http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-authors/id/E/EV/EVO

=item *

http://www.evoscript.org/DBIx-SQLEngine/

=back

After downloading the distribution, follow the normal procedure to unpack and install it, using the commands shown below or their local equivalents on your system:

  tar xzf DBIx-SQLEngine-*.tar.gz
  cd DBIx-SQLEngine-*
  perl Makefile.PL
  make test && sudo make install

Furthermore, thanks to the kind generosity of other members of the
Perl community, this distribution is also available repackaged in
the FreeBSD "ports" and Linux RPM formats. This may simplify
installation for some users, but be aware that these alternate
distributions may lag a few versions behind the latest release on
CPAN.

=over 2

=item *

http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/ports.cgi?query=DBIx-SQLEngine

=item *

http://www.rpmfind.net/linux/rpm2html/search.php?query=perl-DBIx-SQLEngine

=back

=head2 Tested Platforms

This release has been tested succesfully on the following platforms:

  5.6.1 on darwin

You may also review the current test results from CPAN-Testers:

=over 2

=item *

http://testers.cpan.org/show/DBIx-SQLEngine.html

=back


=head1 BUGS AND SUPPORT

=head2 Known Problems

Many types of database servers are not yet supported.

Database driver/server combinations that do not support placeholders
will fail.
(http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=dftza.3519%24ol.117790%40news.chello.at)

See L<DBIx::SQLEngine::ToDo> for additional bugs and missing
features.

=head2 Release Status

This module has been used in a variety of production systems and
has been available on CPAN for over a year, with several other
distributions dependant on it, so it would be fair to say that it
is fully released. 

However, while the commonly-used portions are well tested, some of
the more obscure combinations of options are less so, and new bug
reports do trickle in occasionally. If you do encounter any problems,
please inform the author and I'll endeavor to patch them promptly.

Additional features have been outlined for future development, but
the intent is support these by adding more options to the declaration
interface, while maintaining backward compatibility.

=head2 Support

If you have questions or feedback about this module, please feel
free to contact the author at the below address. Although there is
no formal support program, I do attempt to answer email promptly. 

I would be particularly interested in any suggestions towards
improving the documentation, correcting any Perl-version or platform
dependencies, as well as general feedback and suggested additions.

Bug reports that contain a failing test case are greatly appreciated,
and suggested patches will be promptly considered for inclusion in
future releases.

To report bugs via the CPAN web tracking system, go to 
C<http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/Bugs.html?Dist=DBIx-SQLEngine> or send mail 
to C<Dist=DBIx-SQLEngine#rt.cpan.org>, replacing the C<#> with C<@>.

=head2 Community

If you've found this module useful or have feedback about your
experience with it, consider sharing your opinion with other Perl
users by posting your comment to CPAN's ratings system:

=over 2

=item *

http://cpanratings.perl.org/rate/?distribution=DBIx-SQLEngine

=back

For more general discussion, you may wish to post a message on PerlMonks or the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup:

=over 2

=item *

http://www.perlmonks.org/index.pl?node=Seekers%20of%20Perl%20Wisdom

=item *

http://groups.google.com/groups?group=comp.lang.perl.misc

=back

There have been a few small discussions of this module on PerlMonks
and Usenet in the past:

=over 2

=item *

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=dbix+sqlengine+-ports&scoring=d

=item *

http://perlmonks.org/index.pl?node_id=3989&BIT=sqlengine&go=Search

=back


=head1 SEE ALSO 

See L<DBIx::SQLEngine> for interface documentation.

See L<DBIx::SQLEngine::Docs::Changes> for revision history.

See L<DBIx::SQLEngine::Docs::Related> for notes on related modules.


=head1 CREDITS AND COPYRIGHT

=head2 Author

Developed by Matthew Simon Cavalletto at Evolution Softworks.

You may contact the author directly at C<evo@cpan.org> or
C<simonm@cavalletto.org>. More free Perl software is available at
C<www.evoscript.org>.

=head2 Contributors 

Many thanks to the kind people who have contributed code and other feedback:

  Eric Schneider, Evolution Online Systems
  E. J. Evans, Evolution Online Systems
  Matthew Sheahan, Evolution Online Systems
  Eduardo Iturrate, Evolution Online Systems
  Ron Savage
  Christian Glahn, Innsbruck University
  Michael Kroll, Innsbruck University

=head2 Source Material

Inspiration, tricks, and bits of useful code were mined from these CPAN modules:

  Alzabo by Dave Rolsky 
  DBIx::AnyDBD by Matt Sergeant 
  DBIx::Compat by G. Richter
  DBIx::Datasource by Ivan Kohler 
  DBIx::Renderer by Marcel Grunauer 

=head2 Copyright

Copyright 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Matthew Cavalletto. 

Portions copyright 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Evolution Online Systems, Inc.

Portions copyright 2002 ZID, Innsbruck University (Austria).

Portions of the documentation are copyright 2003 Ron Savage.

=head2 License

You may use, modify, and distribute this software under the same terms as Perl.

=cut
