The Vienna Database Library (VDBL) is a in-memory database developed with generic programming in mind. It uses STL containers like map and vector to organize its internal structure. It structure is designed in such a way that the in-memory structure can be mixed with standard SQL databases.
Databases in the VDBL consist of tables, which are constructed from columns and rows as ordinary relational databases.
Columns can take arbitrary types, and their values need not be constant. Using function objects, called methods, the column values can change according to an evaluation context.
It is possible to construct views onto the tables of a database.
std::string) and a unique table id, which is used for organizing the internal structure.
There is a general table interface defined in class table, which defines the minimal functionality needed for implementing a VDBL table. The structure is defined in such a way that SQL interfaces could be written, as well as tables which keep all their data in memory.
In addition to tables, the database knows of users. There are access control lists (at the moment not fully implemented) for restricting the access of users to the tables on a global and a column-wise base. The users are defined in the class user.
Users can construct views onto tables (see Section Views). These views can restrict a table to a subset of columns and/or rows. Also, additional rows can be defined for a view, and it is even possible to join various tables into one view. All views onto tables are constructed within a prespecified context (see Section Contexts). Using this mechanism, columns can change their value automatically according to the evaluation context. This is, e.g., useful in the COCONUT project for organizing points, where some of the properties change from work node to work node, like whether the point is feasible or not.
C++ type, is fixed upon creating the column. This can be done dynamically, like modifying and removing. Optionally, for each column a default value can be given (this default value may also change w.r.t.\ the evaluation context). All columns within a table have a name (a std::string) and a column id, which is used for organizing the column structure of the table internally. A column of a table can be accessed by specifying its name or, equivalently, its column id.
In addition to the column structure, which determines the outline of the table, the table's data is organized in rows (see Section Rows). Every row has a row id, which is used for internal organization. Rows themselves consist of columns. When creating a new row, strict type checking is done between the row's column entries and the column type stored in the table. Column entries of a row can be left out, if a default value for the column is specified in the table definition.
It is possible to implement differently organized tables, as long as they are subclasses of the class table.
Implemented are two table subclasses:
vdbl::standard_table).vdbl::view_table).C++ types can be stored in a column.
There are two main column classes implemented:
typed_col: This column holds constant values of arbitrary types. Their values are independent of the evaluation context (class vdbl::typed_ol<_T>).method_col: A column of this type holds data, whose value is computed whenever it is retrieved and may depend on the evaluation context (vdbl::method_col<_T>). Instead of holding data, its contents are function objects (methods), which are subclasses of class vdbl::method<_T>. These function objects are used to calculate the column value.
class vdbl::row) are internally defined as STL maps of columns, organized with column id keys and column entries.
In principle, different types of rows could be defined, but at the moment only standard rows are implemented.
Every row contains a number of columns, whose values can be retrieved within an evaluation context (see Section Contexts). The column type within a row is arbitrary. If you want to make sure, that type checking is used, you have to change the rows through the table methods.
class vdbl::view_base) onto a table is table-like construct built from table structures. They may be restricted to a subset of the rows and/or columns of the table.
The most important properties of a view is that it is always created within a given context (see Section Contexts). The contents of the view can vary depending on this context. Two different views to the same table can at the same time show different data in the same column of the same row.
Two different classes of views have been implemented:
class vdbl::view) is constructed over one table, and it can only be restricted to subsets of rows and columns of this table.class vdbl::hierarchical_view) looks onto a stack of tables, the top ones ``overlaying'' the lower ones. This makes it possible to have, e.g., a globally valid table on bottom and a stack of locally valid tables on top of them.
vdbl::viewdbase.
class vdbl::context. They may hold arbitrary data and are keeping a const vdbl::table * to their associated table.
This context is passed to every function object along with the row the column belongs to for constructing the columns value. The contexts have no influence on typed_col columns, whose values don't change within different contexts.
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