Persistent - A Framework of Persistent Classes for Perl Objects by David Winters and Greg Bossert WHAT IS THIS? Persistent is a framework of classes that makes it easier to store and retrieve Perl objects to and from various types of data stores. Using the common interface that all of these classes inherit, you can store/retrieve objects to/from various types of data stores such as text and DBM files, relational databases, LDAP directories and so on, all with the same programming interface. This is the base package of the Persistent framework of classes. It includes subclasses that implement persistence using text files, DBM files, and memory (RAM). There are subclasses that implement persistence using databases (MySQL, Oracle, Sybase, mSQL) and LDAP directories. These subclasses are distributed in separate Persistent packages that require this Persistent base package. The database subclasses also require the Persistent::DBI package which they inherit from. So be sure to first install this base package before any of the other Persistent packages. HOW DO I INSTALL IT? Since all other Persistent packages require this base package, install this package first by doing the following: perl Makefile.PL make make test make install If you want to install a private copy in your home directory, then use the PREFIX option when you generate the Makefile like this: perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=~/perl_lib This package does require Perl 5.004 or later. WHERE IS THE DOCUMENTATION? You can find the documentation by typing "man Persistent" or "perldoc Persistent" after you have installed this software. If you're looking for online documentation, check out: http://www.bigsnow.org/persistent/ WHERE ARE THE EXAMPLES? Complete working examples can be found in the "examples" directory that is included in this package. For more examples, check out the web site mentioned above. WARNING! This software is definitely a work in progress. (Though, it has been used in more than 10 real world applications.) Because of this, the interface is definitely subject to change and bugs may be found. We would definitely love to hear from you regarding bugs or general comments. So please feel free to send mail to: winters@bigsnow.org Thanks, have fun, and let me know what you think! David Winters winters@bigsnow.org