| \section{Built-in Module \sectcode{dbm}} |
| \bimodindex{dbm} |
| |
| Dbm provides python programs with an interface to the unix \code{ndbm} |
| database library. Dbm objects are of the mapping type, so they can be |
| handled just like objects of the built-in \dfn{dictionary} type, |
| except that keys and values are always strings, and printing a dbm |
| object doesn't print the keys and values. |
| |
| The module defines the following constant and functions: |
| |
| \renewcommand{\indexsubitem}{(in module dbm)} |
| \begin{excdesc}{error} |
| Raised on dbm-specific errors, such as I/O errors. \code{KeyError} is |
| raised for general mapping errors like specifying an incorrect key. |
| \end{excdesc} |
| |
| \begin{funcdesc}{open}{filename\, rwmode\, filemode} |
| Open a dbm database and return a mapping object. \var{filename} is |
| the name of the database file (without the \file{.dir} or \file{.pag} |
| extensions), \var{rwmode} is \code{'r'}, \code{'w'} or \code{'rw'} as for |
| \code{open}, and \var{filemode} is the unix mode of the file, used only |
| when the database has to be created. |
| \end{funcdesc} |