odbx_lo_open(3)

💅 odbx_lo_open(3) — the OpenDBX glow-up

Okay bestie, sit down, we're talking about odbx_lo_open from the OpenDBX manual, and honestly? It's a little baddie of a function. 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

odbx_lo_open — opens a large object in the database. That's it, that's the whole vibe.

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

#include <opendbx/api.h>

int odbx_lo_open (odbx_result_t* result, odbx_lo_t** lo, const char*
                 value);

Three params, one job. Slay. 💅

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

So here's the tea ☕: some database management systems store a large amount of data in separate regions of the database, and the content is only referenced by identifiers in the tables. The way that the data types used for this are called Binary Large OBject (BLOB) and Character Large OBject (CLOB), and you can find them in e.g. the Firebird and Oracle database servers. Iconic of them, honestly. 👑

The OpenDBX library provides a large object interface so you can access, read and write their content via the "odbx_lo_*()" functions. Family energy. 🫶

Now, to find out if a large amount of data can be accessed directly, or if the large object interface has to be used, odbx_capabilities() provides the answer when fed with the ODBX_CAP_LO. Literally the vibe check for your database. ✅

Let's break down the parameters, because bestie, they matter:

• The result parameter has to be the result object created and returned by odbx_result(). It becomes invalid after it was supplied to odbx_result_finish(), and this function will return an error in that case. So don't be out here reusing dead results, it's giving expired iced coffee. 💀
• The second parameter — the pointer to an odbx_lo_t* — will contain the newly created large object handle if odbx_lo_open() succeeds. And that lo handle is necessary for all other functions of the large object interface, so they are able to perform their operations on the referenced content. It's the main character key that unlocks the rest. 🔑
• The last parameter must be the return value of odbx_field_value(), but no cap — you have to check for NULL values before feeding the value to odbx_lo_open(). Otherwise, an error is returned. So check your NULLs first, queen. 🙈

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💖 RETURN VALUE 💖

odbx_lo_open() returns ODBX_ERR_SUCCESS, or an error code whose value is less than zero if one of the operations couldn't be completed successfully. 😭

Possible error codes are listed in the error section (right below, keep scrolling bestie), and they can be fed to odbx_error() and odbx_error_type() to get further details. Detective mode: activated. 🔍

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🔥 ERRORS 🔥

• -ODBX_ERR_BACKEND — the native database library couldn't open the large object. Rude of it, honestly. 😤
• -ODBX_ERR_NOMEM — allocating additionally required memory failed. The memory said "no <3". 💀

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

Go read these too, it's the whole friend group:

• odbx_capabilities()
• odbx_field_value()
• odbx_lo_close()
• odbx_lo_read()
• odbx_lo_write()
• odbx_result()

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That's the whole page bestie, no skips, no skimming. Go open those large objects. 🦋✨

Sign-off time 🎀 — this little masterpiece comes from OpenDBX, and it was dated 6 February 2026. Note it in your calendar, it's iconic. 💜