SDBM_File(3pm)

✨ NAME ✨

Hey bestie, welcome to the SDBM_File(3pm) page from the Perl Programmers Reference Guide! This one is all about SDBM_File — tied access to sdbm files. 💾🦋✨

🛠️ SYNOPSIS 🛠️

Here’s the whole vibe in code, no cap:

use Fcntl;   # For O_RDWR, O_CREAT, etc.
use SDBM_File;

tie(%h, 'SDBM_File', 'filename', O_RDWR|O_CREAT, 0666)
  or die "Couldn't tie SDBM file 'filename': $!; aborting";

# Now read and change the hash
$h{newkey} = newvalue;
print $h{oldkey};
...

untie %h;

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

SDBM_File establishes a connection between a Perl hash variable and a file in SDBM_File format. You can manipulate the data in the file just as if it were in a Perl hash, but when your program exits, the data will remain in the file, to be used the next time your program runs. Persistent hash energy, literally. 🔥👑

🔗 Tie 🔗

Use SDBM_File with the Perl built-in tie function to establish the connection between the variable and the file.

tie %hash, 'SDBM_File', $basename, $modeflags, $perms;

tie %hash, 'SDBM_File', $dirfile,  $modeflags, $perms, $pagfilename;

$basename is the base filename for the database. The database is two files with .dir and .pag extensions appended to $basename,

$basename.dir     (or .sdbm_dir on VMS, per DIRFEXT constant)
$basename.pag

The two filenames can also be given separately in full as $dirfile and $pagfilename. This suits for two files without .dir and .pag extensions, perhaps for example two files from File::Temp. 🧚💖

$modeflags can be the following constants from the Fcntl module (in the style of the open(2) system call),

O_RDONLY          read-only access
O_WRONLY          write-only access
O_RDWR            read and write access

If you want to create the file if it does not already exist then bitwise-OR (|) O_CREAT too. If you omit O_CREAT and the database does not already exist then the tie call will fail.

O_CREAT           create database if doesn't already exist

$perms is the file permissions bits to use if new database files are created. This parameter is mandatory even when not creating a new database. The permissions will be reduced by the user's umask so the usual value here would be 0666, or if some very private data then 0600. (See "umask" in perlfunc.) 🔐✨

🎁 EXPORTS 🎁

SDBM_File optionally exports the following constants:

• PAGFEXT — the extension used for the page file, usually .pag. 🗂️
• DIRFEXT — the extension used for the directory file, .dir everywhere but VMS, where it is .sdbm_dir. 💽
• PAIRMAX — the maximum size of a stored hash entry, including the length of both the key and value. 📏

These constants can also be used with fully qualified names, eg. SDBM_File::PAGFEXT. 🫶

🚨 DIAGNOSTICS 🚨

On failure, the tie call returns an undefined value and probably sets $! to contain the reason the file could not be tied. 😭💔

💀 sdbm store returned -1, errno 22, key "..." at ... 💀

That warning is emitted when you try to store a key or a value that is too long. It means that the change was not recorded in the database. See BUGS AND WARNINGS below. 🫠🔥

🔒 SECURITY WARNING 🔒

Do not accept SDBM files from untrusted sources! 🚫👀💅

The sdbm file format was designed for speed and convenience, not for portability or security. A maliciously crafted file might cause perl to crash or even expose a security vulnerability. So like, do not let random files into your hash, bestie. 😬🛑

🐛 BUGS AND WARNINGS 🐛

There are a number of limits on the size of the data that you can store in the SDBM file. The most important is that the length of a key, plus the length of its associated value, may not exceed 1008 bytes. 📏😬

See "tie" in perlfunc, perldbmfilter, Fcntl. 🌈

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That’s the whole page, bestie! 🫶 This one is from perl v5.42.3, dated 2026-11-03. Slay and tie responsibly. 💅✨👑