PEAR MDB2 is a merge of the PEAR DB and Metabase php database abstraction layers.

It provides a common API for all support RDBMS. The main difference to most other database abstraction packages is that MDB2 goes much further to ensure portability. Among other things MDB2 features:

• An OO-style query API

• A DSN (data source name) or array format for specifying database servers

• Datatype abstraction and on demand datatype conversion

• Portable error codes

• Sequential and non sequential row fetching as well as bulk fetching

• Ability to make buffered and unbuffered queries

• Ordered array and associative array for the fetched rows

• Prepare/execute (bind) emulation

• Sequence emulation

• Replace emulation

• Limited Subselect emulation

• Row limit support

• Transactions support

• Large Object support

• Index/Unique support

• Module Framework to load advanced functionality on demand

• Table information interface

• RDBMS management methods (creating, dropping, altering)

• Full integration into the PEAR Framework

• PHPDoc API documentation

Currently supported RDBMS:

• MySQL

• MySQLi (PHP5 only)

• PostgreSQL

• Oracle

• Frontbase (unmaintained)

• Querysim

• Interbase/Firebird (PHP5 only)

• MSSQL

• SQLite

When you install PEAR MDB2, you only get the base classes, but you also need to install the driver of the appropriate DBMS to have a working installation. For instance, to install the MySQL and the PostgreSQL drivers, you have to run these commands:

Still having problems? Check the F.A.Q.

• external documentation

• Porting apps from DB to MDB2