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PHP Manual

## Installation

By using the --enable-dba=shared configuration option you can build a dynamic loadable module to enable PHP for basic support of dbm-style databases. You also have to add support for at least one of the following handlers by specifying the --with-XXXX configure switch to your PHP configure line.

Warning

After configuring and compiling PHP you must execute the following test from commandline: php run-tests.php ext/dba. This shows whether your combination of handlers works. Most problematic are dbm and ndbm which conflict with many installations. The reason for this is that on several systems these libraries are part of more than one other library. The configuration test only prevents you from configuring malfunctioning single handlers but not combinations.

Supported DBA handlers
Handler | Configure Switch
--- | ---
dbm | To enable support for dbm add --with-dbm[=DIR]. Note: dbm normally is a wrapper which often results in failures. This means you should only use dbm if you are sure it works and if you really need this format.
ndbm | To enable support for ndbm add --with-ndbm[=DIR]. Note: ndbm normally is a wrapper which often results in failures. This means you should only use ndbm if you are sure it works and if you really need this format.
gdbm | To enable support for gdbm add --with-gdbm[=DIR].
db2 | To enable support for Oracle Berkeley DB 2 add --with-db2[=DIR]. Note: db2 conflicts with db3 and db4.
db3 | To enable support for Oracle Berkeley DB 3 add --with-db3[=DIR]. Note: db3 conflicts with db2 and db4.
db4 | To enable support for Oracle Berkeley DB 4 or 5 add --with-db4[=DIR]. Note: db4 conflicts with db2 and db3. Note: The db4 option was added in PHP 4.3.2. In earlier versions of PHP you need to use --with-db3=DIR with DIR being the path to db4 library. It is not possible to use db versions starting from 4.1 with PHP prior to version 4.3.0. Also, the db libraries with versions 4.1 through 4.1.24 cannot be used in any PHP version. Support for BDB 5 was added in PHP 5.3.3.
cdb | To enable support for cdb add --with-cdb[=DIR]. Note: Since PHP 4.3.0 you can omit DIR to use the bundled cdb library that adds the cdb_make handler which allows creation of cdb files and allows to access cdb files on the network using PHP's streams.
flatfile | To enable support for flatfile add --with-flatfile. Note: This was added in PHP 4.3.0 to add compatibility with deprecated dbm extension. Use this handler only when you cannot install one of the libraries required by the other handlers and when you cannot use bundled cdb handler.
inifile | To enable support for inifile add --with-inifile. Note: This was added in PHP 5.0.0 and allows to read and set microsoft style .ini files (like the php.ini file).
qdbm | To enable support for qdbm add --with-qdbm[=DIR]. Note: qdbm conflicts with dbm and gdbm. Note: This was added in PHP 5.0.0. The qdbm library can be loaded from » http://qdbm.sourceforge.net/.

> Note: Up to PHP 4.3.0 you are able to add both db2 and db3 handler but only one of them can be used internally. That means that you cannot have both file formats. Starting with PHP 5.0.0 there is a configuration check avoid such misconfigurations.

Requirements
Runtime Configuration
Installing/Configuring
PHP Manual