=head1 NAME DBIx::Class::Manual::QuickStart - up and running with DBIC in 10 minutes =head1 DESCRIPTION This document shows the minimum amount of code to make you a productive DBIC user. It requires you to be familiar with just the basics of database programming (what database tables, rows and columns are) and the basics of Perl object-oriented programming (calling methods on an object instance). It also helps if you already know a bit of SQL and how to connect to a database through DBI. Follow along with the example database shipping with this distribution, see directory F. This database is also used through-out the rest of the documentation. =head2 Preparation First, install DBIx::Class like you do with any other CPAN distribution. See L and L. Then open the distribution in your shell and change to the subdirectory mentioned earlier, the next command will download and unpack it: $ perl -mCPAN -e'CPAN::Shell->look("DBIx::Class")' DBIx-Class$ cd examples/Schema Inspect the database: DBIx-Class/examples/Schema$ sqlite3 db/example.db .dump You can also use a GUI database browser such as L. Have a look at the schema classes files in the subdirectory F. The C class is the entry point for loading the other classes and interacting with the database through DBIC and the C classes correspond to the tables in the database. L shows how to write all that Perl code. That is almost never necessary, though. Instead use L (part of the distribution L) to automatically create schema classes files from an existing database. The chapter L below shows an example invocation. =head2 Connecting to the database A L object represents the database. use MyApp::Schema qw(); my $schema = MyApp::Schema->connect('dbi:SQLite:db/example.db'); The first four arguments are the same as for L. =head2 Working with data Almost all actions go through a L object. =head3 Adding data Via intermediate result objects: my $artist_ma = $schema->resultset('Artist')->create({ name => 'Massive Attack', }); my $cd_mezz = $artist_ma->create_related(cds => { title => 'Mezzanine', }); for ('Angel', 'Teardrop') { $cd_mezz->create_related(tracks => { title => $_ }); } Via relation accessors: $schema->resultset('Artist')->create({ name => 'Metallica', cds => [ { title => q{Kill 'Em All}, tracks => [ { title => 'Jump in the Fire' }, { title => 'Whiplash' }, ], }, { title => 'ReLoad', tracks => [ { title => 'The Memory Remains' }, { title => 'The Unforgiven II' }, { title => 'Fuel' }, ], }, ], }); Columns that are not named are filled with default values. The value C acts as a C in the database. See the chapter L below to find out where the non-obvious source name strings such as C and accessors such as C and C come from. Set the environment variable C to see the generated queries. =head3 Retrieving data Set up a condition. my $artists_starting_with_m = $schema->resultset('Artist')->search( { name => { like => 'M%' } } ); Iterate over result objects of class C. L objects represent a row and automatically get accessors for their column names. for my $artist ($artists_starting_with_m->all) { say $artist->name; } =head3 Changing data Change the release year of all CDs titled I. $schema->resultset('Cd')->search( { title => 'ReLoad', } )->update_all( { year => 1997, } ); =head3 Removing data Removes all tracks titled I regardless of which CD the belong to. $schema->resultset('Track')->search( { title => 'Fuel', } )->delete_all; =head2 Introspecting the schema classes This is useful for getting a feel for the naming of things in a REPL or during explorative programming. From the root to the details: $schema->sources; # returns qw(Cd Track Artist) $schema->source('Cd')->columns; # returns qw(cdid artist title year) $schema->source('Cd')->relationships; # returns qw(artist tracks) From a detail to the root: $some_result->result_source; # returns appropriate source $some_resultset->result_source; $some_resultsource->schema; # returns appropriate schema =head2 Resetting the database # delete database file DBIx-Class/examples/Schema$ rm -f db/example.db # create database and set up tables from definition DBIx-Class/examples/Schema$ sqlite3 db/example.db < db/example.sql # fill them with data DBIx-Class/examples/Schema$ perl ./insertdb.pl # delete the schema classes files DBIx-Class/examples/Schema$ rm -rf MyApp # recreate schema classes files from database file DBIx-Class/examples/Schema$ dbicdump \ -o dump_directory=. MyApp::Schema dbi:SQLite:db/example.db =head2 Where to go next If you want to exercise what you learned with a more complicated schema, load L into your database. If you want to transfer your existing SQL knowledge, read L. Continue with L and L. =head1 FURTHER QUESTIONS? Check the list of L. =head1 COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE This module is free software L by the L. You can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the L.