<!doctype debiandoc public "-//DebianDoc//DTD DebianDoc//EN">
<book>
<title>
    <package>dbconfig-common</package> documentation
<author>
    Sean Finney
<version>
    $Revision$
<abstract>
    <package>dbconfig-common</package> is an implementation of the "best
    practices for database applications" draft, which provides debian packagers
    with an easy, reliable, and consistent method for managing databases used
    by debian packages.
<copyright>
    Copyright © 2005 sean finney <email>seanius@debian.org</email>.
    Copyright © 2015 Paul Gevers <email>elbrus@debian.org</email>.
    <p>This document is licensed under the
    <url id="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/afl-2.1.php" name="Academic Free License, Version 2.1">

<toc sect1>

<chapt id="intro">Introduction
    <p>
    <package>dbconfig-common</package> can:
    <list>
        <item>support MySQL, PostgreSQL and SQLite based applications
        <item>create databases and database users
        <item>access local or remote databases
        <item>upgrade/modify databases when upstream changes
        database structure
        <item>remove databases and database users
        <item>generate config files in many formats with the
        database info
        <item>import configs from packages previously managing
        databases on their own
        <item>prompt users with a set of normalized,
        pre-translated questions
        <item>handle failures gracefully, with an option to retry.
        <item>do all the hard work automatically
        <item>work for package maintainers with little effort
        on their part
        <item>work for local admins with little effort on
        their part
        <item>comply with an agreed upon set of standards for
        behavior
        <item>do absolutely nothing if it is the whim of the
        local admin
        <item>perform all operations from within the standard
        flow of debian package maintenance (no additional skill
        is required of the local admin)
    </list>

<chapt id="tryitout">Try it out!
    <p>
    If you're interested in trying it out, go ahead and check out
    <ref id="develguide">, which will teach you how to get your packages
    working with <package>dbconfig-common</package>.
    <p>
    If you'd like to see some basic examples
    of <package>dbconfig-common</package> in action, check out the sample
    packages available in
    <file>/usr/share/doc/dbconfig-common/examples</file>. In this
    directory you'll find debian source directories to build the
    binary packages, so you can see not only how the packages work
    when they are installed, but also how they are built. Take
    a look at the README file in this directory for more information.

<chapt id="develguide">Using <package>dbconfig-common</package> in your packages
    <sect id="quickndirty">Quick and dirty: what to do
        <p>
        There are three things you will have to do as a package maintainer if
        you want to use <package>dbconfig-common</package>: provide the
        database code/scripts to setup the data base, source the maintainer
        script libraries and launch <package>dbconfig-common</package>.
        <package>dbconfig-common</package> will take care of everything else,
        including all debconf related questions, database/database-user creation,
        upgrade/remove/purge logic, etc. After all, the goal
        of <package>dbconfig-common</package> is to make life easier for both
        the local admin <em>and</em> the package maintainer :)
        <sect1 id="depends">Update package dependencies
            <p>
            If your package just supports a single database type supported by
            dbconfig-common, your package needs to depend on the matching
            <package>dbconfig-&lt;database-type&gt;</package> package as well
            as have the <package>dbconfig-no-thanks</package> as an alternative
            to that. E.g. packages that need a PostgreSQL database must
            have the following in their Depends field: <example>
Depends: dbconfig-pgsql | dbconfig-no-thanks
            </example> Packages that support multiple database types (see more
            about that in the <ref id="multidbtype">) must alternatively depend on all the
            matching <package>dbconfig-&lt;database-type&gt;</package> packages
            as well as have <package>dbconfig-no-thanks</package> as an
            alternative to that. E.g. packages that need a PostgreSQL or
            SQLite3 database must have the following in their Depends
            field: <example>
Depends: dbconfig-pgsql | dbconfig-sqlite3 | dbconfig-no-thanks
            </example>
        <sect1 id="hooks">Putting hooks into the maintainer scripts
            <p>
            In the <var>config</var>, <var>postinst</var>,
            <var>prerm</var>, and <var>postrm</var> scripts for your package,
            you will need to source the libraries which perform most of the
            work for you (you do not need to do so in your
            <var>preinst</var> script). If you are not currently using debconf
            in your package, you will be now, and the debconf libraries need to
            be sourced first. You will need to use dh_installdebconf or
            otherwise install your <var>config</var> script into your deb file
            if you're not already doing so. For example, here's what it
            might look like in a <var>config</var> script for an imaginary
            <package>foo-mysql</package> package:
            <example>
#!/bin/sh
# config maintainer script for foo-mysql

# source debconf stuff
. /usr/share/debconf/confmodule
# source dbconfig-common shell library, and call the hook function
if [ -f /usr/share/dbconfig-common/dpkg/config.mysql ]; then
    . /usr/share/dbconfig-common/dpkg/config.mysql
    dbc_go foo-mysql "$@"
fi

# ... rest of your code ...
            </example>
            <p>
            <var>dbc_go</var> is a function defined in every maintainer script
            hook to execute the appropriate code based on which maintainer
            script is being run. Note that it is passed two
            arguments. <package>foo-mysql</package>, the name of the package
            (there's sadly no clean way to figure this out automatically),
            and <var>$@</var> (the arguments which were passed to the
            maintainer script).
            <p>
            <em>NOTE</em>: you do not need to conditionally test for the
            existance of the shell library in the <var>postinst</var>
            and <var>prerm</var> scripts, but to stay compliant with Policy
            section 7.2 you do need to do so at least in your <var>config</var>
            and <var>postrm</var> scripts.
            <p>
            Note that if your package does not use debconf, you will need to
            explicitly install the <var>config</var> script in your
            package. The easiest way to do so is to call dh_installdebconf
            from <file>debian/rules</file>.
        <sect1 id="bootstrap">Supplying the data/code for your database
            <p>
            There are three locations in which you can place code for
            installing the databases of your package:

            <list>
            <item><file>/usr/share/dbconfig-common/data/PACKAGE/install/DBTYPE</file>
            <item><file>/usr/share/dbconfig-common/data/PACKAGE/install-dbadmin/DBTYPE</file>
            <item><file>/usr/share/dbconfig-common/scripts/PACKAGE/install/DBTYPE</file>
            </list>

            <p>
            where <var>PACKAGE</var> is the name of the package,
            <var>DBTYPE</var> is the type of data (mysql, pgsql, etc). The full
            location should be a file containing the proper data.

            <p>
            The first location is for the majority of situations, in which the
            database can be constructed from it's native language (SQL for
            MySQL/PostgreSQL, for example). The data will be fed to the
            underlying database using the credentials of the database user. The
            second location is like the first location, but will be run using
            the credentials of the database administrator. <em>Warning</em>:
            use of this second location should only be done when there are
            excerpts of database code that <em>must</em> be run as the database
            administrator (such as some language constructs in postgresql) and
            should otherwise be avoided. The third location is for databases
            that require a more robust solution, in which executable programs
            (shell/perl/python scripts, or anything else) can be placed.

            <p>
            This code will only be executed on new installs and reconfiguration
            of failed installs. In the case of SQL databases, in the data
            directory you would find the simple create and insert statements
            needed to create tables and populate the database.
            <em>You do not need to create the underlying database, only
            populate it</em>. The scripts directory contains
            shell/perl/python/whatever scripts, which are passed the same
            arguments as <var>dbc_go</var>. If you need database connection
            information (username, password, etc) in your scripts, you can
            source the <file>/bin/sh</file> format package config file, or you
            can instruct <package>dbconfig-common</package> to generate one in
            your programming language of choice (see the advanced tips
            section).

            <p>
            If files exist in both data and scripts, they will both be executed
            in an unspecified order.

            <p>
            That's it! The rest of what needs to be done is handled
            by <package>dbconfig-common</package>, which should keep all the
            work (and bugs) in one place. Happy packaging! Of course, it's
            recommended you take a quick look through the rest of the document,
            just to get an idea of other things that
            <package>dbconfig-common</package> can do for you in case you have
            special needs.

    <sect id="advanced">Advanced usage.
        <sect1 id="genconfig">Generating custom configuration files with
        database information
            <p>
            Your database application will probably require a username and
            password in order to function. Every package that
            uses <package>dbconfig-common</package> already has a /bin/sh
            includable format config file, but it may be more convenient to
            have something in the native language of the package. For example,
            packaging a php/MySQL web app would be a lot easier if there were
            already a file existing with all the information in php includable
            format.

            <p>
            Using <package>dbconfig-common</package>, you can do this with
            little effort. In your <var>postinst</var> script, define the
            variable <var>dbc_generate_include</var> to a value that follows
            the form
            <var>format:location</var> where <var>format</var> is one of the
            supported output formats of
            <var>dbconfig-generate-include</var> (list them with -h) and
            location is the absolute location where you want your config file
            to go. There are also some extra
            variables <var>dbc_generate_include_owner</var>,
            <var>dbc_generate_include_perms</var>, and
            <var>dbc_generate_include_args</var> which do what you would expect
            them to. <em>Note: you will be responsible for removing this file
            in your <var>postrm</var> script</em>. <em>Note2: the ownership and
            permissions will only be used when creating the file, so don't rely
            on this feature if your packages wants to change existing ownership
            and/or permissions.</em> When your scripts are run, this
            environment variable will be exported to your scripts, as well as a
            variable
            <var>dbc_config_include</var> which has the same value, but with
            the leading <var>format:</var> stripped away for convenience.

            <em>NOTE</em> if you use this feature, you should also ensure that
            the generated file is properly removed in the <var>postrm</var>
            script. dbconfig-common can not handle this itself, unfortunately,
            because it may be possible that it is purged before your package is
            purged.  therefore, you should do the following in
            your <var>postrm</var> script:
            <example>
if [ "$1" = "purge" ]; then
    rm -f yourconfigfile
    if which ucf >/dev/null 2>&1; then
        ucf --purge yourconfigfile
        ucfr --purge yourpackage yourconfigfile
    fi
fi
            </example>

        <sect1 id="import">Importing <package>dbconfig-common</package> into an
        existing package
            <p>
            If your package is already part of debian,
            <package>dbconfig-common</package> provides some support to load
            pre-existing settings from a specified config by setting two
            variables:
            <var>dbc_first_version</var> and
            <var>dbc_load_include</var>.

            <p>
            <var>dbc_load_include</var> should be specified in
            the <var>config</var> script and be of the format
            <var>format:inputfile</var>. <var>format</var> is one of the
            languages understood by
            <var>dbconfig-load-include</var>, and <var>inputfile</var> is
            either the config file in <var>format</var> language, or a script
            file in <var>format</var> language that otherwise determines the
            values and sets them.

            <p>
            <var>dbc_first_version</var> should be specified in both
            the <var>config</var> <em>and</em> <var>postinst</var> scripts, and
            should contain the first version in which
            <package>dbconfig-common</package> was introduced. When the package
            is installed, if it is being upgraded from a version less than this
            value it will attempt to bootstrap itself with the values.

        <sect1 id="updates">Database changes in new versions of your package
            <p>
            Occasionally, the upstream authors will modify the underlying
            databases between versions of their software. For example, in MySQL
            applications column names may change, move to new tables, or the
            data itself may need to be modified in newer upstream versions of a
            package.

            <p>
            In order to cope with this, a second set of file locations exists
            for providing packagers ways to modify the databases during package
            upgrades:

            <list>
            <item><file>/usr/share/dbconfig-common/data/PACKAGE/upgrade/DBTYPE/VERSION</file>
            <item><file>/usr/share/dbconfig-common/data/PACKAGE/upgrade-dbadmin/DBTYPE/VERSION</file>
            <item><file>/usr/share/dbconfig-common/scripts/PACKAGE/upgrade/DBTYPE/VERSION</file>
            </list>

            <p>
            where <var>VERSION</var> is the version at which the upgrade should
            be applied, and the respective path contains the upgrade
            code/data. When a package upgrade occurs, all instances of
            <var>VERSION</var> which are newer than the previously installed
            version will be applied, in order. There is also an automatically
            included set of safeguards and behavior provided by
            <package>dbconfig-common</package>, so as the packager you
            shouldn't need to worry about most of the error-handling.

            <p>
            As with installation, scripts will be passed the same cmdline
            arguments as were passed to dbc_go.

        <sect1 id="multidbtype">Packages that support multiple types of
        databases
            <p>
            Sometimes, a particular package may support multiple database
            types. This is common with perl or php based web applications,
            which frequently use some form of database abstraction layer (pear
            DB for php, the DBD family for perl).

            <p>
            <package>dbconfig-common</package> provides support for such
            applications in a relatively straightforward fashion, allowing the
            local admin to select which database type to use when configuring a
            database for a package

            <p>
            To take advantage of this feature, you will want to use the
            "generic" maintainer script hooks, and additionally hint the
            debconf <var>config</var> script with the types of databases your
            package supports. For example, the <var>postinst</var> script would
            now look like this:

            <example>
#!/bin/sh
# postinst maintainer script for foo-mysql

# source debconf stuff
. /usr/share/debconf/confmodule
# source dbconfig-common stuff
. /usr/share/dbconfig-common/dpkg/postinst
dbc_go foo-mysql "$@"

# ... rest of your code ...
            </example>

            <p>
            Unfortunately, specifying the proper dependencies on the
            right <package>dbconfig-&lt;database-type&gt;</package> packages,
            as discussed earlier, is not enough for dbconfig-common to figure
            out which database types your package supports. Therefore you need
            to let dbconfig-common know via the <var>config</var> script. It
            needs to contain an additional variable called "dbc_dbtypes", which
            is a comma-separated list of supported database types:

            <p>
            <example>
#!/bin/sh
# config maintainer script for foo-mysql

# source debconf stuff
. /usr/share/debconf/confmodule
if [ -f /usr/share/dbconfig-common/dpkg/config ]; then
    # we support mysql and pgsql
    dbc_dbtypes="mysql, pgsql"

    # source dbconfig-common stuff
    . /usr/share/dbconfig-common/dpkg/config
    dbc_go foo-mysql "$@"
fi

# ... rest of your code ...
            </example>

        <sect1 id="frontends">Packages that connect to but should not create
        databases (read-only frontends)
            <p>
            Some packages provide multiple frontend packages to a single
            backend package. Furthermore, sometimes these frontend packages
            are installed on a seperate system from the actual database
            application, and should not manage the databases on their own.

            <p>
            For example, if the frontend were to be installed on multiple
            servers (perhaps load balancing or similar), it would not be wise
            to attempt to install/upgrade the database on each client.
            Instead, it would be wiser to simply prompt for the information and
            leave the database management to the single central package.

            <p>
            If the above scenario matches one of your packages, there are a
            seperate set of maintainer hooks for you to use. For
            example, <file>frontend.config</file>
            or <file>frontend.config.mysql</file>. Using these
            hooks, <package>dbconfig-common</package> will know enough to not
            take any actions apart from prompting the local administrator for
            the pertinent information.

        <sect1 id="removal">Packages that require extra logic during removal
            <p>
            Sometimes, it may be that your install sql/scripts perform
            operations that aren't automatically undone by package removal. For
            example, if your package gives extra grants to a user (such as
            triggers) it's possible that grants will not automatically be
            revoked, which could cause problems for later installations as well
            as potential security concerns. For this and any other use you may
            need it for, you can place files in the following locations for
            "removal" maintainer code:

            <list>
            <item><file>/usr/share/dbconfig-common/data/PACKAGE/remove/DBTYPE</file>
            <item><file>/usr/share/dbconfig-common/scripts/PACKAGE/remove/DBTYPE</file>
            </list>

            <p>
            This works just like the install/upgrade code, only it always runs
            as the dbadmin. This code is run by default, unless the local admin
            opts out of deconfiguration assistance (note that this is seperate
            from database purging, which does not happen by default). Note
            that if you need to perform template substitution, you should set
            dbc_sql_substitutions to "yes" in your prerm maintainer script as
            well.

        <sect1 id="defaults">Hinting defaults and advanced control of
        configuration/installation
            <p>
            <package>dbconfig-common</package> has a set of pre-defined default
            values for most of the questions with which it prompts the user,
            most of which are variations on the name of the package. However,
            as a packager you can override some these values and set defaults
            that you feel are more appropriate, as well as otherwise modify the
            behavior of some parts of <package>dbconfig-common</package>.

            <p>
            The following table lists the variables you can hint in
            your <var>config</var> script, as well as some other variables you
            can use to have a finer level of control
            over <package>dbconfig-common</package>. <em>You must use these
            variables exactly (and only) where directed in this table</em>.

        <taglist>
            <tag>dbc_dbuser (used in: <var>config</var>)
                <item>Name to use when connecting to database. (defaults to:
                package name)
            <tag>dbc_basepath (used in: <var>config</var>)
                <item>Database storage directory for local (filesystem) based
                database types. Not applicable for RDBMs like MySQL and
                postgres. (defaults to: /var/lib/dbconfig-common)
            <tag>dbc_dbname (used in: <var>config</var>)
                <item>Name of database resource to which to connect. (defaults
                to: package name)
            <tag>dbc_dbtypes (used in: <var>config</var>)
                <item>Database types supported by the package, in order of
                maintainers' preference. (defaults to: empty)
            <tag>dbc_dbfile_owner (used in: <var>postinst</var>)
                <item>Set the owner:group for the generated database file. This
                option is only valid for databases like SQLite that use a
                single file for storage and is not prompted via debconf.
                (defaults to: root:root)
            <tag>dbc_dbfile_perms (used in: <var>postinst</var>)
                <item>Set the permissions for the generated database file. This
                option is only valid for databases like SQLite that use a
                single file for storage and is not prompted via debconf.
                (defaults to: 0640)
            <tag>dbc_generate_include (used in: <var>postinst</var>)
                <item>format:outputfile pair for an extra config to be
                generated by
                <var>dbconfig-generate-include</var>. (defaults to: empty)
            <tag>dbc_generate_include_owner (used in: <var>postinst</var>)
                <item>Set the owner:group of include files generated
                by <var>dbconfig-generate-include</var>. (defaults to: empty)
            <tag>dbc_generate_include_perms (used in: <var>postinst</var>)
                <item>Set the permissions of include files generated
                by <var>dbconfig-generate-include</var>. (defaults to: empty)
            <tag>dbc_generate_include_args (used in: <var>postinst</var>)
                <item>Arguments passed directly to
                <var>dbconfig-generate-include</var>. (defaults to: empty)
            <tag>dbc_dgi_on_manual (used in: <var>postinst</var>)
                <item>Control whether config files should be generated by
                <var>dbconfig-generate-include</var> when the admin opts for
                manual installation. (defaults to: true)
            <tag>dbc_first_version (used
            in: <var>config</var>,<var>postinst</var>)
                <item>The first version in which
                <package>dbconfig-common</package> was introduced in the
                package. (defaults to: empty)
            <tag>dbc_load_include (used in: <var>config</var>)
                <item>format:includefile pair for a config to be read in
                by <var>dbconfig-load-include</var>. (defaults to: empty)
            <tag>dbc_load_include_args (used in: <var>config</var>)
                <item>Arguments passed directly to
                <var>dbconfig-load-include</var>. (defaults to: empty)
            <tag>dbc_pgsql_createdb_encoding (used in: <var>postinst</var>)
                <item>Specifies encoding for created postgres databases.
                (defaults to: empty/system default)
            <tag>dbc_mysql_createdb_encoding (used in: <var>postinst</var>)
                <item>Specifies encoding for created MySQL databases. (defaults
                to: empty/system default)
            <tag>dbc_sql_substitutions (used in: <var>postinst</var>,
                                        sometimes <var>postrm</var>)
                <item>If nonempty, specifies that sql files should be piped
                through a template substitution filter
                (<var>dbconfig-generate-include -f template</var>) before being
                executed. (defaults to: empty)
            <tag>dbc_authmethod_user (used in <var>config</var>)
                <item>If set to "ident", dbconfig-common will set the
                default postgres authentication method for the package's
                database user to "ident". (defaults to: empty)
            <tag>dbc_config_allow_backup (used in <var>config</var>)
                <item>If nonempty, dbconfig-common will allow its state machine
                to backup past the beginning, such that packages allowing
                backup in there own config script to work transparently.
            <tag>dbc_prio_low / dbc_prio_medium / dbc_prio_high /
                dbc_prio_critical (used everywhere)
                <item>If nonempty, dbconfig-common will use the values of these
                variables to set the priority of its debconf questions. You
                can use this if you think that the default levels of
                dbconfig-common are not well defined for your package. Be
                comforted thou that the priority will be raised automatically
                on errors and that all error handling allows the sysadmin to be
                asked the questions again.
            </taglist>

        <sect1 id="debugging"> Debugging problems
        with <package>dbconfig-common</package>
            <p>
            In the event that your package is having trouble working
            with <package>dbconfig-common</package>, the first thing you should
            try is to export and set the shell variable <var>dbc_debug</var> to
            a nonempty value before installing your package. This will provide
            a slightly larger amount of information about what's going on.

            <p>
            In the event that this does not provide enough information, the
            next thing to do will provide much, much, more information; enough
            that you will probably want to redirect stderr into a temporary
            output file. In the file
            <file>/usr/share/dbconfig-common/dpkg/common</file>, uncomment
            the <var>set -x</var> line near the top of the file. This will
            show you all the shell commands and logic as they are executed. If
            you have a good idea of where the problem is occurring, you can
            also insert your own <var>set -x</var> lines elsewhere followed
            by <var>set +x</var> lines to reduce the amount of input.
            
<chapt id="moreinfo">More Information (and how to help)
    <p>
    Currently, there's a fair amount of work left to be done:

    <list>
    <item>more translators/translations are needed for the templates
    <item>developers are needed to volunteer their packages with
          <package>dbconfig-common</package>
    <item>volunteers are needed to test the new packages
    <item>support for other database formats would be nice
    <item>more scheduled features are listed in
          <file>/usr/share/doc/dbconfig-common/TODO</file>
    </list>
</book>
