cdb - Constant DataBase file format
A
cdb database is a single file used to map `keys' to `values', having
records of (key,value) pairs. File consists of 3 parts: toc (table of
contents), data and index (hash tables).
Toc has fixed length of 2048 bytes, containing 256 pointers to hash tables
inside index sections. Every pointer consists of position of a hash table in
bytes from the beginning of a file, and a size of a hash table in entries,
both are 4-bytes (32 bits) unsigned integers in little-endian form. Hash table
length may have zero length, meaning that corresponding hash table is empty.
Right after toc section, data section follows without any alingment. It consists
of series of records, each is a key length, value (data) length, key and
value. Again, key and value length are 4-byte unsigned integers. Each next
record follows previous without any special alignment.
After data section, index (hash tables) section follows. It should be looked to
in conjunction with toc section, where each of max 256 hash tables are
defined. Index section consists of series of hash tables, with starting
position and length defined in toc section. Every hash table is a sequence of
records each holds two numbers: key's hash value and record position inside
data section (bytes from the beginning of a file to first byte of key length
starting data record). If record position is zero, then this is an empty hash
table slot, pointed to nowhere.
CDB hash function is
hv = ((hv << 5) + hv) ^ c
for every single
c byte of a key, starting with hv =
5381.
Toc section indexed by (hv % 256), i.e. hash value modulo 256 (number of entries
in toc section).
In order to find a record, one should: first, compute the hash value (hv) of a
key. Second, look to hash table number hv modulo 256. If it is empty, then
there is no such key exists. If it is not empty, then third, loop by slots
inside that hash table, starting from slot with number hv divided by 256
modulo length of that table, or ((hv / 256) % htlen), searching for this hv in
hash table. Stop search on empty slot (if record position is zero) or when all
slots was probed (note cyclic search, jumping from end to beginning of a
table). When hash value in question is found in hash table, look to key of
corresponding record, comparing it with key in question. If them of the same
length and equals to each other, then record is found, overwise, repeat with
next hash table slot. Note that there may be several records with the same
key.
cdb(1),
cdb(3).
The
tinycdb package written by Michael Tokarev <
[email protected]>,
based on ideas and shares file format with original cdb library by Dan
Bernstein.
Public domain.