DBIx::Schema
--------------

This module helps abstract the process of working with complex schemas
of relational SQL database tables. As with DBI, it lets you work with
data a row at a time, but gives you the extra ability to, with a
single method call, reach across and grab rows of related data from
tables located elsewhere in your database, without having to construct
an SQL join clause yourself. The 'distance' from the originating table
to the related one can be arbitrarily long, so long as they are
related in some way -- i.e., could both return data through a single
(though perhaps quite lengthy) SQL query.

COPYRIGHT
---------
Copyright (c) 2000 Adelphia.

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the same terms as Perl itself.

PREREQUISITES
-------------
DBI (and a working DBD driver of course)
DBIx::Abstract

All of the above are available from CPAN.

HOW TO BUILD
------------
perl Makefile.PL
make
make test

HOW TO INSTALL
--------------
make install

CHANGES SINCE THE LAST RELEASE
------------------------------
The interface was pathological in some places, and so has been
simplified. The statement handle constructor now takes a 'table' key,
rather than 'fields', which was rather misleading.

The previous version of this module leaked memory like nobody's
business when used in a sustained environment (such as with mod_perl),
due to a big ol' circular reference. This has been quashed.

The documentation was similarly schizophrenic here and there, and has
also seen corrections and clarifications.

The test scripts actually work now, on at least one machine.

Andy Turner (of DBIx::Abstract fame) got his fingers into it, writing
the Datadict module, which speeds up DBIx::Schema quite a bit. It is
included with this distribution.