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198 lines
10 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
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<head>
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<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
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<title>Access method FAQ</title>
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<link rel="stylesheet" href="gettingStarted.css" type="text/css" />
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<meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.73.2" />
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<link rel="start" href="index.html" title="Berkeley DB Programmer's Reference Guide" />
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<link rel="up" href="am_misc.html" title="Chapter 4. Access Method Wrapup" />
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<link rel="prev" href="am_misc_tune.html" title="Access method tuning" />
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<link rel="next" href="java.html" title="Chapter 5. Java API" />
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</head>
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<body>
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<div xmlns="" class="navheader">
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<div class="libver">
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<p>Library Version 11.2.5.3</p>
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</div>
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<table width="100%" summary="Navigation header">
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<tr>
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<th colspan="3" align="center">Access method FAQ</th>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="am_misc_tune.html">Prev</a> </td>
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<th width="60%" align="center">Chapter 4.
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Access Method Wrapup
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</th>
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<td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="java.html">Next</a></td>
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</tr>
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</table>
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<hr />
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</div>
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<div class="sect1" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
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<div class="titlepage">
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<div>
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<div>
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<h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="am_misc_faq"></a>Access method FAQ</h2>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="orderedlist">
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<ol type="1">
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<li>
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<span class="bold">
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<strong>Is a Berkeley DB database the same as a "table"?</strong>
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</span>
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<p>Yes; "tables" are databases, "rows" are key/data pairs, and "columns"
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are application-encapsulated fields within a data item (to which Berkeley DB
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does not directly provide access).</p>
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</li>
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<li>
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<span class="bold">
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<strong>I'm getting an error return in my application, but I can't
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figure out what the library is complaining about.</strong>
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</span>
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<p>See <a href="../api_reference/C/envset_errcall.html" class="olink">DB_ENV->set_errcall()</a>, <a href="../api_reference/C/envset_errfile.html" class="olink">DB_ENV->set_errfile()</a> and
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<a href="../api_reference/C/dbset_errfile.html" class="olink">DB->set_errfile()</a> for ways to get additional information about
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error returns from Berkeley DB.</p>
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</li>
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<li>
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<span class="bold">
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<strong>Are Berkeley DB databases portable between architectures with
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different integer sizes and different byte orders ?</strong>
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</span>
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<p>Yes. Specifically, databases can be moved between 32- and 64-bit
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machines, as well as between little- and big-endian machines. See
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<a class="xref" href="general_am_conf.html#am_conf_byteorder" title="Selecting a byte order">Selecting a byte order</a> for
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more information.</p>
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</li>
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<li>
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<span class="bold">
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<strong>I'm seeing database corruption when creating multiple databases
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in a single physical file.</strong>
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</span>
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<p>This problem is usually the result of <a href="../api_reference/C/db.html" class="olink">DB</a> handles not sharing an
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underlying database environment. See <a class="xref" href="am_opensub.html" title="Opening multiple databases in a single file">Opening multiple databases in a single file</a> for more information.</p>
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</li>
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<li>
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<span class="bold">
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<strong>I'm using integers as keys for a Btree database, and even
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though the key/data pairs are entered in sorted order, the page-fill
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factor is low.</strong>
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</span>
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<p>This is usually the result of using integer keys on little-endian
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architectures such as the x86. Berkeley DB sorts keys as byte strings, and
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little-endian integers don't sort well when viewed as byte strings.
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For example, take the numbers 254 through 257. Their byte patterns on
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a little-endian system are:</p>
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<pre class="programlisting">254 fe 0 0 0
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255 ff 0 0 0
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256 0 1 0 0
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257 1 1 0 0</pre>
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<p>If you treat them as strings, then they sort badly:</p>
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<pre class="programlisting">256
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257
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254
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255</pre>
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<p>On a big-endian system, their byte patterns are:</p>
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<pre class="programlisting">254 0 0 0 fe
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255 0 0 0 ff
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256 0 0 1 0
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257 0 0 1 1</pre>
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<p>and so, if you treat them as strings they sort nicely. Which means, if
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you use steadily increasing integers as keys on a big-endian system
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Berkeley DB behaves well and you get compact trees, but on a little-endian
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system Berkeley DB produces much less compact trees. To avoid this problem,
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you may want to convert the keys to flat text or big-endian
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representations, or provide your own
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<a class="xref" href="bt_conf.html#am_conf_bt_compare" title="Btree comparison">Btree comparison</a></p>
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</li>
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<li>
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<span class="bold">
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<strong>Is there any way to avoid double buffering in the Berkeley DB system?</strong>
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</span>
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<p>While you cannot avoid double buffering entirely, there are a few things
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you can do to address this issue:</p>
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<p>First, the Berkeley DB cache size can be explicitly set. Rather than allocate
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additional space in the Berkeley DB cache to cover unexpectedly heavy load or
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large table sizes, double buffering may suggest you size the cache to
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function well under normal conditions, and then depend on the file
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buffer cache to cover abnormal conditions. Obviously, this is a
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trade-off, as Berkeley DB may not then perform as well as usual under abnormal
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conditions.</p>
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<p>Second, depending on the underlying operating system you're using, you
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may be able to alter the amount of physical memory devoted to the
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system's file buffer cache. Altering this type of resource
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configuration may require appropriate privileges, or even operating
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system reboots and/or rebuilds, on some systems.</p>
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<p>Third, changing the size of the Berkeley DB environment regions can change
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the amount of space the operating system makes available for the file
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buffer cache, and it's often worth considering exactly how the operating
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system is dividing up its available memory. Further, moving the Berkeley DB
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database environment regions from filesystem backed memory into system
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memory (or heap memory), can often make additional system memory
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available for the file buffer cache, especially on systems without a
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unified buffer cache and VM system.</p>
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<p>Finally, for operating systems that allow buffering to be turned off,
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specifying the <a href="../api_reference/C/envset_flags.html#set_flags_DB_DIRECT_DB" class="olink">DB_DIRECT_DB</a> and <a href="../api_reference/C/envlog_set_config.html#log_set_config_DB_LOG_DIRECT" class="olink">DB_LOG_DIRECT</a> flags
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will attempt to do so.</p>
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</li>
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<li>
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<span class="bold">
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<strong>I'm seeing database corruption when I run out of disk space.</strong>
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</span>
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<p>Berkeley DB can continue to run when when out-of-disk-space errors occur, but
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it requires the application to be transaction protected. Applications
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which do not enclose update operations in transactions cannot recover
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from out-of-disk-space errors, and the result of running out of disk
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space may be database corruption.</p>
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</li>
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<li>
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<span class="bold">
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<strong>How can I associate application information with a <a href="../api_reference/C/db.html" class="olink">DB</a>
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or <a href="../api_reference/C/env.html" class="olink">DB_ENV</a> handle?</strong>
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</span>
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<p>In the C API, the <a href="../api_reference/C/db.html" class="olink">DB</a> and <a href="../api_reference/C/env.html" class="olink">DB_ENV</a> structures each contain
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an "app_private" field intended to be used to reference
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application-specific information. See the <a href="../api_reference/C/dbcreate.html" class="olink">db_create()</a> and
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<a href="../api_reference/C/envcreate.html" class="olink">db_env_create()</a> documentation for more information.</p>
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<p>In the C++ or Java APIs, the easiest way to associate
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application-specific data with a handle is to subclass the <a href="../api_reference/CXX/db.html" class="olink">Db</a>
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or <a href="../api_reference/CXX/env.html" class="olink">DbEnv</a>, for example subclassing <a href="../api_reference/CXX/db.html" class="olink">Db</a> to get MyDb.
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Objects of type MyDb will still have the Berkeley DB API methods available on
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them, and you can put any extra data or methods you want into the MyDb
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class. If you are using "callback" APIs that take <a href="../api_reference/CXX/db.html" class="olink">Db</a> or
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<a href="../api_reference/CXX/env.html" class="olink">DbEnv</a> arguments (for example, <a href="../api_reference/C/dbset_bt_compare.html" class="olink">DB->set_bt_compare()</a>)
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these will always be called with the <a href="../api_reference/CXX/db.html" class="olink">Db</a> or <a href="../api_reference/CXX/env.html" class="olink">DbEnv</a>
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objects you create. So if you always use MyDb objects, you will be able
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to take the first argument to the callback function and cast it to a
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MyDb (in C++, cast it to (MyDb*)). That will allow you to access your
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data members or methods.</p>
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</li>
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</ol>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="navfooter">
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<hr />
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<table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer">
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<tr>
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<td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="am_misc_tune.html">Prev</a> </td>
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<td width="20%" align="center">
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<a accesskey="u" href="am_misc.html">Up</a>
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</td>
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<td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="java.html">Next</a></td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">Access method tuning </td>
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<td width="20%" align="center">
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<a accesskey="h" href="index.html">Home</a>
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</td>
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<td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> Chapter 5.
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Java API
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</td>
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</tr>
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</table>
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||
</div>
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</body>
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</html>
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