16 The SQL Package

connect

Function

Summary

Opens a connection to a database.

Package

sql

Signature

connect connection-spec &key if-exists database-type => database

Arguments

connection-spec: The connection specifications.
if-exists: A keyword.
database-type: A database type.

Values

database: A database.

Description

Theconnect function opens a connection to a database of database-type. The default value for database-type is*default-database-type*. The connection-spec depends on the type of the database to connect to. For databases of type:odbc, the connection specification is a string of the format

"datasource-name/username/password"

where datasource-name is the name of an ODBC datasource, and username and password are a valid username and password. If the datasource does not require a username and password they can be omitted.

The variable*default-database* is set to an instance of the database opened and the instance is returned. The argument if-exists modifies the behavior ofconnect as follows:

:new: Makes a new connection even if connections to the same database already exist.
:warn-new: Makes a new connection but warns about existing connections.
:error: Makes a new connection but signals an error for existing connections.
:warn-old: Selects old connection if one exists (and warns) or makes a new one.
:old: Selects old connection if one exists or makes a new one.
: The default value of if-exists is the value of
: *connect-if-exists*.

Example

The following example connects LispWorks to theinfo database.

(connect "info")

: The next example connects to the ODBC databasepersonnel using the username "admin" and the password "secret".

(connect "personnel/admin/secret" :database-type :odbc)

See also

disconnect status find-database database-name connected-databases