elektra-glossary(7) -- glossary of Elektra

• Configuration settings: customize applications towards the users needs.
• Configuration storage: makes configuration settings persistent. The application will read the configuration at every start from the configuration storage, but it is only stored if a user changes settings.
• Key databases: are used for configuration storages because of these constraints. They can do fast key lookups and the keys can be structured hierarchically by defining separators in the key names.
• Global key database: provides global access to all configuration storages of all applications in a system. Abbreviated as KDB.
• LibElektra: is a set of libraries to access configuration parameters in a global, hierarchical key database.
• SpecElektra: is a specification language that allows us to describe the content of the global key database.
• Elektra: is a framework consisting of LibElektra, SpecElektra, and a collection of tools.
• To elektrify an application: to change the application so that it uses LibElektra afterwards.
• Elektra Initiative: is a community that develops LibElektra, expands SpecElektra, improves Elektra's tooling and helps to elektrify applications.

Technical Concepts

• Backends: A collection of plugins to be mounted. A backend typically is responsible to read and write a configuration file.
• Bootstrapping: To read the mounting configuration and mount during kdbOpen().
• Cascading: To consider multiple places to look for a key.
• Contracts: Contracts state the purpose, functionality and requirements of plugins.
• Mounting: To persistently and permanently include a backend in the global key database.
• Namespaces: Allow us to have multiple keys for the same purpose and otherwise the same key name.
• Plugins: The unit of implementation for a feature.
• Metadata: Allows us to describe configuration settings.

Details

• Sync Flag: Marks keys that were changed and need to be written out to disc.
• Null Keys, Null Values: The absence of keys or values.
• pop: used in ksPop() and KDB_O_POP means to remove a key from a keyset.
• delete: or abbr. del, used in keyDel(), ksDel() and KDB_O_DEL means to free a key or keyset. The memory can be used for something else afterwards.
• remove: means that the key-value information in the physical database will be removed permanently.