ELEKTRA-GLOSSARY(7)

NAME
elektra-glossary - glossary of Elektra

Introduction

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 /src/libs/ to access configuration parameters in a global, hierarchical key database.

SpecElektra
    is a specification language /doc/METADATA.ini 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.

Option, more specifically Command-line option
    is a special argument passed on the command-line. Short options are single characters prefixed with '-'; Long options are arbitrarily long and start with '--'.

Technical Concepts

Backends elektra-backends.md
    A collection of plugins to be mounted. A backend typically is responsible to read and write a configuration file.

Bootstrapping elektra-bootstrapping.md
    To read the mounting configuration and mount during kdbOpen().

Cascading elektra-cascading.md
    To consider multiple places to look for a key.

Contracts elektra-contracts.md
    Contracts state the purpose, functionality and requirements of plugins.

Mounting elektra-mounting.md
    To persistently and permanently include a backend in the global key database. The mountpoint is the key where the backend is mounted to. All keys of the backend are below that key.

Namespaces elektra-namespaces.md
    Allow us to have multiple keys for the same purpose and otherwise the same key name.

Plugins /src/plugins
    The unit of implementation for a feature.

Metadata elektra-metadata.md
    Allows us to describe configuration settings.

Details

Sync Flag elektra-sync-flag.md
    Marks keys that were changed and need to be written out to disc.

Null Keys, Null Values elektra-values.md
    The absence of keys or values.

pop used in ksPop() and @ref KDB_O_POP means to remove a key from a keyset.

delete
    or abbr. del, used in keyDel(), ksDel() and @ref 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.