Is there any kind of non text interface to MySQL?

Question

I have a MySQL query that returns a result with a single column of integers. Is there any way to get the MySQL C API to transfer this as actually integers rather than as ASCII text? For that matter is there a way to get MySQL to do /any/ of the API stuff as other than ASCII text. I'm thinking this would save a bit of time in sprintf/sscanf or whatever else is used as well as in bandwidth.

Answer 1

to transfer this as actually integers rather than as ASCII text?

What do you mean? Do the mysql libraries give you C strings when you select data out of a table with integer columns, or are you talking about the communication between the mysql server and it's own client libraries?

Answer 2

You're probably out of luck, to be honest. Looking at the MySQL C API (http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/mysql-fetch-row.html, http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/c-api-datatypes.html, look at MYSQL_ROW) there doesn't seem to be a mechanism for returning data in its actual type... the joys of using structs I guess.

You could always implement a wrapper which checks against the MYSQL_ROW's type attribute (http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/c-api-datatypes.html) and returns a C union, but that's probably poor advice; don't do that.

Answer 3

What do you mean? Do the mysql libraries give you C strings ... or are you talking about the communication between the mysql server and it's own client libraries?

Both

Answer 4

You could always implement a wrapper which checks against the MYSQL_ROW's type attribute ... and returns a C union, but that's probably poor advice; don't do that.

I have been known to do worse things:

// union a struct pointer and some data;
union Bob { Foo* ptr, struct {short a, short b}}

// the struct
struct Foo
{
  void Something()
  {
    // pull data out of my this pointer
    Bob bob;
    bob.ptr = this;
    writef("%d, %d\n", bob.a, bob.b);
  }
}

void main()
{
  Bob bob;
  bob.a=1; bob.b=2;
  void delegate() dg = &bob.ptr.Something;
  // other stuff
  dg(); // prints out "1, 2"
}