generic database access methods

I have a package ready to distribute for testing.  Its actually a package cluster
with "Rdbi.base" and "Rdbi.PgSQL."  I've moved the main read loop out of R and
into C and now get around 200K integer reads a second (includes copying results
into a data frame).  I'm happy for someone to take over from here (or to propose
an alternative framework).  Perhaps we can make it a group effort (transfer copyright
to the R project, etc.)  I would suggest that we start with the absolute minimal
interface and add features very carefully.  It would be great to see a general
database framework make it into a future release of R.

Three comments:

(1) We are still trying to figure out how to set up a framework for
discussions of this sort (Martin: any progress on SIG lists)?

(2) It is unlikely that this will `make it into a future release of R', as
our aim is to make R smaller not larger.  Rather, what we would like (I
believe) is a `Recommended Package' that fits alongside R.  We intend to
unbundle quite a lot of what is already there so R has a small kernel and
lots of addons.  There are practical reasons (embedding in other
applications) as well as aesthetic ones.

(3) This is an area where common solutions across R/S would be very
welcome.

Lots of things came out of the Vienna meeting, and some of us at least
had/have still to catch up on our day jobs too, so please bear with us
while we get things set up.  A unified databases interface is definitely on
the list.

Brian

Brian D. Ripley,                  ripley@stats.ox.ac.uk
Professor of Applied Statistics,  http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/
University of Oxford,             Tel:  +44 1865 272861 (self)
1 South Parks Road,                     +44 1865 272860 (secr)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595

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