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C driver

The C language driver was developed by the TypeDB team to enable TypeDB support for C language software and developers.

The GitHub repository with the driver’s source code and release notes.

See the driver’s downloadable packages.

Install

For Linux: the minimum version of glibc is 2.25.0.

See the Version Compatibility table to check what versions of TypeDB and C driver are compatible.

The C driver is distributed as an archive containing the headers & a shared library.

To install TypeDB C driver:

  1. Download the latest release for your architecture (x86_64/arm64) and OS (Linux/macOS/Win).

  2. Place the library file in the lib directory inside your project folder and the header files in the include directory.

  3. Configure the build and include the header file typedb_driver.hpp from the include directory. See an example of CMakeLists.txt below:

    CMakeLists.txt example
    cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)
    project (Tutorial C)
    link_directories(./lib)
    include_directories(./include)
    add_executable(tutorial tutorial.c)
    IF (WIN32)
        target_link_libraries(tutorial typedb_driver_clib.dll.lib)
    ELSE()
        target_link_libraries(tutorial typedb_driver_clib)
    ENDIF()

Quickstart

See below a short example of C code that connects to a local TypeDB server, creates a database named access-management-db, defines a schema, inserts some data, and then reads it.

#include <stdio.h>
#include "../include/typedb_driver.h"

#define SERVER_ADDR "127.0.0.1:1729"
#define DB_NAME "access-management-db"

#define FAILED() check_error_may_print(__FILE__, __LINE__)

void handle_error(const char* message) {
    fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", message);
    exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}

bool check_error_may_print(const char* filename, int lineno) {
    if (check_error()) {
        Error* error = get_last_error();
        char* errcode = error_code(error);
        char* errmsg = error_message(error);
        fprintf(stderr, "Error!\nCheck called at %s:%d\n%s: %s\n", filename, lineno, errcode, errmsg);
        string_free(errmsg);
        string_free(errcode);
        error_drop(error);
        return true;
    } else return false;
}

void delete_database_if_exists(DatabaseManager* databaseManager, const char* name) {
    if (NULL != databaseManager && databases_contains(databaseManager, name)) {
        Database* database = databases_get(databaseManager, name);
        database_delete(database);
    }
}

void createDatabase(DatabaseManager* dbManager, const char* dbName) {
    Session* session = NULL;
    Transaction* tx = NULL;
    Options* opts = options_new();
    ConceptMapIterator* response1 = NULL;
    ConceptMapIterator* response2 = NULL;
    delete_database_if_exists(dbManager, dbName);
    printf("Creating new database: %s\n", dbName);
    databases_create(dbManager, dbName);
    if (FAILED()) {
        handle_error("Database creation failed.");
        goto cleanup;
    }
    session = session_new(dbManager, dbName, Schema, opts);
    if (session == NULL || FAILED()) {
        goto cleanup;
    }
    tx = transaction_new(session, Write, opts);
    if (tx == NULL || FAILED()) {
        handle_error("Transaction failed to start.");
        goto cleanup;
    }
    void_promise_resolve(query_define(tx, "define person sub entity;", opts));
    if (FAILED()) {
        handle_error("Query execution failed.");
        transaction_close(tx);
        goto cleanup;
    }
    void_promise_resolve(query_define(tx, "define name sub attribute, value string; person owns name;", opts));
    if (FAILED()) {
        handle_error("Query execution failed.");
        transaction_close(tx);
        goto cleanup;
    }
    void_promise_resolve(transaction_commit(tx));
    if (FAILED()) {
        handle_error("Transaction commit failed.");
        goto cleanup;
    }
    printf("Schema setup complete.\n");
    session_close(session);

    session = session_new(dbManager, dbName, Data, opts);
    if (session == NULL || FAILED()) {
        goto cleanup;
    }
    tx = transaction_new(session, Write, opts);
    if (tx == NULL || FAILED()) {
        handle_error("Transaction failed to start.");
        goto cleanup;
    }
    response1 = query_insert(tx, "insert $p isa person, has name 'Alice';", opts);
    if (FAILED()) {
        handle_error("Query execution failed.");
        transaction_close(tx);
        goto cleanup;
    }
    response2 = query_insert(tx, "insert $p isa person, has name 'Bob';", opts);
    if (FAILED()) {
        handle_error("Query execution failed.");
        transaction_close(tx);
        goto cleanup;
    }
    void_promise_resolve(transaction_commit(tx));
    if (FAILED()) {
        handle_error("Transaction commit failed.");
        goto cleanup;
    }
    printf("Data setup complete.\n");
cleanup:
    concept_map_iterator_drop(response1);
    concept_map_iterator_drop(response2);
    session_close(session);
    options_drop(opts);
}

void query(DatabaseManager* dbManager, const char* dbName) {
    Session* dataSession = NULL;
    Transaction* tx = NULL;
    Options* opts = options_new();
    StringIterator* queryResult = NULL;

    dataSession = session_new(dbManager, dbName, Data, opts);
    if (dataSession == NULL || FAILED()) {
        goto cleanup;
    }
    tx = transaction_new(dataSession, Write, opts);
    if (tx == NULL || FAILED()) {
        handle_error("Transaction failed to start.");
        goto cleanup;
    }

    queryResult = query_fetch(tx, "match $p isa person, has name $n; fetch $n;", opts);
    if (queryResult == NULL || FAILED()) {
        handle_error("Query failed or no results.");
        goto cleanup;
    }

    char* userJSON = string_iterator_next(queryResult);
    int counter = 1;
    while (userJSON != NULL) {
        printf("User #%d: ", counter++);
        printf("%s \n",userJSON);
        userJSON = string_iterator_next(queryResult);
    }

    printf("Test complete.\n");
cleanup:
    string_iterator_drop(queryResult);
    transaction_close(tx);
    session_close(dataSession);
    options_drop(opts);
}

int main() {
    bool result = EXIT_FAILURE;
    Connection* connection = NULL;
    DatabaseManager* databaseManager = NULL;
    connection = connection_open_core(SERVER_ADDR);
    if (!connection || FAILED()) {
        handle_error("Failed to connect to TypeDB.");
        goto cleanup;
    }
    databaseManager = database_manager_new(connection);
    if (!databaseManager || FAILED()) {
        handle_error("Failed to get database manager.");
        goto cleanup;
    }
    createDatabase(databaseManager, DB_NAME);
    if (FAILED()) {
        handle_error("Failed to create the database.");
        goto cleanup;
    }
    query(databaseManager, DB_NAME);
    if (FAILED()) {
        handle_error("Failed to query the database.");
        goto cleanup;
    }
    result = EXIT_SUCCESS;
cleanup:
    database_manager_drop(databaseManager);
    connection_close(connection);
    exit(result);
}

For more information on methods used above and other capabilities, see the API reference link below.

Troubleshooting

dyld error: library not loaded

If you encounter the following error:

dyld[54800]: Library not loaded: bazel-out/darwin-opt/bin/c/libtypedb_driver_clib.dylib

Use the following command to set the path for your TypeDB C driver library to the lib directory inside your project:

export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=./lib

Learn more

This tutorial will help you learn how to use the C driver.

Driver API reference for the C language.

Any questions about the driver after reading the documentation? Feel free to ask on our Discord community server.

Version Compatibility

C driver TypeDB TypeDB Community Edition

2.28.0

2.28.0

2.28.0

2.27.0

2.27.0

2.27.0

2.26.6

2.26.6

2.26.6