---
name: "DBD::Mem"
section: "3pm"
platform: "linux"
package: "perl-dbi"
version: "1.656-2"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/DBD::Mem"
---

# DBD::Mem(3pm)

a DBI driver for Mem & MLMem files

## NAME

DBD::Mem - a DBI driver for Mem & MLMem files

## SYNOPSIS

```
 use DBI;
 $dbh = DBI->connect('dbi:Mem:', undef, undef, {});
 $dbh = DBI->connect('dbi:Mem:', undef, undef, {RaiseError => 1});
 # or
 $dbh = DBI->connect('dbi:Mem:');
 $dbh = DBI->connect('DBI:Mem(RaiseError=1):');
```

and other variations on **connect()** as shown in the DBI docs and \<DBI::DBD::SqlEngine metadata\|DBI::DBD::SqlEngine/Metadata\>.

Use standard DBI prepare, execute, fetch, placeholders, etc.

## DESCRIPTION

DBD::Mem is a database management system that works right out of the box. If you have a standard installation of Perl and DBI you can begin creating, accessing, and modifying simple database tables without any further modules. You can add other modules (e.g., SQL::Statement) for improved functionality.

DBD::Mem doesn't store any data persistently - all data has the lifetime of the instantiated `$dbh`. The main reason to use DBD::Mem is to use extended features of SQL::Statement where temporary tables are required. One can use DBD::Mem to simulate `"VIEWS"` or sub-queries.

Bundling `"DBD::Mem"` with DBI will allow us further compatibility checks of DBI::DBD::SqlEngine beyond the capabilities of DBD::File and DBD::DBM. This will ensure DBI provided basis for drivers like DBD::AnyData2 or DBD::Amazon are better prepared and tested for not-file based backends.

### Metadata

There're no new meta data introduced by `"DBD::Mem"`. See "Metadata" in DBI::DBD::SqlEngine for full description.

## GETTING HELP, MAKING SUGGESTIONS, AND REPORTING BUGS

If you need help installing or using DBD::Mem, please write to the DBI users mailing list at \<mailto:dbi-users@perl.org\> or to the comp.lang.perl.modules newsgroup on usenet.  I cannot always answer every question quickly but there are many on the mailing list or in the newsgroup who can.

DBD developers for DBD's which rely on DBI::DBD::SqlEngine or DBD::Mem or use one of them as an example are suggested to join the DBI developers mailing list at \<mailto:dbi-dev@perl.org\> and strongly encouraged to join our IRC channel at \<irc://irc.perl.org/dbi\>.

If you have suggestions, ideas for improvements, or bugs to report, please report a bug as described in DBI. Do not mail any of the authors directly, you might not get an answer.

When reporting bugs, please send the output of `"$dbh->mem_versions($table)"` for a table that exhibits the bug and as small a sample as you can make of the code that produces the bug.  And of course, patches are welcome, too :-).

If you need enhancements quickly, you can get commercial support as described at \<http://dbi.perl.org/support/\> or you can contact Jens Rehsack at rehsack@googlemail.com for commercial support.

## AUTHOR AND COPYRIGHT

This module is written by Jens Rehsack \< rehsack AT googlemail.com \>.

```
 Copyright (c) 2016- by Jens Rehsack, all rights reserved.
```

You may freely distribute and/or modify this module under the terms of either the GNU General Public License (GPL) or the Artistic License, as specified in the Perl README file.

## SEE ALSO

DBI for the Database interface of the Perl Programming Language.

SQL::Statement and DBI::SQL::Nano for the available SQL engines.

SQL::Statement::RAM where the implementation is shamelessly stolen from to allow DBI bundled Pure-Perl drivers increase the test coverage.

DBD::SQLite using `"dbname=:memory:"` for an incredible fast in-memory database engine.