Many people, instead of directly using DBI, would opt to to use one of the ORMs (Object Relation Mapping) available for Perl. The most popular being DBIx::Class (a.k.a. DBIC) that wraps DBI.

Examples

Simple database access using Perl DBI and SQL

Database Drivers (DBDs)

• For Oracle use DBD::Oracle.
• For Microsoft SQL Server you can use either DBD::ODBC or DBD::ADO.
• For MySQL and MariaDB use DBD::mysql.
• For IBM DB2 use DBD::DB2.
• For IBM Informix use DBD::Informix.
• For SAP Sybase use DBD::Sybase.
• For PostgreSQL use DBD::Pg.
• For SQLite use DBD::SQLite.
• For Teradata you have two choices: DBD::Teradata is the older. It has a version off CPAN, but it is uncler to me if it is being maintained now. Teradata::SQL is less comprehensive and it does not work with DBI. It has a different API. The author of the latter seems to be much more responsive.
• For Daegis Inc, what was formerly called the Unify database use DBD::Unify.
• For Neo4j graph database you can use REST::Neo4p that allows for the execution of Neo4j Cypher language queries, or DBD::Neo4p which is a DBI-compliant wrapper around that module.

Generic Database Drivers (DBDs)

• DBD::ADO for Microsoft ADO (ActiveX Data Objects) (There is also a Win32::ADO module but that's not recommended.)
• DBD::ODBC to connect to any database via ODBC (Open Database Connectivity)
• Win32::ODBC solely exist for backwards compatibility. It started life in 1996 when DBD::ODBC didn't exist yet, and Perl on Windows was still a fork that couldn't build CPAN modules (it didn't even support MakeMaker). Use DBD::ODBC instead.

Special Database Drivers

There are all kinds of other Database Drivers that can be used to make data look like they are in a Relational Database.

• DBD::PO for PO (Portable Object) files used by gettext for internationalization and localization (i18n)
• DBD::CSV allows us to access CSV files. For example Calculating bank balance using DBD::CSV
• DBD::DBM for DBM and MLDBM files.
• DBD::Mock is a database driver for testing
• DBD::iPod connects DBI to an iPod
• DBD::Google to treat Google as relational database.
• DBD::Sys treat System tables as a relational database.

Not Database Drivers

There are some module in the DBD::* namespace that are not Database drivers.

• DBD::Log is a logging mechanism for DBI

Wrappers around DBI

• DBIx::Class (a.k.a. DBIC)
• Pcore::DBD works on top of the Pcore application framework. It provides general API for:
  • Connections cache for use with forks and threads.
  • Query builder with support of particular db server specific syntax.
  • Schema management (apply / revert changesets).
  • More handy functions for fetching data (from my point of view).

See also the comprehensive list of all the DBD modules.

Other database related articles

• MongoDB