Install kyoto-cabinet with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• kccachetest
• kcdirmgr
• kcdirtest
• kcforestmgr
• kcforesttest
• kcgrasstest
• kchashmgr
• kchashtest
• kclangctest
• kcpolymgr
• kcpolytest
• kcprototest
• kcstashtest
• kctreemgr
• kctreetest
• kcutilmgr
• kcutiltest

Project history

The official specification traces Kyoto Cabinet through the older Unix DBM line: original DBM, NDBM, SDBM, GDBM, TDB, Berkeley DB, QDBM, and Tokyo Cabinet. Hirabayashi wrote QDBM in 2003 to replace GDBM for performance reasons, Tokyo Cabinet in 2007 as a successor to QDBM, and Kyoto Cabinet in 2009 as another successor focused on space efficiency, parallelism, portability, usability, and robustness.

Kyoto Cabinet differs from Tokyo Cabinet by being written in C++ with an object-oriented API, a common interface across multiple database implementations, and portability goals that include non-POSIX systems. Its official page dates the work to the 2009-2012 FAL Labs period and points users toward Tkrzw as its successor.

Adoption history

Kyoto Cabinet became a known package in Unix package managers because it offered an embeddable key-value store with language bindings and command-line utilities. It appealed to users who wanted DBM-style storage without running a full database server.

How it is used

The package installs libraries plus utilities such as kchashmgr, kctreemgr, kcpolymgr, and test tools. Typical uses are local key-value indexes, caches, compact persistent maps, data conversion jobs, and applications that need hash or ordered B+ tree storage behind a simple API.

Why package nerds care

Kyoto Cabinet is package-nerd catnip because it is a whole database lineage compressed into a small C++ library and a pile of precise command-line tools. It is also a reminder of the DBM tradition that predates the Redis/LevelDB/RocksDB era but still solves many local storage problems with less moving machinery.

Timeline

• 2003: Hirabayashi developed QDBM as a performance-oriented GDBM replacement.
• 2007: Tokyo Cabinet was developed as a successor to QDBM.
• 2009: Kyoto Cabinet was developed as another QDBM successor.
• 2011-03-04: The official Kyoto Cabinet page and specification show this last-update date.
• 2020: Tkrzw documentation describes a newer DBM family that succeeds Kyoto Cabinet.

Related projects

• Related projects include original Unix DBM, GDBM, QDBM, Tokyo Cabinet, Tokyo Tyrant, Kyoto Tycoon, Tkrzw, Berkeley DB, LevelDB-like embedded stores, and package-manager bindings for Ruby, Python, Perl, Java, and Lua.

Sources

• https://dbmx.net/kyotocabinet/
• https://dbmx.net/kyotocabinet/spex.html
• https://dbmx.net/tkrzw/
• https://dbmx.net/tokyocabinet/