/** \page backendapi QOF Backend Design

		     Derek Atkins
		   <derek@ihtfp.com>

		   Neil Williams
		   <linux@codehelp.co.uk>

Created: 2002-10-07
Updated: 2005-05-22

API: \ref Backend

\section outline Outline:

The Backend Query API allows caching of a Query (meaning the Backend
does not have to recompile the Query every time the query is executed).

\section newobjects New QOF Objects

The engine has a set of APIs to load new data types into the engine.
The Backends use this as well. There is a noticeable difference
between QOF and GnuCash: GnuCash extends the backend by defining routines
for each object. QOF backends handle each object equally and generically.

A new object is declared using the base QOF types and zero or more
references to other QOF objects. Each QOF backend must handle each
base QOF type and references to other objects - usually by storing
the type of the referenced object and the GUID of the referenced object
as the value and the GUID of the original object as the key in a
GHashTable or other lookup mechanism within the backend. See
::QofEntityReference.

\section backendqueries Handling Queries:

The backend query API is broken into three pieces:

\subsection querycompile Compiling a QofQuery
\verbatim
	gpointer (*query_compile)(QofBackend* be, QofQuery* query);
\endverbatim
	compiles a QofQuery* into whatever QofBackend language is necessary.

\subsection queryfree Free the query
\verbatim
	void (*query_free)(Backend* be, gpointer query);
\endverbatim
	frees the compiled Query (obtained from the query_compile method).

\subsection queryrun Run the query
\verbatim
    void (*query_run)(Backend* be, gpointer query);
\endverbatim
	executes the compiled Query and inserts the responses into the
	engine.  It will search for the type corresponding to the
	Query search_for type: gncQueryGetSearchFor().  Note that the
	search type CANNOT change between a compile and the execute,
	but the query infrastructure maintains that invariant.

In this manner, a Backend (e.g. the Postgres backend) can compile the
Query into its own format (e.g. a SQL expression) and then use the
pre-compiled expression every run instead of rebuilding the
expression.

There is an implementation issue in the case of Queries across
multiple Books.  Each book could theoretically be in a different
backend, which means we need to tie the compiled query to the book's
Backend for which it was compiled.  This is an implementation detail,
and not even a challenging one, but it needs to be clearly
acknowledged up front.

\section backendload When to load data?

Data loads into the engine at two times, at start time and at query
time. Loading data during queries is discussed above.  This section
discusses data loaded at startup.

\verbatim
    void session_load(QofBackend*, QofBook*);
\endverbatim

This one API loads all the necessary "start-time" data, There is no
need to have multiple APIs for each of the data types loaded at start-time.
*/
============================== END OF DOCUMENT =====================
