Opening a Smart Large Object

You can open a smart large object with one of the following functions:

• The mi_lo_open( ) function
• One of the smart-large-object creation functions: mi_lo_copy( ), mi_lo_create( ), mi_lo_expand( ), or mi_lo_from_file( )

These functions open the smart large object in a particular open mode, which in turn determines the lock mode of the smart large object. When you open a smart large object with the mi_lo_copy( ), mi_lo_create( ), mi_lo_expand( ), or mi_lo_open( ) function, you tell the database server the open mode for the smart large object in either of the following ways:

• Provide an open mode of zero (0) as an argument to specify use of the default open mode of the smart large object.

  For information on how to associate a default open mode with a smart large object, see Accessing the Default Open Flag.

• Provide a non-zero open-mode argument to override the default open mode with an open mode you provide.

  Choose the appropriate open-mode constants from the list in Table 39. If you need to set more than one open-mode value, use the C-language bitwise OR operator (|) to mask open-mode constants together.

All these open functions return an LO file descriptor, through which you can access the data of a smart large object as if it were in an operating-system file.