=============
 CouchDB OTP
=============

CouchDB OTP is a project for exploring ways to OTPify CouchDB, making it easier
to use as an embeddable database in Erlang applications.

References:

 | http://github.com/apache/couchdb
 | http://github.com/jchris/hovercraft

Goals
=====

- Use CouchDB as a typical OTP application
- Bypass unneeded components such as HTTP/JSON support
- Use unmodified CouchDB source if possible
- Provide a documented module that exposes CouchDB's public API (`couchdb`)
- Make it easy for developers to obtain and install whatever code they need

Sample usage::

 Eshell V5.7.5  (abort with ^G)
 1> application:start(couchdb).
 2> {ok, Db} = couchdb:create_db("test").
 3> {ok, _} = couchdb:create_doc(Db, [{"name", "Damien"}]).
 4> q().

.. note::

   This project appears almost identical to Hovercraft. However, it goes a bit
   deeper with an attempt to expose CouchDB as a compliant OTP application.

Why
===

CouchDB already supports Erlang applications through various HTTP interface
drivers. What's the point of embedded CouchDB as an Erlang OTP application?

- Simplify the use of CouchDB in Erlang
- Avoid unneeded overhead of HTTP/JSON
- Position Erlang to build distributed database "front ends" using CouchDB as
  the physical data store and replication engine

Approach
========

- Start with a skeletal OTP application
- Use Hovercraft as a reference
- Use helper or wrapper modules to map core CouchDB services into an
  application lifecycle
- Provide for standard application configuration (i.e. use of config files and
  `erl` command line options)
- Provide an API module to simplify use of CouchDB services
- Add other "features" needed to realize the project goals
- Somehow package the module for simlple usage with CouchDB

In theory this should be very doable as CouchDB already uses a number of OTP
conventions. The exercise is therefore more one of packaging and documentation
-- at least in theory.