# HG changeset patch
# User cat@eee
# Date 1268341902 18000
# Node ID 4bd3145bff1b1ef98295a61d132aff271faa714f
# Parent  8937b1476c4295481390225f0528ebe14d00a608
begin design notes

diff -r 8937b1476c42 -r 4bd3145bff1b docs/source/design.rst
--- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
+++ b/docs/source/design.rst	Thu Mar 11 16:11:42 2010 -0500
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+============
+Design Notes
+============
+
+These design notes will hopefully not be necessary for routine use
+of sqlpython; they describe implementation details intended to be
+transparent to the user.  However, if you get involved in developing
+or debugging - or if something goes wrong (which it sometimes will) -
+this information may be of interest. 
+
+Pickled metadata
+----------------
+
+sqlpython relies on Gerald to collect metadata, and this collection
+takes some time.  When a database connection is made, a Gerald 
+connection is initiated; to provide preliminary metadata before that
+Gerald collection is complete, sqlpython looks for a picklefile
+storing metadata collected during an earlier session.  When the fresh
+metadata collection is complete, it is stored in pickled form for the
+next session.
+
+
+
+
diff -r 8937b1476c42 -r 4bd3145bff1b docs/source/index.rst
--- a/docs/source/index.rst	Tue Mar 09 23:27:16 2010 -0500
+++ b/docs/source/index.rst	Thu Mar 11 16:11:42 2010 -0500
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
    capabilities
    limitations
    comparison
-
+   design
 
 Indices and tables
 ==================