There are two specifications listed here for DBI. This is slightly incorrect. One is the new specification for DBI, current as of DBI-0.79, the other is the older DBPerl specification.

Developers wishing information on the supported methods of DBI, should consult the new draft specification which can be found here

This section of the DBI documentation is, according to Tim Bunce, out of date. This version is a straight and quick conversion of the DBI Specification v.0.6. It is, however, still a valuable document to read, since it sheds light on the historical reasons and decisions of implementing the DBI in such a way, not to mention containing the specification for the base-level interface we have today.

1. Introduction to DBI
2. Conventions, Structure and Open Issues
3. Database Interaction Functions
4. Error and Event Handling
5. The Switch and the Drivers
6. Attribute names and Values
7. Data Type Conversion Functions
8. Data Dictionary Functions
9. Examples
10. Appendices