Databases - Firebird Installation

Firebird is available at SourceForge. However, there is no configuration/installation guide.

The following is from a FAQ

 Make sure that the PATH parameter of the alias is blank and 
 the SERVER NAME parameter is setup correctly.

 Following are examples of correct SERVER NAME parameters:

 For local access:
       c:\ibserver\examples\employee.gdb

 For network access using netbeui:
       \\server\\c:\ibserver\examples\employee.gdb

 For network access using TCP/IP
       server:c:\ibserver\examples\employee.gdb [Win NT]
       server:/usr/interbase/examples/v4/employee.gdb [Unix]

 Example of a correctly setup BDE alias:

     TYPE                           INTRBASE
     PATH
     SERVER NAME          server1:c:\ibserver\examples\employee.gdb
     USER NAME            SYSDBA
     OPEN MODE            READ/WRITE
     SCHEMA CACHE SIZE   8
     LANGDRIVER
     SQLQRYMODE
     SQLPASSTHRUMODE     SHARED AUTOCOMMIT
     SCHEMA CACHE TIME   -1

On my system, Path is not a parameter.
server is the name of the machine that is running the Firebird server.

ODBC

Windows 98

Set Driver to

INTERSOLV InterBase ODBC Driver (*.gdb)

Set Database Name to

ConputerName:C:\Program Files\Common Files\Borland Shared\Data\employee.gdb

In the Database Explorer, set ODBC DSN (only valid values appear in the list) and User Name (the ODBC name will not be used). Leave Database Name blank.

In the Database Explorer, when the connection is via ODBC, only Tables and Procedures are visible, and you are not able to add or restructure tables.

In the default database, several tables produce "key violation" errors, but they read ok using the BDE INTERBASE driver.

Windows XP

With Windows XP, I never got ODBC to work.

Database Desktop

This provides a Paradox like interface to databases. It allows you to create new INTERBASE tables, but does not allow you to modify existing tables.

In general, this interface is not very useful for Interbase/Firebird databases.

Run this via Start / Programs / Delphi / Database Desktop

To open a Firebird table, click the Table Open toolbar icon ( or File / Open / Table...) and select the appropriate BDE alias. Once you have logged on, you can select the table.

Create a new Database

You can use ISQL (Start / Programs / InterBase / InterBase Windows ISQL) to create a new database.

Download Firebird Be sure to get a released version - the beta's don't have an installer.

InterBase Frequently Asked Questions contains many helpful topics.

Connecting to a remote server

Author: Robert Clemenzi - clemenzi@cpcug.org