TurboCASH on Lazarus/Firebird "proof of concept"

Developers from turboCASH are asking for Lazarus programers (people that program using Lazarus IDE) to set up a small test application to prove that Lazarus can be IDE of choice to port turboCASH to Linux.

there is information on how to adapt existing turboCASH code to run on Lazarus here:

http://www.box.co.za/wiki/index.php/Roadmap_Linux#Lazarus

Also read the original mail from turboCASH developer Philip Coperman:

-----------------------------------

Can anyone help with the following on Linux:

1) Setup a simple "proof of concept" in Lazarus

-------------------------------------------------------------
1) Lazarus and Linux

There are some useful contributions on Getting Lazarus and TurboCASH for Linux going here:

http://www.box.co.za/wiki/index.php/Roadmap_Linux#Lazarus

We have decided to use Firebird (80%) and possibly support MySQL (20%). In the Windows Project we are converting the current Delphi Code to work with Firebird and will add MySQL support if required afterwards. (In my project experience, that becomes unlikely)

I am now more concerned about:

1) How we are going to connect to the Firebird Database (and/or MySQL) - In Delphi we are using ZEOS Lib

2) What are we going to use for a Grid. In Delphi/Windows we use a quality commercial package - Infopower. I have struggled to find and Open Source alternative. Project Jedi seems to offer the best. The Grid is what gives TurboCASH batches and invoices that really friendly Spreadsheet look. How will we do this in Lazarus/Linux?

3) How are we going to write reports - In Delphi Linux we use Free Reports and Reportman. We have a legacy history with Quick Reports.

If you Linux guys (Even the Lazarus on Windows guys) - Could do the following :

i) Download the TurboCASH/Delphi project. Steal whatever you need
ii) "Open " a set of books simply by connecting to the TurboCASH Fro bird Database
iii) Set up any grid you like to edit any record you like in TurboCASH
iv) Write a simple report (take any one of ch windows one)

If we can do the above we can consider Lazarus as a serious proposition.
..::firebird::..::mysql::..::delphi::..::pascal::..

Wolf , Dolphin and Firebird - Story

Quote of the day

Until then, as Mickos has reportedly said, MySQL is sticking by the premise that trying to kill open-source products by buying companies that make open-source products is like trying to kill a dolphin by drinking the ocean.

..::firebird::..

MySQL Makes an Acquisition - Blog of the day

A bit more on a previous post about the acquisition offer Oracle made MySQL recently. The more I think about it, the more I think SAP is the intended target here. Why? Just look at the money involved.
Read Jeremy's Blog
MySQL::..:: Netfrastructure::..:: Firebird::..:: Oracle::..:: SAP::..:: Open Source

What will be fixed in Firebird v2.0 Release Candidate 1 - Tales from the Changelog

    * Fixed unregistered bug
        A few types of subqueries are wrongly treated as being variant,
        causing performance issues
      Contributor(s):
        Dmitry Yemanov 

    * Fixed Beta 2 bug (SF #$1433583)
        Unexpected error "key size exceeds implementation restriction" for UTF-8 charset
      Contributor(s):
        Adriano dos Santos Fernandes 

    * Fixed unregistered bug
        Indices used in explicit plans inside PSQL could be dropped, thus causing restore issues
      Contributor(s):
        Adriano dos Santos Fernandes 

    * Fixed unregistered bug
        fb_lock_print fails with message:
        "the requested operation cannot be performed on a file with a user-mapped section open".
      Contributor(s):
        Vlad Horsun 

    * Information API enhancements
        1) isc_info_active_transactions_count returns number of active transactions (SF #1315814)
        2) isc_transaction_info returns transaction isolation level and options (SF #1089646)
        3) isc_info_creation_date returns creation date of the database
      See also:
        /doc/sql.extensions/README.isc_info_xxx
      Contributor(s):
        Vlad Horsun 

    * Fixed unregistered bug
        Transaction ID cannot silently (and dangerously) overflow anymore (the limit is still 231)
      Contributor(s):
        Vlad Horsun 

    * Fixed unregistered bug
        Read committed transactions block garbage collection
      Contributor(s):
        Vlad Horsun 

    * Fixed unregistered bug
        ALL predicate may return wrong results
      Contributor(s):
        Dmitry Yemanov 

    * Fixed unregistered bug
        Thread safety issues in datetime functions of the FBUDF library
      Contributor(s):
        Claudio Valderrama 

    * Build improvement
        FBUDF library no longer depends on FBCLIENT
      Contributor(s):
        Claudio Valderrama 

    * Fixed unregistered bug
        Permissions are not checked for view columns
      Contributor(s):
        Dmitry Yemanov 

    * Fixed unregistered bug
        Server crashes if positioned UPDATE/DELETE is executed via DSQL
        and it references a cursor which is already released.
      Contributor(s):
        Vlad Horsun 

    * Fixed SF bug #1404157
        DFW is not ready for RECREATE TABLE/VIEW
      Contributor(s):
        Dmitry Yemanov 

    * Fixed unregistered bug
        Restored the code which replaces ROLLBACK with COMMIT if a transaction
        has not modified any data
      Contributor(s):
        Dmitry Yemanov 

    * Fixed unregistered bug
        ROW_COUNT is cleared after SUSPEND execution
      Contributor(s):
        Dmitry Yemanov 

    * Fixed SF bug #1408079
        Parser does not validate string literal markers
      Contributor(s):
        Claudio Valderrama 

    * Fixed Beta 2 bug
        Incorrect ambiguity error raised for quantified predicates (ANY/ALL/IN)
      Contributor(s):
        Arno Brinkman 

    * Fixed unregistered bugs
        1) Wrong statistics if relation\index data is longer than 232 bytes length
        2) Wrong statistics: average index key length rounded to integer value
      Contributor(s):
        Vlad Horsun 

    * Fixed unregistered bug
        Attachments with isc_dpb_no_garbage_collect option force the sweep
      Contributor(s):
        Vlad Horsun 

    * Fixed Beta 2 bug
        Wrong string length calculated for UNICODE_FSS system domains
        in users views and tables
      Contributor(s):
        Adriano dos Santos Fernandes 
        Dmitry Yemanov 

    * Fixed Beta 2 bug
        Incorrectly stored source for CURRENT_TIME\CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
        in procedure parameters default values
      Contributor(s):
        Vlad Horsun 

..::firebird::..

World Domination with Firebird - Mastering Firebird Book

“The Firebird Book” is now avalable in Portuguese, "Dominando Firebird: Uma Referência Para Desenvolvedores de Bancos de Dados".

Brazilian’s version of Helen Borrie’s book was released today by LCM publisher, the same publisher of “Firebird Essencial“. In some weeks, LCM will release the “IB Expert” book in portuguese and a new book about Firebird Security Tips (by Luiz Paulo de O. Santos). Helen’s book title was changed to “Dominando Firebird”, something like “Mastering Firebird”.

Permalink

..::firebird::..

OSDB market soap opera update (mysql and firebird)

A quick pointer to the news announcement that mysql has purchased a company called netfrastructure inc, which happens to employ Jim Starkey (one of the founders of InterBase, an ancestor to Firebird) and perhaps more importantly Ann Harrison, one of th…
..::firebird::..::mysql::..::postgresql::..

What has happened to the Open Source Database Consortium?

A while ago, people from the major Open Source
database systems have met to form the Open Source Database Consortium - that was in October 2005.

OK,
that's not that long ago, but I hope that the ambitions to co-operate
aren't over again. It was told that a website will be created at www.osdbconsortium.org.
There's nothing to see except a "Just a web page" note. I haven't heard
any news about this since October - I believe, it would be nice if
MySQL, PostgreSQL, Firebird etc. could do some things together. That
would certainly be more welcoming than any deal with a proprietary
database vendor.

Read more on :Markus Popp's blog
..::firebird::..::mysql::..::postgresql::..

Oracle - they are just anti RDBMS competition - quote of the day

But on the whole Oracle isn't anti-open-source (look at what they are doing with linux), they are just anti RDBMS competition, and especially anti commercial RDBMS competition (and especially anti anti against RDBMS and SAP competition).

From Robert Treat blog via planetpostgresql.org

..::firebird::..::mysql::..::oracle::..

MySQL's response to Oracle's moves

MySQL have responded in the best way they can by Acquiring Netfrastructure, Inc, and as part of the agreement Jim Starkey will be working fulltime for MySQL AB. Jim Starkey is the father of Interbase (which forked into Firebird) as well as the inventor of the term blob.

Digg it
..::firebird::..::mysql::..::oracle::..

the wolf is gone to mysql - Jim Starkey joined MySQL AB

Jim Starkey, the original creator
of InterBase which became Firebird, just made it publicly known that he
now works for MySQL AB.

My company, Netfrastructure, Inc., has been acquired by MySQL, AB. As

part of the agreement, I will be working full time for MySQL. I expect

to lurk on the architecture list from time to time and may contribute

the occasional wolf-o-gram, but I will not be taking an active part in

Firebird development. Although Ann will work for MySQL, part time,

translating from wolf to English, she will continue to be active in the


Firebird project.

My decision to join MySQL has almost nothing to do with Firebird and

everything to do with Netfrastructure. The Netfrastructure platform

represents what I feel about contemporary computing hardware and future

application requirements, and has been the center of my technical heart

and soul for six year. Some aspects of Netfrastructure technology have

already been contributed to the Vulcan project, but Firebird and

Netfrastructure are architecturally incompatible. An attempt to

integrate the technologies would be unlikely to meet the goals of either


project.

MySQL and Firebird have never seen each other as competitors and I doubt

this will change in the future. The projects have different open source

philosophies, different technologies, different customer bases, and

different sweet spots. The ideas behind the two projects are, happily,

public and available to all. If MySQL and Firebird compete, it is only

competition in offering the best possible support to their respective

customers.

I am pleased to have had the opportunity to finish the Vulcan project.


The combination of Vulcan SMP and architecture combined the rich feature

set of Firebird 2 will make a solid release and a superb platform for

future development.

I wish the Firebird project all the best in years to come. And if you

need an opinion, please feel free to call.

Permalink
| Leave your comment
..::firebird::..::mysql::..

Backup your del.icio.us bookmarks in Firebird

"I'm a fan of del.icio.us because it allows me to seamlessly access my bookmars from whichever computer I am currently logged in to. A comment in a posting on this blog some time ago, brought my attention to Scuttle, an Open Source version of del.icio.us written in PHP. Scuttle is currently available in version 0.6.0.

The underlying database into which scuttle stores users and bookmarks, can be any of MySQL, Oracle, Postgres, SqLite, DB2, Firebird, and a couple others"

Read more on Jan-Piet's blog
http://blog.fupps.com/2006/02/16/delicious-scuttle/

..::firebird::..

Why Pay for a Database? - Why pay for sex when you can get it free?

As open-source databases have grown in popularity among large enterprises and small and midsize businesses alike, many CIOs have taken a closer look at the savings associated with switching to these noncommercial alternatives.

Despite the attractive prices that are drawing more CIOs to open-source applications such as MySQL and PostgreSQL, traditional software Relevant Products/Services from Insight vendors have not exactly thrown in the towel. Some — including Oracle, Microsoft, and IBM — are fighting back by releasing free, scaled-down versions of their fully featured database products in the hopes that customers might one day upgrade.

But the question remains: Does it make good business sense to pay for a commercial database product when well-established, open-source versions pose enticing alternatives? A growing migration away from commercial software suggests that, for many customers, it does not.

http://business.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=41585

..::firebird::..::mysql::..::postgresql::..::mssql::..::oracle::..::db2::..

Open source database ‘years away from being a serious contender’

First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you,
then you win.
by Mahatma Gandhi.

http://xrl.us/j2jd (Link to www.computerweekly.com)

Permalink | Leave your comment

..::firebird::..::mysql::..::postgresql::..
::mssql::..::oracle::..::db2::..

Firebird and SQL 2003 standard Conformance

This document outlines how much Firebird conforms to the current SQL standard.[2003] Please note that the following information is not a full statement of conformance, but just information for those interested in the subject.

What is your main language used with FB?

Seems that 80% of firebird users are  Delphi users
if i look at this pool votes (the one on the right sidebar)
http://www.firebirdnews.org/
In a way is no shock to me  - i started working as an interbase / Delphi
programmer
I think Lazarus+firebird package needs more attention (better
documentation+ more articles etc)

..::firebird::..::delphi::..::php::..::c#::..::java::..::c++::..::vb::..::ruby::..::asp.net::..::python::..

Porting the EMPLOYEE database from Firebird 2.0 to MySQL 5.1 part 7&8

Pabloj (moderator at devshed.com forums) wrote the last steps from
it's porting/comparative guide
Part 7 - Part8
..::firebird::..::mysql::..::database::..

Firebird and FireBase in “Anuario InfoCorporate 2006″

Firebird and FireBase (Brazilian Firebird dedicated portal) is mentioned in the Database section of the 2006 edition of “Anuário InfoCorporate“. Some months ago, a journalist from InfoCorporate called me by phone and made a small interview about Open Source databases and Firebird to be used in the publication.

The publication is a major source of indexed information to make the work of finding the best services/consulting providers of a specific area easier.

An excerpt of the article be be viewed below (portuguese only):

See remaining text… »

..::firebird::..::open source::..

SQL Manager 2005 for InterBase/Firebird released!

Written by EMS Software Development

Friday, 10 February 2006

EMS Software Development Company has released SQL Manager 2005 for InterBase/Firebird - the new major version of the powerful InterBase and Firebird administration and development tool! SQL Manager 2005 is compatible with any Firebird version up to 2.0 and InterBase version up to 7.5 and supports all of the latest features. It offers plenty of powerful tools for experienced users such as Visual Database Designer, Visual Query Builder and Stored Procedure Debugger to satisfy all their needs. EMS Software Development Company has released SQL Manager 2005 for InterBase/Firebird - the new major version of the powerful InterBase and Firebird administration and development tool!

You can learn more about SQL Manager 2005 for InterBase/Firebird at: http://www.sqlmanager.net/products/ibfb/manager




You can download SQL Manager 2005 for InterBase/Firebird at: http://www.sqlmanager.net/products/ibfb/manager/download

..::firebird::..

Firebird 2 beta 2 released

The Firebird Project has released the second Firebird 2.0 beta. Over the weekend, kits for Win32, Linux x86 (including NPTL builds for Superserver) and Linux x64 are being released for testing. Mirrors are slowly filling up; slower downloads from the pre-release area are also available temporarily but please try the main (mirror) links first.

You can download it here.

Thanks for Jiri Cincura for leting us know about this.

Permalink | Leave your comment

..::firebird::..::database::..::sql::..

firebird 1.5.3 gentoo package updated

Changed inetd USE flag to xinetd, bug #121886. Added doc USE flag handling useful docs from firebird website
http://packages.gentoo.org/ebuilds/?firebird-1.5.3-r1
..::firebird::..::gentoo::..::linux::..

Firebird Powered Web Forum dnfBB

dnfBB is a n-Tier, fast and lightweight .Net-powered discussion board written in C#. With native support for multiple forums within the same database structure. Initially designed to work with Firebird and MySQL, support for other databases is planned.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/dnfbb

..::firebird::..::mono::..::.Net::..::csharp::..::mysql::..::oracle::..::mssql::..::postgresql::..

Killing Microsoft Exchange with Firebird+Mailtraq

ServerWatch: Mailtraq Keeps Budgets, Features on Track "A budget friendly alternative to Microsoft Exchange" - uses Firebird.
..::firebird..::..microsoft..::..exchange::..

Status of the Firebird Tutorial for .NET

At the beginning of January I posted a Request for Ideas: Firebird in .NET Tutorial. First of all, thanks to all who contributed their ideas.

I'm currently working hard on the tutorial. The original idea was to write just a quick introduction but it seems there is a lot to tell... The weakest point of Firebird seems to be the lack of freely available documentation - so I decided to invest a little bit more time in the tutorial.

..::firebird::..::mono::..::dotnet::..::.net::..

Sequoia 2.6: A Transparent Middleware Solution with firebird support

Sequoia is a transparent middleware solution for clustering, load balancing and failover services for any database. The database is distributed and replicated among several nodes and Sequonia balances the queries among nodes. It is also known to handle node failures and support for checkpointing and hot recovery. It was formerly known as the clustered JDBC project and provides high availability and performance scalability for databases.

More about it on jax magazine

..::firebird::..::jdbc::..::java::..::clusters::..::mysql::..::postgresql::..
::mssql::..::oracle::..::db2::..

Lazarus 0.9.12 released

The Lazarus team is glad to announce the 0.9.12 release. This release is based on fpc 2.0.2 and the binary packages now contain many standard packages:

This release can be downloaded from the sourceforge download page:
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=89339

Detailed list of changes

Lazarus supports Firebird with SQLdb package that comes with the IDE
or third party components.

..::firebird::..::lazarus::..::delphi::..

Playing with the Firebird Database - Blog of the day

In my last blog entry reguarding the rumored SunDB I immediately discounted the Firebird Database as a contender. In the comments posted to that entry it was suggested that Firebird shouldn't be so quickly discarded and may even be a "diamond in the rough". Well, if I'm wrong I'm willing to explore it and admit that I'm wrong if thats the case, afterall, what if Firebird really that great? I certainly don't want to miss out on a good thing. So thanks to Gentoo I quickly emerged Firebird 1.5.2 and started playing.

..::firebird::..

Quote of the day - I tried to make Interbase as simple and fast as possible : no tuning , no configuration control , no overrides

It's from 2000 and from Firebird Architect list

"What I'm trying to do is establish a cultural mindset for Interbase
development, soon to be a world wide effort, that easy to use means
intelligence in the system, not thousands of individual features.

Open Source has produced some very high quality software but often

at a cost of great obscurity.  Samba, for examples, emulates what
on Windows takes three mouse clicks, but requires 140 pages of
documentation to read and understand before installation.  Of
the "info" documentation reader with so many easy to remember
commands that they ran out upper case letters, lower case letters,
control-letters that they had to resort to keyboard chords.

I tried to make Interbase as simple and fast as possible -- no
tuning (other than indexes), no configuration control (undone
by Sys-V shared memory!), no overrides.  Where tuning was
traditionally required, I found alternative algorithms that
we insensitive to tuning.  Although memory sizes now make
the feature unnecessary, the optimizer computers the number of
page buffers required to efficiently perform a query and
warns the cache manager to find more memory.

I want Interbase developed by people who believe that smart,
small, and simple is good.  I want it used by people with
a problem to solve but who don't want to be database experts.


Jim Starkey"

..::firebird::..

Speed Comparison - Sqlite Posgtresql Mysql and Firebird

Benchmarks with Firebird 1.5.2 and the rest of the pack , Draw your own conclusions

http://www.sqlite.org/cvstrac/wiki?p=SpeedComparison

Spoted on Tim Anderson's Tech writing blog

..::firebird::..mysql::..sqllite::..postgresql::..

New Evans Data Survey

“Evans Data: Today we have posted the 2006 Linux/Open Source Software survey. The survey is open to ALL panelists familiar with Linux or open source software.”

Firebird is mentioned in two questions:

Which Open Source databases do you use most often?

What database are you using on the platform for which MOST of your applications are targeted?

Don’t forget to vote for Firebird!

Permalink | Leave your comment

..::firebird::..

ANN: CopyCat Replication Suite version 1.03.0

Microtec is pleased to announce a new version of CopyCat, our Delphi /
C++Builder component set for database replication.

CopyCat can be used for integrating replication functionality into your
applications, or for making your own customized replicators, enabling
off-site database work, asynchronous work over slow connections,
automatic live backup, etc.

For information about CopyCat, see here

Changes in version 1.03.0:

See remaining text… »

• Added support for BDS 2006.
  
• Added a new OnResolveConflict event, providing easy access to all the
  information concerning the conflict, and allowing the user to resolve
  the conflict in a simple way.
  
• Removed TCcTables and TCcProcedures components. Instead, TCcConfig
  now creates two new tables in the database, RPL$TABLES and
  RPL$PROCEDURES, thus replacing and simplifying the previous INI-file
  system, which was too error-prone.
  
• The example projects have been considerably improved and extended.
  
• Added a Getting started manual, explaining the first steps to using
  CopyCat, as well as detailing each of the provided examples.
  
• Fixed some internal errors, that sometimes caused access violations
  and IDE instability at design-time.
  

« Hide it

Permalink | Leave your comment

..::firebird::..

Firebird 1.5.3 and Trustix linux

Here are the experiences on Trustix 3 , and maybe someone will contribute the firebrd rpm to trustix too. (with dependencies solved)
..::firebird::..trustix::..linux::..

Firebird 1.5.3 debian packages are available for testing

I've done preparing Firebird 1.5.3 packages.

deb[-src] ftp://shrek.creditreform.bg/public sid main

All feedback is warmly welcome. If no problems are found, I'll proceed with
upload to the archive.

Ah, also there you can find packages for flamerobin.

Damyan Ivanov
All you need to do is to add the above repository to your /etc/apt/sources.list
and then apt-get update ; apt-cache search firebird
then install what you need (classic or super server)

..::firebird::..::debian::..::ubuntu::..

OSS databases making inroads - Blog of the day

Here is a good link in businessweek on how OSS databases are horning in on

the database market.

I personally think that the majority of database users can do there work

with either Postgrsql, MySql or others like the Borland interbase now know

as Firebird or even Computer Associates Ingres which was recently made

opensource. Really do most company really need all those extra features or

are they just selling feature like Picture in picture was on your new TV

which you never use now.

Here is the link for you to check out:

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2006/tc20060206_918648.htm
Best regards,
-Richard Houston
..::firebird::..::mysql::..::mssql::..::postgresql::..::oracle::..

Open Source vs. the Database Vendors - on slashdot

"BusinessWeek has another spread on open source this week. Among them is an article about open source vs. the database vendors
which focused on how businesses are looking to save money with open
source (rather than using the source to innovate). From the article:
"The databases work fine, but as data volume grows, so do the checks to
Oracle, IBM, or Microsoft. Many users aren't clamoring for more
features, and some don't even use the bells and whistles they already
paid for. They would happily trade some to get their hands on the
source code and a better deal."
Original source for news slashdot.org

..::firebird::..::mysql::..::mssql::..::postgresql::..::oracle::..

FirebirdClient 2.0 Beta 4 released.

FirebirdClient 2.0 Beta 4 for Visual Studio 2005 & Microsoft.NET 2.0,
the ADO.NET Data Provider for Firebird, is available for download.

Download information can be found here:

http://www.firebirdsql.org/index.php?op=files&id=netprovider


· Beta 4 ( 2006-02-03 ) ·

(Please read the Changelog for details)


Bug Fixes:

    - Fixed Foreign Keys schemas.

    - Fixed problem with the COLUMN_SIZE column in the FbViewColumns schema.

    - Bug fix in FbPoolManager when trying to return back to the pool a
connection.

    - Fixed DataTypes schema in the FbMetaData.xml file.

New Features:

    - [DDEX] Foreign keys should be now automaticalled added to DataSets
at design time when
    dropping tables from the Server Explorer.

    - Added correct support for the new .net 2.0
    DbParameter.SourceColumnNullMapping property (Alexander V. Leshkin)

    - Initial implementation of the new extended support for
char/varchar fields
    with OCTETS character set.

Changes:

    - Added RemoteEventId property to FbRemoteEvent class.




--
Best regards

Carlos Guzmán Álvarez
Vigo-Spain

..::firebird::..::mono::..::dotnet::..::.net::..

Interesting Project Metrics

I've been wonder for some about about metrics to evaluate the relative
architectural cleanliness of various database implementations.  To that
end, I wrote a simple program that eat Visual Studio 7 projects files
and analyzes the source files.  Here are the results:

	Nfs Engine	Vulcan	Firebird 2	MySQL Server
Total Modules	429	633	232	123
Total Lines	63432	227814	126274	214356
Code Modules	206	218	70	99
Header Modules	221	394	162	15
Preprocessed Modules	0	16	0	0
Other Modules	2	5	0	9
Number Functions	2839	4706	1633	4960
Average Arguments	5.00	8.65	13.08	7.58
Average FunctionLines	14.86	32.46	55.95	31.70
Average Code Lines	11.80	21.20	37.12	26.90
Average Internal Comments	0.94	6.10	11.92	2.59
Average Internal WhiteSpace	2.12	5.16	6.92	2.21

The analysis program doesn't try to follow conditional compilation, so
everything is included whether active or not.

The Netfrastructure engine is roughly equivalent in functionality to
Firebird.  The Netfrastructure numbers, however, are for the database
engine only, excluding the Java Virtual Machine and template engine. 
Since the trigger and procedure language in Netfrastructure are Java,
this isn't a strict apples to apples comparison.   On the other hand,
the Netfrastructure engine includes the remote server, which Vulcan
does not.
The Vulcan numbers are taken from the engine provider current code
base.  A small number of modules that, due to conditional compilation,
couldn't make it through the analysis program were omitted. 
Post-processed modules were also omitted.  Since Vulcan contains quite
of bit of archival, disabled Firebird code, its numbers are slightly
bloated.
The Firebird number are taken from "engine" msvc7 project.  Since
Firebird 2 doesn't use custom development steps, the preprocessed
modules aren't included (the project hasn't been built, so the
corresponding post-processed modules are not included either.  I don't
actually know what is the Firebird 2 engine build, but I assume it
doesn't include DSQL and possible other common stuff.

The MySQL numbers are from their Windows source kit.  I believe that
they also use static libraries for cross component modules, so I
suspect this is less than the full server.  But it does give a feeling.

I think the two most interesting sets of number are the average number
of arguments per function and the average number of code lines per
function (code lines exclude comments and white space).  It is most
interesting that in each case, Vulcan falls halfway between
Netfrastructure and Firebird 2.  The average number of arguments is a
good metric of the quality of a design.  Bad (or in this case eroded)
designs have to pass everything but the kitchen sink, and sometimes
that.  The Firebird 2 numbers are particularly scary because many
additional parameters are passed covertly through thread data.  The
average code lines per function is a good metric of modularity -- the
degree to which common code is cleanly factored out.

The comment related metrics are substantially misleading since they are
computed relative to number of functions rather than code lines --
fewer code lines will always mean fewer comments.  Even so, it is clear
that Firebird has something to teach me and MySQL about internal
commenting.

Both the ProjectAnalyst and ProjectsSummary projects are checked into
the Vulcan tree under src.  If you want to play or analyze Firebird 1.0
or 1.5, I'd like to see the results.  You may also want to add more
metrics.  ProjectAnalyst generates xml (sans header) summary files,
ProjectsSummary turns a set of xml summary into an HTML table.

-- 

Jim Starkey
Netfrastructure, Inc.
978 526-1376

Porting the EMPLOYEE database from Firebird 2.0 to MySQL 5.1 in steps:1-2-3-4

Hi, I've decided to make an in depth test of MySQL's new functionalities by porting Firebird's EMPLOYEE.FDB database to MySQL 5.1.5, here is what I found, I hope it will be useful for people porting apps from MySQL to Firebird and vice-versa.
http://pabloj.blogspot.com/2006/01/porting-employee-database-from.html
..::firebird::..::mysql::..

IBM Introduces a Free (as in Beer) Version of DB2

This week IBM became the latest proprietary database vendor to add a free offering to their lineup, according to ZDNet:
Source: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-6032676.html

It would be difficult to estimate the balance between appealing to developers and the influence of Open Source databases such as MySQL, but I would tend to believe that competetion from Postgres, Firebird, MySQL, et al. to be a significant factor in the decision to release free versions of proprietary databases.

Source for this news/blog of the day
http://www.openwin.org/mike/index.php/archives/2006/01/ibm-introduces-a-free-as-in-beer-version-of-db2/
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SR UDF Library version (2.0.1.0)

A user defined function library (160 UDFs) for InterBase and Firebird on the Windows platform. This version of SR UDF Library supports the following standard routins: Math, File, DateTime, String, Regional in addition to Conversion routins for converting different measurement units.

http://www.srmaster.com
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IBExpert v2006.01.29 now available

HK Software have announced the immediate availability of a new Version of IBExpert (2006.01.29).

Visit www.ibexpert.com to download this version
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Advanced Data Generator v1.6

Upscene productions have announced the availability of a new version of their Advanced Data Generator V1.6.0

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