Editorial Welcome to the first issue of the FirebirdSQL project newsletter. In every edition, we will bring you valuable and interesting information about the project, together with a digest of the most recent news from the Firebird Community.
Thanks for the attention, please enjoy the first issue of the FirebirdSQL project newsletter.
Firebird Conference 2011 The Firebird Project invites all Firebird users and developers to participate in the Firebird Conference 2011, which will take place in Luxembourg, November 25-26, 2011. The conference will be devoted to a variety of important topics: Firebird SQL language improvements, performance, optimization, database protection and recovery, and many others.
Schedule, topics and other details:
http://www.firebirdsql.org/en/firebird-conference-2011/ Letter from President of Firebird Foundation Please read the letter from
Philippe Makowski, the president of the
Firebird Foundation:
Dear Firebird users, You probably know that we are in the lucky position to have highly skilled developers working full-time and part-time on the further development of our favorite database, Firebird. A database that you can (and do?) use and distribute for free, that saves you and your customers from all the hassles that come with selling and administering licences. The Firebird Project developers receive grants from the Firebird Foundation, a fund-raising foundation that was founded nearly ten years ago. The Firebird Foundation is collecting money through memberships, sponsorships and donations. By becoming a member or a sponsor, or even by doing on-time donations once or from time to time, you can contribute to the further development of Firebird. Especially those of you who use Firebird for commercial, educational or governmental applications will understand that only a database that is under development can be used for serious work. So, please think about becoming a member or a sponsor. There is something that will fit your possibilities (a basic membership is only USD 50/year). You can find more information at http://www.firebirdsql.org/en/membership/ Thank you. Best Regards Philippe Makowski
President, Firebird Foundation |
Firebird Developers Day in Brazil Speaking about conferences, in this first issue, we will present you a short story about one of the most important Firebird events in the world: the
Firebird Developers Day, an annual Brazilian conference. We contacted Carlos H. Cantu, the organizer of the conference and asked him to write a short article about it, that you can check below:
 The Firebird Developers Day happens annually in Piracicaba, a city distant 160km from São Paulo, mostly surrounded by sugar cane plantations, cut by a famous river (Piracicaba River, there is even a well-known music in Brazil about it) and with a population of 350,000 people. The city has several big companies installed, like Caterpillar, Belgo, Hyundai, etc. and is served by the best highways of the country. For the conference, we use an awesome structure composed by a theater with capacity for 800 people, and two rooms for 200-270 people each, in the Unimep University.
The idea of creating the Firebird Developers Day came after a sucessfull experience organizing the DDD (Delphi Developers Day) with DUG-BR (Delphi Users Group Brasil, where I was the president). Altough the DDD's were organized by DUG-BR, the FDD was (and still is) entire organized by myself. The first edition had the presence of 400 attendees, making FDD the biggest Firebird conference in the world (regarding number of attendees) from the beggining. The second edition of the conference was really special, since it was the first to have the presence of international speakers: Ann Harrison and Jim Starkey got a very warm welcome from the Brazilian Firebird’s community, which included even TV, radio and newspaper interviews! It is still the FDD edition with the biggest number of attendees — around 620 people! Since the second edition, we always had the presence of international speakers in the conference, including core developers (Dmitry Yemanov, Vlad Khorsun) and some other well-known names, like Alexey Kovyazin and Dmitry Kouzmenko (from IBSurgeon). More than an opportunity for the attendees to have access to a great technology knowledge, the conference is a big celebration of the Firebird success in Brazil, where people can exchange experiences with other users, and talk freely with the speakers during all the day. Also, it is the best chance to register/buy Firebird related tools and components, with the huge discounts offered by our sponsors and partners (sometimes, products were sold by less than 50% of the normal price!). In the latest editions, attendees also had the chance to donate money to the Firebird Foundation. The donations are getting higher every year, and in the 8th edition, attended by 600 participants, we were able to collect USD 2,600! Brazil is a huge country, and the conference attendees come from all over the place. In the past, we even had attendees travelling 48h by bus to participate, coming from the extreme north of the country (hopefully, flights are now much cheaper, so almost everyone can avoid such long bus trips). A “location interactive map” with a partial view of this year attendees can be seen at http://goo.gl/wuT8Z.
An interesting fact is that, different from what happened in other countries, Borland/Inprise/CodeGear/Embarcadero had sponsored almost all FDD editions, even in the time when Firebird was not officially supported by their tools. You can find the on-line reports of every FDD edition, in English and Portuguese, with pictures, at http://www.firebirddevelopersday.com.br/fdd/reports/index.html I wish to thanks all the speakers, attendees and sponsors, for their support all over the years. Without you, this conference would never be a such big success! Go Firebird! Carlos H. Cantu
Carlos is a software developer since the Apple ][ times. He has two Firebird books published in Brazil, had written dozens of Firebird and Delphi articles for Brazilian magazines, is the maintainer of FireBase and FirebirdNews portals, organizer of the Firebird Developers Day, and also provides Firebird consulting and training services. |
The Firebird Project Team
The news below was collected from FirebirdNews site. You can periodically visit the site or subscribe to its RSS feed to keep up to date with all the news coming from the Firebird community.
Community News [November 09, 2011] Firebird 2.5.1 will be in #ubuntu precise pangolin 12.04 The good news is
this LTS release will be supported for 5 years so is good that Firebird 2.5.1 is
included in the repository.
[November 09, 2011] Google + Firebird page After the FaceBook
Firebird page You can now join to the
Firebird + Circle and add it to your circles.
PS: I will try to add my Firebird circle there and add the Firebird Foundation members with full admin rights.
[November 09, 2011] FB Conference talks descriptions
[November 08, 2011] Forced Writes Performance impact on #Ubuntu with ext4 no barrier Tweet of the day
comes from Carlos H. Cantu about
forced writes effects for running Firebird script:
Script executing time — Linux Ubuntu 10.04.3 Ext4 — FW=ON -> almost 2h. FW=OFF -> 2 minutes ... no barrier parameter mentioned in /etc/fstab
[November 08, 2011] node.js firebird driver 0.0.7 released with support for #node 0.6.0 Here is the download page and you can check the
Commit History for interesting changes.
It was tested with
nodejs 0.6.0.
[November 04, 2011] python firebird driver pyfirebirdsql 0.6.2 is released Here is the download page and the
full changelog.
For overview here is the short changelog:
Small changes list compensations
Hostname and user (from environ) send as is.
[November 04, 2011] What is new in .NET provider (trace support, cancellation and more) talk on Firebird Conference 2011 If you’re using Firebird from .NET you should visit
my talk on
Firebird Conference 2011. This year it’s in Luxembourg at November 25-26.
There’s no schedule yet (in time of writing), but I can tell you, that my talk will be on Friday, for sure. Topics covered are obvious. Everything worth mentioning from last year or so in .NET provider development and also some future plans. Feel free to come and ask whatever
.NET provider related (or Firebird) you want.
P.S. Would you be interested in picking up some Twitter questions during the talk?
[November 03, 2011] Catch Firebird Database events with Node.js In
this post, I’ll try to explain how you can use Node.js to catch events on Firebird.
[November 02, 2011] python firebird driver pyfirebirdsql 0.6.1 is released Here is the download page and the
full changelog.
For overview here is the short changelog:
Added savepoint() and rollback to savepoint support (and tests)
Added _op_execute_immediate() operation
Services.getAttachedDatabaseNames() bugfix
Bugfix for python3
Correct file attibute for some py modules
[November 02, 2011] Perl Firebird Driver — DBD-Firebird 0.90 is released Here is the list of changes and you can use the cpan
download page to get the package. The major change is that perl driver can use the Firebird embedded mode so it doesn't need a full Firebird server to run the tests.
Here is the thread with the features commited and
here is the related bug fixed.
[November 02, 2011] firebird 2.5.1 source package is moved to debian testing FYI: The status of the
firebird2.5 source package in Debian's testing distribution
has changed.
Previous version: 2.5.1.26349-0~rc1.ds4-5 Current version: 2.5.1.26351.ds4-2
[November 01, 2011] ANN: FB TraceManager V2.0.0 released Hello,
Upscene Productions is proud to announce a new major V2 release of FB TraceManager. More information on the new release is available here:
http://www.upscene.com/displaynews.php?item=20111101 FB TraceManager is currently the only specialized tool available on the market, which exposes the new Trace and Audit Services in Firebird 2.5 in a very user-friendly way. The following editions are available:
- Lite Edition (FREELY available)
- Standard Edition
- Enterprise Edition
More information is available in the FB TraceManager section on our website, including an edition comparison sheet, webcasts etc.:
http://www.upscene.com/go/?go=fbtm And new, a full product documentation is also available online now:
http://www.upscene.com/documentation/fbtm2/index.html With regards,
Thomas Steinmaurer
[October 31, 2011] Fixed Bug: Segmentation fault in FreePascal multi-threaded program when using 2.5.x client library on Linux Alex Peshkoff
Just fixed CORE-3646:
Segmentation fault for a FreePascal program, that connects to a FB 2.5 database inside a thread.
The segmentation fault just occurs, when there is a Firebird exception caught inside the thread.
[October 30, 2011] Statement history dialog layout in Flamerobin Milan Babuskov wrote on flamerobin-devel:
In the past week or so I have improved our statement history dialog to allow easier browsing. Now it shows the statements on the left and when you click them, you get the whole sql on the right. This makes it easier to inspect the statements and find what you looking for. Especially if you have a large monitor. Also, the searched term is marked with red color.
I also added the timestamp of the history file. Functionality is now good, however, now I'm not sure about this layout. What do
you think? (screenshot attached)
[October 27, 2011] #python firebird driver pyfirebirdsql 0.6.0 is released Hajime Nakagami announced on firebird-python list that new
pyfirebirdsql release is out:
Hi all
I have released 0.6.0 now.
http://pypi.python.org/pypi/firebirdsql/0.6.0 I't still alpha status. services and transaction management is incomplete. 0.6.0 is different from 0.5.0 heavily, so I decide to release current snapshot. I think this release work about services and transaction management but partially.
I hope make patchs from this release, please.
[October 26, 2011] Database .NET 5.4 released 
Hi! I am happy to announce the new major release of Database .NET 5.4
Database .NET is a simple, uniform and intuitive database management tool for multiple databases, It makes Local and Remote Database Administration Easier. With it you can Create databases, Design tables, Edit data, Export data, Generate scripts and run SQL queries. A standalone tool that does not require installation.
New Features(Ver 5.4) 2011/10/27: Features: Supports: - Firebird Super/Classic/Embedded Server (*.gdb;*.fdb;*.*)
- PostgreSQL
- SQL Server 2000/2005/2008/2008R2/2012
- SQL Server CE 3.1/3.5/4.0 (*.sdf;*.*)
- SQL Azure
- SQLite (*.db;*.db3;*.sqlite;*.*)
- MySQL
- Oracle
- IBM DB2
- IBM Informix
- MS Access 97-2003 (*.mdb;*.*)
- MS Access 2007-2010 (*.accdb;*.*)
- MS Excel 97-2003 (*.xls;*.*)
- MS Excel 2007-2010 (*.xlsx;*.*)
- dBase IV
- Data Sources(OLE DB) (*.udl;*.*)
- ODBC DSN(Data Source Name) (*.dsn;*.*)
- OData
All-In-One, Free, Simple and Standalone (no install).
Supported Platforms: Windows All (x86/x64)
Requires: .NET Framework 3.5sp1 You're welcome to download the Database .NET right now at:
DatabaseNet3.zip (8.32MB)
[October 26, 2011] Recordings from 8th FDD The recordings of the talks of the 8th Brazilian Firebird Developers Day are now available at the
FireBase store. The MegaPack DVD (containing the recordings of several FDD editions were also updated with the 8th FDD talks).
[October 25, 2011] Adriano Fernandes added new Window functions from the SQL:2008 standard From
twitter:
I remember when I added the LOWER function to Firebird. I needed to grep (for nod_upper) and change dozens of files...
Now to add even a window function (which the framework is prepared to) it takes just a few localized changes http://bit.ly/uAt3ZP...
Now adding LAST_VALUE and NTH_VALUE.
You can read more about the list of window functions that are already implemented or needs to be implemented on
the tracker.
A short description of what these functions do:
- first_value(value any) return value evaluated at the row that is the first row of the window frame
- last_value(value any) returns value evaluated at the row that is the last row of the window frame
- nth_value(value any, nth integer) returns value evaluated at the row that is the nth row of the window frame (counting from 1); null if no such row
For ref:
http://www.postgresql.org/docs/9.1/static/functions-window.html#FUNCTIONS-WINDOW-TABLE
[October 24, 2011] Discussion: In-memory database opening read-only database from memory rather than from file in FB Embedded I see a new Improvement on the feature requests list, any comments?
http://tracker.firebirdsql.org/browse/CORE-3642
[October 24, 2011] List of talks for Firebird Conference 2011 The List of talks for Firebird Conference 2011 is now online:
http://firebirdsql.org/en/firebird-conference-2011/
[October 20, 2011] ANN: Firebird Data Sync released  | SQL Maestro Group starts a data comparison product family and announces the release of Firebird Data Sync, a powerful and easy-to-use tool for Firebird database contents comparison and synchronization. Key product features include:
- Comparing and synchronizing database contents
- Automatic creation of error-free synchronization scripts
- Easy-to-read difference display
- Saving all options to a project file for instant re-execution
- Custom comparison keys and flexible auto-mapping tools
- Full control over the comparison and synchronization
- Powerful command-line interface for continuous integration
|
There are also versions for other DBMS (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, Oracle, etc).
Read full press-release.
[October 17, 2011] ANN: dbExpress Driver for Firebird version 36 4.1.2011.36 Release on 18 Oct 2011 Fix wrong interpretation for data size of unicode_fss field
[October 17, 2011] Join LinkedIn Event: Firebird Conference 2011, Luxembourg If you come to the Firebird Conference 2011, Luxembourg join us on LinkedIn Events (or at least notify if you are interested):
http://events.linkedin.com/Firebird-Conference-2011-Luxembourg/pub/817378 Firebird Conference 2011, Luxembourg
Fri, Nov 25 to Sat, Nov 26
Luxembourg, LUXEMBOURG, LU
Keywords: firebird, database, sqk, firebirdsql
The Firebird Project invites all Firebird users and developers to participate in the Firebird Conference 2011, which will take place in Luxembourg, November 25-26, 2011.
The Firebird Conference 2011 will be devoted to a variety of important topics: Firebird SQL language improvements, performance...
[October 13, 2011] ANN: dbExpress Driver for Firebird version 35 4.1.2011.35 Release on 13 Oct 2011 - Fix memory allocation for char and varchar field that may cause unstable memory problem
- Fix pointer iteration bug in XSQLDA_DebugMsg
[October 12, 2011] Firebird 2.5.1 packages are now available in Debian Sid Firebird 2.5.1 Final
packages are available in Debian Sid
repository.
[October 12, 2011] Command line manuals updated for Firebird 2.5.x The various command line
manuals — gfix, gstat, gsec, gbak and fbmgr — have been updated to Firebird 2.5 specification. In the case of fbmgr it was only a few spelling mistakes that were corrected.
I've uploaded the html and pdf versions to the online repository. One thing I noticed when testing, the PDFs are ok but the HTML files seem to need a refresh on every page. Has anyone else noticed this when a new HTMl documents is uploaded?
Try hitting
this link and see if you get the 11 October 2011 version. If you don't see 11 October 2011, click refresh. Now click on the link to go to Command Line Options. Under the password option do you see a fetch_password option? If not, click refresh.
I found this morning that I had to manually refresh every page in each of the updated manuals — which I've never had to do before.
Cheers,
Norman Dunbar
[October 11, 2011] Firebird 2.5.1 packages are now available in Fedora 15 and Centos 6 and soon in Mageia Linux 1 Firebird 2.5.1 packages are
now available in Fedora 15 updates Epel6 (RHEL and Centos 6) packages are in testing for one more week according to the Epel policy. About Mageia 1 they will be in updates soon. For Mandriva they are in Cooker.
