September to December 2016
Prepared 2 presentations (DB encryption & tuning firebird server for use with multiple security databases) for conference in Prague.
Checked & committed a number pull requests, most are ports to various platforms.

Various enhancements & optimizations

• Implemented CORE-5204: create an option in the installer to install in different locations than /opt/firebird
• Added SQL SECURITY clause to various DDL statements (with Roman Simakov)
• Implemented CORE-5374: Make database name available to crypt plugin
• Added check for access rights to BLOBs (with Dmitry Starodubov)
• Performance optimization - avoid additional database attachment from security objects mapping code

Fixed bugs

• Fixed CORE-5326: encrypting a database crashes host process when background encryption gets ready while no connection is established to that database.
• Fixed CORE-5355: XpbBuilder fails to create new TPB
• Fixed CORE-5359: MessageMetadata's getScale returns int and MetadataBuilder's setScale want unsigned
• Fixed CORE-5379: Regression service API for isc_spb_sts_table
• Fixed CORE-5384: Plugin manager fails to provide appropriate config information when name of configuration file is set in plugins.conf
• Fixed CORE-5428: Rare segfault when preparing request working with a table with triggers
• Fixed CORE-5429: Segfault when attachment is abandoned for some reason during sweep thread startup
• Fixed CORE-5425: Server hangs under load test

New features in FB4

• Numerics with precision longer than 18 digits (CORE-4409) - review in separate branch on github, implemented as new datatype decfloat using open source IBM's library for high precision calculations (released under ICU license), needs sorting on decfloat fields.
• Batch API operations (CORE-820) - in progress, needs final decision on API calls.

Alex Peshkov
Yaroslavl, Russia