Subject matter

What's this book about?

This guide documents the changes made in the Firebird SQL language between InterBase 6 and Firebird 2.5.1. It covers the following areas:

Reserved words
Data types and subtypes
DDL statements (Data Definition Language)
DML statements (Data Manipulation Language)
Transaction control statements
PSQL statements (Procedural SQL, used in stored procedures and triggers)
Security and access control statements
Context variables
Operators and predicates
Aggregate functions
Internal functions
UDFs (User Defined Functions, also known as external functions)

To have a complete Firebird 2.5 SQL reference, you need:

The InterBase 6.0 beta SQL Reference (LangRef.pdf and/or SQLRef.html)
This document

Non-SQL topics are not discussed in this document. These include:

ODS versions
Bug listings
Installation and configuration
Upgrade, migration and compatibility
Server architectures
API functions
Connection protocols
Tools and utilities

Consult the Release Notes for information on these subjects. You can find the Release Notes and other documentation via the Firebird Documentation Index at https://www.firebirdsql.org/en/documentation/.