Year: 2025

Blob transfer speed optimizations

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It is well known that transferring blobs in Firebird over high latency networks (i.e. internet) is very slow. The main reason is that transferring blobs always required lots of roundtrips. The good news is that the donations collected in the 21st Firebird Developers Day (FDD) Brazilian conference are being used to sponsor the improvement of blobs transfer speed. The changes are being developed by Vlad Khorsun and the currently results looks very good (see below)!

Note that the improvements are being developed in two phases. The first phase is ready and didn’t require any changes in the Firebird Wire Protocol, so it will be available in the upcoming Firebird 5.02 release. Transfer times were reduced by 33%-49%.

The second phase is still under development and requires changes in the Firebird Wire Protocol, so it will be available only in Firebird 6, but it already shows great results from 94%-97% improvement! In the best case, the time dropped from 12s to 477msecs!

A sad day for the Firebird Project

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As seen in FirebirdSQL official site:

Helen Borrie, a key figure in the Firebird relational database project and a longtime contributor at IBPhoenix, passed away on January 2, 2025. Her contributions were essential to Firebird’s creation and its development over the past 25 years.

Helen’s dedication to the project was unwavering. She played a critical role in establishing the Firebird Foundation and managed its operations as the Foundation’s Secretary. Her work ensured that the project had the structure and support needed to grow and succeed. She often worked behind the scenes, making sure things ran smoothly and that the community had the resources it needed.

She was also the author of The Firebird Book, a comprehensive guide that became an invaluable resource for users and developers. Helen’s writing made Firebird accessible to many, helping them understand and use the database effectively. She was always ready to assist others, sharing her knowledge generously within the user community.

Helen’s quiet leadership and dedication left a lasting impact on Firebird and its users. Her efforts helped build not just a powerful database but also a strong, collaborative community. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her and benefited from her work.