Category: Worth Reading
Content not direct related to FB, but interesting reading.
FirebirdClient version 6.0, Entity Framework Core 2.x provider, Entity Framework 6 provider
Migration Guide to Firebird 3 (review)
Steve Naidamast kindly sent me his personal review of my Firebird 3 Migration Guide. I’m more than happy to share it here:
The Migration Guide to Firebird 3.0 is an excellently written technical manual that is filled with all the essential information anyone wanting or needing to work with Firebird 3.0 (now 3.0.x) will require.
Though called a migration guide, this well designed manual provides far more information than simply being relegated to how to move between earlier versions of the Firebird Database Engine and the most recent version of this highly capable database system. As a result, far exceeding the discussion of moving between database systems, this guide provides thorough explanations in detail on the various, unique server types that Firebird offers and how to decide which one is the best option for the requirements at hand, the necessary security configurations for each type of server and how to define users and their associated roles, enhancements to the PSQL language (the SQL variation used by Firebird), discussions on physical access to the server (ie: wire protocols), connection string enhancements, and last but not least, discussion on the Firebird Embedded Database Engine for desktop application development, which has been upgraded from the current 2.5 version.
Though written from the perspective of the needs of a Database Administrator, this manual should be an addition to any professional’s library who is serious about working with Firebird for the long term.
It is by far one of the superior manuals I have read over the years on the subject of database systems. Such manuals should surely aid in the growth of the Firebird Community so that this database system can take its rightful place among the current standards of use in today’s database application development endeavors…
Steve Naidamast
Sr. Software Engineer
Black Falcon Software
The Migration Guide to Firebird 3 is available both on paper and PDF formats.
New German Firebird forum
From firebirdsql.org:
We are glad to announce the new Firebird Forum for German-speaking developers: www.firebirdforum.de, with moderator Martin Koeditz, the editor of German edition of Firebird Language Reference. Fill free to register and meet with other Firebird developers!
Vote for Firebird at Sourceforge Project of the Month
Sourceforge is running a poll to elect its May’s Project of the Month, and Firebird is among the candidates.
To vote, you need to have an account (it is free to register) at sourceforge.net and go to this URL, and comment with the following line:
VOTE: firebird
It will give a good publicity for the Project, so please vote until 15-April!
Migration Guide to Firebird 3 gets updated!
I’m proud to announce a new update to my Migration Guide to Firebird 3 eBook! The changes in revision 1.20 are mostly concentrated in the chapters about Connecting to Firebird 3 using an old client library, Testing application’s queries, Jaybird, .NET Provider and the two new sections about permissions for creating databases and for generators and exceptions.
In the next days, all those who already bought the eBook will receive an email with instructions about how to download the new revision.
The printed version will also get updated asap is already updated to 1.20. Those who already bought the printed book (rev 1.02) can email me to receive a PDF with the changes.
Click here for more information and to buy the eBook.
IBSurgeon is offering 10% discount on the HQBird Standard to all buyers of the eBook. More information here.
Fix for Meltdown and Spectre will affect your server performance!
Microsoft, Apple and several Linux distros started to distribute patches to try to fix the recent security flaws found in Intel, AMD and ARM CPUs, in almost every CPU released in the last 20 years. The security flaws are known as Meltdown (affects Intel) and Spectre (affects Intel, AMD and some ARM processors).
The flaw allow softwares to access protected memory areas that should be accessed only by the Operating System kernel, and get sensitive data, like passwords, etc.
There are two problems with the fixes:
- They do not fix 100% of the problem, since it is related on how the CPUs were designed. So far, there is no 100% solution for the problem, and probably it will never exists.
- They impact badly in performance.
In a recent post to firebird-devel list, an user reported that the performance of the Firebird server dropped ~30% after he upgraded its Linux kernel to a version that “fix” those security flaws.
General reports over the internet shows that the most affected areas of the system are CPU, RAM and Disk, so any software that makes intensive use of some of those areas will probably have its performance significantly degraded.
Just to be clear: this performance loss doesn’t affect only Firebird, but any software!
ADO.NET provider 5.12.1.0 for Firebird is ready
ADO.NET provider 5.12.0.0 for Firebird is ready
Firebird 3 Developers Guide (pre-beta) now available
The first pre-beta release of the English version of the Firebird 3 Develoepers Guide is now publicly available. Please report any problems or mistakes. The translation work, from Russian to English, was sponsored by a crowdfunding campaign. Thanks to all who contributed!