At 02:57 AM 25/01/2007, you wrote:
> It took more than a lot of searching, but finally after combining
>and extrapolating the code I found on 4 different sites, I finally came up
>with what I believe is a proper start to using Firebird in an embedded
>application. Here it is in Pascal NET code, ( the types and vars are
>elsewhere):
>
>MyFBConnectionString := new FbConnectionStringBuilder();
> MyFBConnectionString.Add('ServerType', 1);
> MyFBConnectionString.Add('User', 'SYSDBA');
> MyFBConnectionString.Add('Pooling', False);
> MyFBConnectionString.Add('Password', 'masterkey');
> MyFBConnectionString.Add('Dialect', 3);
> MyFBConnectionString.Add('Database', DataStoreFile);
> MyFbConnection := new FbConnection();
> MyFbConnection.CreateDatabase(MyFBConnectionString.ToString);
>
> At least this seems to compile! Unfortunately however, I am now
>getting an error message when I attempt to run it thru the debugger saying
>that it cannot find the fbembed.dll, which is located not only where it was
>originally installed, but also in the application's exe directory! So the
>only thing I can think of is that I'm still missing something in my
>connection string. Does anyone know how to get past this?
Did you read the release notes and follow the instruction to place
fbembed.dll in your application directory and rename it to fbclient.dll?
> Also, it's hard for me, coming from a strict Delphi background, to
>believe how difficult it seems to be to get decent info on using Firebird!
>I've asked everywhere including here before, and all I get are cryptic
>replies like google it or your connection string is wrong! The docs have
>absolutely no information to help a beginner start using it,
First, there is a document called the Quick Start Guide in the \docs
directory of a full Firebird installation - which you're going to
need if you plan to do any development with Firebird. You can also
download it from the Documentation area at the Firebird
website. There you will find everything you need to know to get
started with Firebird, including clear explanations of the connection
strings needed for the various network protocols.
Getting information about how to do it *with Delphi* is a different
story. It all depends on what you choose to use as your interface
layer. You'll need to do your own research about the best possible
interface layer to use with Delphi.NET. I can't even point you
anywhere because I don't use Delphi.NET at all. But you need to ask
somewhere....has it occurred to you to ask in the Firebird-net-provider list?
Secondly, Fb Embedded is not a development model, it is a deployment
model. Do your development using the full Superserver, or you are
going to bump into a brick wall with the Delphi IDE *real fast*! If
you want a definition of "deployment" please do not hesitate to ask.
>and even the
>code above, which is an extrapolation of googled code I can't say for sure
>will work because it matches nothing I found anywhere! Nothing I found
>would compile! This makes it very improbable that I would waste any money
>of a Firebird book because if the internet docs and the docs that come with
>the installation are this bad I'd be afraid of what I'd find in a real book!
Your call. You might like to read the feedback at amazon.com before
you bag my book unseen, though. However, a Delphi manual it is
not. And if you're clueless about SQL and intend staying that way,
don't bother. There won't be anything much in there that's
interesting to you at all.
> I'm not trying to be a smartass. I'm really frustrated by the lack
>of honest help and documentation that I've always depended upon with Delphi.
Firebird is not Delphi. Firebird is not even Borland. Delphi is
only one of a huge number of development environments from which you
can write Firebird applications - some beautifully, some less
so. Borland doesn't provide any out-of-the-box support for Firebird
but you can scrape by, at a fairly superficial level, with what it
provides for InterBase.
>One guy replied to my query on the firebird list privately and told me that
>I didn't know how to read, then proceeded to give me code and instructions
>that had nothing to do with what I had asked!
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. If he took the trouble to
answer you privately he must have been at least hoping he could
help. If it's not really help you want but a place to whine, stay
clear of the Firebird support lists. You'll get modded off real quick.
If you do want help, at least start by providing enough information
so that your threads don't turn into Genesis, Exodus and
Leviticus. Get rid of the Attitude and study the documentation. If
you don't understand client/server, get your head around it. Get rid
of the Attitude and STUDY THE DOCUMENTATION. The release notes tell
you where to find everything you need. Firebird release notes are
not like Borland release notes. They are your incremental manuals:
you can't fly without them.
> So now even IF someone is able to tell me that the above code is
>correct, or help me fix it if it is not, and can tell me how to get the app
>to find the dll it cannot seem to now, I have no idea of what to do next!
Don't do it half-cocked. If you don't know anything about .NET, it
seems like completely the wrong place to start. Trying to develop
with Embedded is a total non-starter. By design, it is an exclusive
connection by one user to a single instance of Firebird
Superserver. You can't use it to do both development in the IDE and
running the application simultaneously.
>The docs are full of interesting facts about SQL, but nowhere have IO seen
>any instructions that show one how to setup and create tables, fields, give
>them values, indexes, and retrieve data back without SQL!
Exactly. If you're not prepared to learn SQL then you are not ready
to use an SQL database. Period. Stick with Paradox or Filemaker.
>Yet I'm told it is possible! Please tell someone who has only
>worked with dB's via components where to find the information I need
>to make use of what I'm told is a great system!
Of course it is possible. Heck, you can even use it with the BDE if
you're crazy enough! I use it all the time with IB Objects but there
are plenty of other options. Cruise the Contributed Downloads area
at www.ibphoenix.com to find links for them. Needless to say, you
will be hard-pushed to find one that supports table components, since
TTable is definitely not a client/server component. But IBO does
have a TTable derivative that's there to help ex-BDE users into real
client/server computing.
I have to say I don't know of of anyone who is using InterBase or
Firebird with Delphi.NET, but I suppose they must be out there. I
know of several who are using it with Mono/Lazarus and a variety of
component suites. A million Delphi/Firebird users can't be wrong,
though. Isn't it a case of "Everyone is out of step except Our Johnny"?
Helen
_______________________________________________
Delphi-DB mailing list
Delphi-DB@elists.org
http://www.elists.org/mailman/listinfo/delphi-db
