From: "Richard A.Schulman" <RichardASchulman@...>
Date: 2000-12-20T23:43:24+09:00
Subject: [ruby-talk:7767] First Impressions of InterBase (was Interbase & Ruby - a really nice combination)

>InterBase now is very very alive. The community is bigger and bigger and
>it *works* fine with Windows (as ususal) and tity integrated with
>Delphi, C++ Builder & Kylix. So it will never die. It runs on 16
>different OS, has a super server architecture (mutithreaded) and, above
>all, it is industrial strength. You can access InterBase from *any
>language* and now it is supported by its own developers.

I downloaded the version 6 Windows version from Borland last
night. The documentation ("beta") is a separate download and
doesn't have an integrated index, so that one has to jump
around from pdf manual to pdf manual to find the information
one is seeking.

Every DBMS should have a good load / unload utility that
enables one to easily move data directly back and forth
between external comma-delimited files and database tables.
In Interbase's case, the only utility I could find reference
to that does this also requires Delphi.

There was, however, a SQL "Create Table" extension that
allows one to load an external file into a temporary table.
Then one must move the data from the temporary table into
one's actual production table. Not very convenient or
flexible.

The GUI administrative Console is underpowered by comparison
with MS SQL Server, IBM DB2 UDB, etc.

The strong point of Interbase is its relatively small
footprint and good SQL support.

My overall impression is that Interbase would be a good fit
for present users of Interbase, Delphi, or JBuilder, but
that it would be hard pressed to attract new users who
aren't DBAs -- unless the utility support and documention
are significantly improved.

Richard Schulman