Database Tour Documentation Contents Index

Opening Firebird Databases

  

Firebird database files usually have .fdb extension. You can open them by several ways:

1. Opening through FD interface. Select FD interface, click Firebird, then fill all needed database parameters. Consult with your database administrator on how to choose correct parameters.

Example of configuring a database connection:

(required parameters are highlighted)

Vendor libraryC:\Program Files (x86)\Firebird\Firebird_2_5\bin\fbclient.dll
Serverlocalhost
Port3050
Databasec:\MyDb\prod.fdb
OS authenticationNo
ProtocolTCPIP
CharsetUTF8
User nameSYSDBA
Password********
SQL command separator^

2. Opening through Interbase interface. Select Interbase interface and fill all needed database parameters. This way is not recommended for opening Firebird databases of the latest versions.

3. Opening through connection string. Select ADO interface, then choose Connection string option and write a connection string. This way is very flexible and allows to specify many additional parameters in the connection string and override standard Database Tour connection behavior. It is recommended for advanced users. Here are basic connection strings (more examples and details can be found in the Internet):

DRIVER=Firebird/InterBase(r) driver;Uid=myUsername;Pwd=myPassword;DBNAME=HostNameOrIPAddr:C:\Databases\My_db.fdb;   (IBPhoenix Open Source ODBC Driver must be installed)

4. Opening through ODBC DSN. Create (if it does not exist yet) an ODBC DSN of the corresponding type using Windows administrative tools, and point it to the database. Then:

- Select FD interface, click ODBC, then point the Data source parameter to the ODBC DSN by selecting it from the drop-down list.

or

- Select ADO or BDE interface, then choose ODBC data source option and then select the needed ODBC DSN from the drop-down list.

5. Opening by specifying file name. Select ADO or BDE interface, then choose File option and then specify the file name.

Notes

  1. Firebird client must be installed. The bit-version of it (32 or 64) must match the bit-version of the application.
  2. When choosing the ODBC option, please make sure the corresponding ODBC driver installed and the bit-version of it matches the bit-version of the application (32 or 64).

See also

Examples of ADO Connection Strings

Opening Interbase Databases