Hi Folks,
As far as I understand it, garbage collection removes old back
versions in the database which are newer than the oldest interesting
transaction.

Sweep removes old back versions older than the oldest interesting
transaction.

Why the differentiation? What I mean is why doesn't the garbage
collection do the same as sweep? are there any tools which can take
advantage of the information preserved by garbage collection but
removed by sweep? Has anyone ever done anything with transactions
older than the oldest interesting transaction except sweep them?

Could Firebird be modified so the garbage collection also sweeps
the database (possibly a configuration option) to remove the need
for a dedicated sweep entirely?

It seems to me that a large number of support problems with
Firebird come from the sweep/tranaction gap issue. Wouldn't this
make the system easier to administer in the long run?

Regards
Ian Newby