Kevin Lawrence wrote:
<a lot snipped>

>7) I am worried about the inevitable IBO/IBX/BDE fight, especially WRT to

maintaining and >improving cross platform connectivity and development.
IBO seems so much more >mature/powerful, but can it port to Linux
development tools? I am concerned about >continued access to the BDE, and
the Intersolv ODBC driver.

>

This is what worries me too (while I agree with the other things Kevin
Lawrence wrote). In a wider aspect, IB is much more than NT + Linux +
Delphi. If (when) the focus of IBDI is set to the newest (beta+) version of
IB on NT/Linux, a lot of IB activity is being bypassed. Who's going to
support IB 3.x's still running, who's going to talk to - say - Cognos about
IB's connectivity with their tools (PowerPlay/Impromptu, Axiant,
PowerHouse...), who has the general connections to SUN to know what's going
on with Java (which, is not dead :)) etc.
IBO is just a set of Delphi components. These components do connect to IB
servers. On the Delphi + CBuilder connectivity side IBDI should, IMHO,
concentrate it's activity to the connectivity part, not Delphi components.
With this said, this community should - right now - work hard on
FreeIBComponents together with Gregory Deatz, because it is uncertain will
IBX be open source or not and because IBX is not that much enhanced
compared to FIBC.
For Java/JDBC, Interclient is already there (hope it will be open sourced).
ODBC (and it's forthcoming successors) seem to be a real problem now.
Intersolv is not likely to give away their code and, during Borland/Inprise
time, Interbase forgot about the world outside Delphi.

In addition to a robust, well documented, well supported, multiplatform
database engine, what is needed for IB is reliable, well performing
connectivity to a wide range of tools, languages and platforms. This will
then bring a variety of eg. IB management and case tools, Delphi component
sets, Java beans etc.

Obviously, IBDI "inner ring" needs to be even stronger it is now. If people
like Paul Beach and Bill Karwin were available, it would of course be
ideal. But there are also (as it seems) quite many of those, who left
Interbase corp. lately (within a year or so). Maybe they should be invited
to the development group management.


Veli-Matti

Ps. When talking about IB's originators, shouldn't Jim Starkey be mentioned?