Phil,

>> Even though HSQL is often shipped as the default DB in products, I

know of no one that either uses it, or recommends it for production
use, just like nobody would recommend or use 'Access' in production
for anything other than a trivial desktop app. <<

Since my comments were the genesis of this thread, I thought I'd jump
into it.

I can't speak to relative merits of HSQL vs Firebird; however, my
point wasn't about relative technical capabilities.

I'm just perplexed why Firebird is so invisible to companies involved
in web and application server hosting. I see plenty of MySQL,
Hypersonic, and PostgreSQL citations, but hardly ever a mention of
Firebird.

BetaMax was by all measure technically superior to VHS, but in the end
technical merits mattered less than market penetration. Technically,
HSQL may be like Access in the world of DBMS's, but it seems to be
more prevalent in the market (and mind) share than is Firebird.

Jack