Hi Cassandra,

> >Well, if you know that no-one is connected to the database, then I think

it

> >is possible to do a straight file copy.
> This is good to hear, as I will not really be making use of the
> client/server capabilities of Firebird. ie the database will only ever

have

> one connection, that being to the application that is running.

You're still using C/S capabilities then - but only with 1 user connected :)

> >(provided the hardware is similar,
> >e.g. copying from a machine running an 80x86 processor to something
> >completely different will invariably fail).
> Why is the hardware important? ie. if I am running the same OS on both,
> should they then both work.

Yes, unless the CPU architecture is different - for example WinNT on Intel
oriented systems and WinNT on Alpha systems.
Some CPU architectures use ( I believe it's called ) high endian or low
endian
order ... (can't remember the exact name) - what it comes down to is that
internally, a number like 4096 (in decimal) get's its hex representation of:
10 00
While on other architectures it looks like:
00 10

Gee, I guess you now understand why copying a database file to a different
architecture will go horribly wrong :)

> >I don't think you've told us enough about the requirements for us to
> >help you decide whether Firebird is a good choice or not.
> Well, the program is to store information for an employer (particulary a
> employer of itinerate workers, ie a cotton-chipping contractor, or fruit
> picker). The program will print out payslips and other reports, as well as
> the compliance reports for the Tax Office.
> Mobility is a key part of the database, while needing more then one user
> connected is not nessecary at all. When I say mobility, what I am
> envisioning is something like MSWord being able to open and edit a

document.

> In the same way that you can copy a word document to disk (or email), I

want

> to be able to copy a 'database' (or 'dataset') so that the user can move

it

> to another computer.
> ie An employee uses the program all year, but come end of year tax time,
> rather then printing out heaps of reports he will just send the data file

to

> the accountant, who can print out the reports that he needs.

Now this kinda ugly... Usually, you just "export" the data to some format
that the accountant can use to either create reports from it or to import
the data into another database (with, for example, stuff from multiple
employees) and then run his reports on all the data.




With regards,

Martijn Tonies
InterBase Workbench - the developer tool for InterBase & Firebird
Firebird Workbench - the developer tool for Firebird
Upscene Productions
http://www.upscene.com

"This is an object-oriented system.
If we change anything, the users object."