Adrian,

A> If FB would stay backwards compatible with IB 6, they should work (just
A> without the new features added).

The fact is that Fb, for goodness's sake, shouldn't and (I believe)
won't let compatibility with IB 6 get in the way for new developments.
And a sensible strategy it is, I assure you!

<SNIP list of alternatives>

A> The only freeware choice would be ZeosDB. The others have a price.

We were'nt talking about prices. Furthermore, *everything* has a
price.

A> And let's not forget the cost of the time spent to change the IBX apps to
A> use another set of components.

Your problem. It'd never come to my mind to use a product named
"InterBase Express" to interface to anything that's not called
"InterBase". :-) Seriously, it's been clear from the very beginning
that Firebird would never be another InterBase. Actually, one of the
main reasons it exists is that there is no (longer) OS InterBase.
Even more seriously, I think your best bet would be to switch to one
of the IBX forks the future will bring us.

A> I'd rather take the FB 1.0.2 source and change it to improve the performance
A> and fix bugs, rather than pay for a new set of components and spend time to
A> change the IBX apps :-)

So you do like some hard work. Good luck. :-)

Ciao
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