I think the situation is anything but dismal. Let's ignore Kylix for
the moment (I know little about Delphi, and less about Kylix...) but
I don't expect Borland to support Firebird on any platform.

I have used the binaries from the Ibphoenix site to install Firebird
on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Redhat 7.2 and Mandrake 8.2, and I have
never had a problem with any of the installs.

I used the binaries from IBPhoenix for OS X, and had a small problem
with that install: that problem was fixed within a day or two by
posting to this group. I have also installed the open source IB6 on
Win32 and Redhat 7.2, and never had a problem with that install
either.

These installs have sometimes been for 1.02 and sometimes for 1.5;
and they have been variously for Classic and Superserver.

Firebird and Interbase (in all combinations) have been just about the
most trouble-free installs of any software I have come across.

There have been a few later issues when it has come to connecting
remotely to Linux machines. But these were solved by me learning
more about Linux.

I'm prepared to do learn more about Linux. If I really don't want to
have to do anything more than 'point and click' I would stick to
using Win32. It is always best to use the platform that meets your
needs whilst requiring the least effort on your part.

If someone uses Win32, then I suggest they use the Win32 binaries
initially. If they know Linux or OS X, then I direct them to those
platforms.

If you really are going to make a 'jump' to Linux, I think you need
to prepare yourself. It is not the same as using Win32. I think
this means doing quite a bit of reading and research.

I haven't really started to use Debian, but if you go with that
option, I would do some reading about installing Debian. Apparently
some people have problems with the install of the OS. I chose to
install nothing more than the base install (I think this means I
exited out of dselect, but to be honest I can't remember). After
that I just used apt-get, and installed what I needed. I can't
remember which version of Debian it is, but it is their latest stable
version. (BTW, when they call it 'stable' it just means their
version that is recommended because it is 'highly stable').

My first introductions to Linux were about 4 or 5 years ago with SuSE
5.4 and 6.3 . I never got XWindows in anything but 16 but on any
machine with those revs of SuSE, and I gave up ever expecting to ever
have a nice GUI with Linux, and just took to the command line. That
expectation changed when I first used Mandrake 8.2, and later Redhat
7.2. So now I avoid SuSE always :-)

There is a lot to be said for using Debian because of apt-get.
However, I've had no trouble with the RPM binaries as I said.

I have got 7 licensed copies of DB2 for Linux (got them with the
unbelievably cheap SBS suite IBM used to sell). I can't even be
bothered to start the install to see if it will work. It is clear
from the instructions that it is going to be a very complicated
install, even though IBM only supports about 3 or 4 versions of
Linux. So, the licenses sit doing nothing, and I use Firebird instead.
I've installed Oracle on Win32 enough times to see that screw itself
up.

For me every install of Firebird on every platform I have tried, has
been a breeze. So I take the path of least resistance and continue
to use it. I'm not even aware of anything that DB2 or Oracle would
give me that I miss (apart from headaches).

I am extremely happy to be using Linux and Firebird. There is
nothing dismal about it for me. So, my perspective is you should be
very optimistic about using Firebird on Linux. But you should be
prepared to learn about Linux from the beginning.


Regards
Bernard

--- In firebird-support@yahoogroups.com, Doug Chamberlin
<yahoogroups@a...> wrote:

> This is a dismal situation

[snip]

> Let's stay on top of this issue, folks. Anyone having any news or

success

> with specific combinations of software, please share it right away!