Quoting jofell_xcite <jofell_xcite@...>:

> We had a database under PostgreSQL. We're having a re-implementation of our
>
> Registration System here in the University of the philippines, and are also
> considering
> alternatives for PostgreSQL. Most of us develop J2EE Web modules under
> Windows. I
> myself want to create our database under Windows. I found info about

Firebird

> being
> not-so demanding in terms of hardware and software specs, unlike PostgreSQL
> w/c
> requires us to have Cygwin installed in our PC's. Some of us don't have
> internet access,
> so we decided to go for Firebird. JBoss already had sample XML files for
> Firebird
> Database Connectivity, and we find it very good to speed up our development
> process.
> Plus, Firebird had those tools you've mentioned, and most of them are
> free/open source.

IBExpert is the way to go.

>
> But our servers run under Linux, for our school implemented an

all-Linux-PC's

> rule. Well,
> linux really is good, and I've learned stuffs about it, and am using it in
> school. But most of
> us have already trained themselves on using Windows as platform for
> development. And
> so we found Firebird, having a native Windows version.

You ca ndevelop the application on windows, back-up the database and restore
it on the Linux server. Or develop it using the Linux server right from the
start.

>
> Our only problem is how to pump the data from PostgreSQL to Firebird, so we
> could
> have copies of it (for testing) in Windows. I don't have problems testing
> under Linux,
> but my colleagues seem to need something that would bridge Windows and linux
>
> software development.
>
> I hope that was a good reason.

The reason I've mentioned IBExpert is that there is a very good 'datapump'
from clevercomponents.com available either as a plugin for IBExpert or a
stanalone aplication. The data source can be Interbase/Firebird/ADO/BDE so
it covers almost everything. You can also create some scripts for creating
the IB/FB database using the database source structure. It's a very flexible
tool and deservers your attention.
Did I mention that it's free?

Tiberiu