At 04:57 PM 7/04/2005 -0400, you wrote:

>I have a client that is currently running FB 1.5.1 and has hit a bug that is
>fixed in FB 1.5.2. Can I just replace the Firebird.exe or do I need to
>uninstall FB 1.5.1 and install FB 1.5.2?

A sub-release isn't a patch, it's a complete rebuild of dozens of
interdependent modules. Any change potentially affects ALL of the
binaries, not just the server binary. So simply overwriting one binary
doesn't do the upgrade, it merely throws a cat among the pigeons, leaving
you with an installation that is neither one thing nor the other.

However, a sub-release also isn't a full release. Specifically, the
on-disk-structure of databases doesn't change. So, if it's easier for you
to do an "install-by-overwriting", using the .zip kit with the "folders"
option, instead of the installer, then that's OK for a sub-release. Just
remember to make a backup the security database before you begin, store it
*somewhere else* and restore it back over the one that is written when the
kit is unzipped. Don't restore the security.fbk that gets unzipped into
the Firebird root directory!!

All this done, of course, while the Firebird service is shut down.

The other strongly recommended thing to do is to give the clients the
correct version of fbclient.dll and firebird.msg, since sub-releases can
include fixes or late enhancements that affect them. If your application
code uses IBX, then make sure that you run the instclient.exe utility to
generate the IBX-compatible gds32.dll. If you're not using IBX, it's
generally enough to copy fbclient.dll into the relevant folder and simply
rename it to gds32.dll.

Need I say that, if you're going to go the "install-by-overwriting" route,
rather than a clean uninstall and install, that you do a practice run on a
development machine *first*, and test it!!

./heLen