I've never tried accessing an InterBase 6.0 database through Firebird

>2.0, it may or may not work. Normally, it is recommended to take a
>backup through the old system (InterBase 6.0) and restore it on the new
>(Firebird 2.0).

It works, and works well, with FB 0.9.x as well as 1.5.x

All you need to watch out for is the much stricter parser in FB. You
can't have the kinds of select statements in FB that you can in IB 6.0.x

But changing the Metadata is not a big deal.

I must add, however, that my database structure is quite simple. No
referential integrity enforced in the database, although there is a
high degree of normalization. I have lots of stored procedures, and
every table has a primary key as well as a trigger than generates the
new primary key value on insert.

My advice is don't use the BDE for accessing IB/FB at all. The speed
improvement is very significent indeed - of the order of 10 times
faster - if you use direct access components like IBObjects.

If you use the BDE, especially through ODBC, EVERYTHING slows down.
You now introduce several layers of software that your SQL must go
through before getting to (or from) the database. Direct access
components wrap the Interbase / Firebird API that allows direct (as
in not going through other layers) access. it's MUCH faster.

We have (what we consider to be) large databases - 200 Mb or more -
which are very "intensive" - they form the backbone of applications
that run gasoline stations as well as POS and EFT software (all in one FDB).

We use IBX components, although I would recommend (if you go this
route) that you use IBObjects rather - or a similar component set
which is more compatible with FB than IBX.

Apart from fool engineers not setting "forced writes" on when
installing the software, we have NEVER - and I MEAN never - had any
problems on IB. We use (in the field) IB 6.0.2.0 All development is
done on FB 1.5.4 We have about 1000 installations country wide -
many of them never see a database administrator after the engineer
has left the site. We experience power failures, fool users, hardware
failures, network failures, fuel tankers driving over the computers,
45 degree C heat.

We never experience database failure.

I mentioned to Martin sometime back that maybe I should come to the
next FB conference and give a talk on "Extreme Database
Administration", along the lines of the "Extreme Sports" on ESPN .... :D


Regards

Tim

Tim