At 01:54 AM 26/07/2007, you wrote:

>Hello,
>
>We have software we use to keep a database of customer information and
>transactions. We want a certain amount of information about each
>transaction, which is definitely stored in the database, but the
>software does not support this feature. Essentially, we need customer
>names, dates and transaction amount. Our software does not support
>exporting this information to a usable form for us.
>
>The software uses a firebird database.
>
>Is there any way for us to access the information in our database
>outside of the main application that uses it? Can anyone point me in
>the direction of getting this data? I have some experience programming
>with SQL databases, but not a ton.

First, I strongly suggest that you do your initial "playing around"
with a copy of your database. You must make this (file) copy when
there are no users connected. Take the copy to some location where
the application program cannot find it.

Go to the Firebird website (http://firebirdsql.org), click on the
Documentation link at the top and open the documentation index. Find
the Quick Start Guide and download the PDF version. Since we don't
know what version of the Firebird Server you are running, I suggest
getting the V.1.5 guide initially.

I'm assuming your system is running on Windows. Let us know if not.

The other thing you will need is an SQL interface. Firebird comes
with a command-line tool "isql" but it might not be installed on your
system. It's not user-friendly for a newbie, anyway.

There are numerous graphical tools available. Some are free. If you
are on Windows, I suggest IB_SQL which you can download from
http://www.ibobjects.com/ibo_ib_sql.html . If you are on Linux or
another POSIX platform, click through on the Flamerobin link in the
left-hand menu at the main firebirdsql.org page to get that
download. (There is also a Windows version of Flamerobin).

You'll need the path (on the host server) to the database file and
(ideally) the name or IP address of the host machine. Consult the
Quick Start Guide for how to put these pieces together to form a
valid "connection string" for your database. You will also need a
user name and password.

After logging in, if you use IB_SQL, click the "spectacles" icon in
the toolbar to open the database browser. All will be
revealed! (Other tools have browsers in various forms, too.)

There's a fairly complete list of the admin programs available, along
with their info and download links, at
http://www.ibphoenix.com/main.nfs?a=ibphoenix&page=ibp_admin_tools

./heLen