| Subject | Re: [firebird-support] Assistance Appreciated Beginning with Firefox 2.1.1. |
|---|---|
| Author | Helen Borrie |
| Post date | 2008-10-05T21:27:05Z |
At 02:59 6/10/2008, John wrote:
If you *are* talking about FireBIRD then probably the first thing to know is that a RDBMS sits at the back-end of user application software. We write programs (in C, Pascal, Java, PHP or whatever language we are into) that extract sets of data from databases and add, change or delete data.
To do this, we use a kind of universal language for relational database engines, called SQL. One branch of SQL - called Data Definition Language (DDL) - is used to create databases and the objects in them - tables, indices, stored procedures, et al. You can self-teach SQL from many resources around the Web. If you want a reasonably priced book on SQL to get at the basic concepts, I recommend the Second Edition of SQL for Dummies. It is quite old now but SQL doesn't change significantly over time. You can pick one up on eBay or Amazon Used Books for less than $10 usually.
Firebird is a client/server RDBMS. Firebird and your databases live in a central place, while application programs can be anywhere, depending on requirements - on local or wide network nodes, as application servers for web clients, whatever. Application programs are "clients" - they use SQL to send requests to the Firebird server and the server tries to oblige - by performing operations and by sending sets of data back to the requesting clients. A client can run on the same machine as the Firebird server, for various purposes including development and administration.
While we are developing our applications and databases, we use client tools that provide a working interface with databases and the Firebird server. Firebird comes with a range of tools that run in the command shell of your operating system (OS = Windows, Linux, Solaris, etc.). You'll find them all the ..\bin directory.
The main utility tool for creating and playing around with databases is called isql. If you aren't familiar with the text interface, you'll be happier with a graphical client, such as Flamerobin, IB_SQL or one of the excellent commercial tools available, such as Database Workbench. Some of the commercial ones have free personal or trial editions. The IBPhoenix site has a pretty comprehensive index with links - drop down the Downloads menu at www.firebirdsql.org and select Third-Party Tools and Libraries. Or Googling them by name might be just as easy.
When you are ready, come back to this list and try to explain what you want to do with Firebird. We're known to be pretty good at offering suggestions if you are good enough at explaining what you want. ;-)
There is a sample database in your installation, in ..\examples\empbuild, called employee.fdb. It's not a great database but it's at least a good place to start, with your book of SQL basics open beside you. :-) Use the Quick Start Guide with your chosen client toolset to get into it. We have a list firebird-tools where you can post questions about using the tools.
Good luck!
./heLen
>I have read the QuickStart Guide and the Installation Manual. PleaseYou do mean Firebird, yes? Firebird is a relational database management system (RDBMS). Firefox is a web browser. The two are not connected and they do entirely different jobs. :-)
>note that I really don't have a computer background, but I am most
>willing to learn. Actually, I am excited about Firefox and what it
>can do. It appears I have properly installed Firefox, but just can't
>find a way to get going with it, even to start examples to help to
>learn it.
If you *are* talking about FireBIRD then probably the first thing to know is that a RDBMS sits at the back-end of user application software. We write programs (in C, Pascal, Java, PHP or whatever language we are into) that extract sets of data from databases and add, change or delete data.
To do this, we use a kind of universal language for relational database engines, called SQL. One branch of SQL - called Data Definition Language (DDL) - is used to create databases and the objects in them - tables, indices, stored procedures, et al. You can self-teach SQL from many resources around the Web. If you want a reasonably priced book on SQL to get at the basic concepts, I recommend the Second Edition of SQL for Dummies. It is quite old now but SQL doesn't change significantly over time. You can pick one up on eBay or Amazon Used Books for less than $10 usually.
Firebird is a client/server RDBMS. Firebird and your databases live in a central place, while application programs can be anywhere, depending on requirements - on local or wide network nodes, as application servers for web clients, whatever. Application programs are "clients" - they use SQL to send requests to the Firebird server and the server tries to oblige - by performing operations and by sending sets of data back to the requesting clients. A client can run on the same machine as the Firebird server, for various purposes including development and administration.
While we are developing our applications and databases, we use client tools that provide a working interface with databases and the Firebird server. Firebird comes with a range of tools that run in the command shell of your operating system (OS = Windows, Linux, Solaris, etc.). You'll find them all the ..\bin directory.
The main utility tool for creating and playing around with databases is called isql. If you aren't familiar with the text interface, you'll be happier with a graphical client, such as Flamerobin, IB_SQL or one of the excellent commercial tools available, such as Database Workbench. Some of the commercial ones have free personal or trial editions. The IBPhoenix site has a pretty comprehensive index with links - drop down the Downloads menu at www.firebirdsql.org and select Third-Party Tools and Libraries. Or Googling them by name might be just as easy.
When you are ready, come back to this list and try to explain what you want to do with Firebird. We're known to be pretty good at offering suggestions if you are good enough at explaining what you want. ;-)
There is a sample database in your installation, in ..\examples\empbuild, called employee.fdb. It's not a great database but it's at least a good place to start, with your book of SQL basics open beside you. :-) Use the Quick Start Guide with your chosen client toolset to get into it. We have a list firebird-tools where you can post questions about using the tools.
Good luck!
./heLen