I believe I've found the answer to this. The IBPhoenix ODBC driver
loads either fbclient.dll or gds32.dll from the Windows System32
directory, depending on which it finds. However the Firebird
documentation states that a program should check a registry key for the
location of fbclient.dll rather than relying on either of these DLLs
being installed in System32. This is to avoid the problems of "DLL Hell".

I've also found that the /COPYFBCLIENT Firebird silent install option
appears not to work (V2.1.0.17798 on XP Pro), but the installer will
quite happily install gds32.dll, making the simplest option to install
gds32.dll.

Obviously it's not desirable to have to install the ODBC driver as if
it's an ancient legacy application, but looking forward the Firebird
documentation says that this legacy support in the Firebird installer
will eventually be removed, leaving the IBPhoenix ODBC driver unusable
"out of the box". It should be a simple matter to address if there's
someone to address it. Is there?

Regards,

Robert.

Robert wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm having a problem with the IBPhoenix ODBC driver. If I don't
> install GDS32.dll into the Windows System32 directory (using the
> Firebird installer) I find that sometimes the ODBC driver works, but
> mostly it doesn't. Since using GDS32.dll is deprecated and at risk of
> being removed as an option in the Firebird installer this is clearly a
> problem, and I would prefer not to have to install it. I've been in
> contact with IBPhoenix who suggested the best place to raise the issue
> is here.
>
> Can anyone help me with this?
>
> Regards,
>
> Robert.
>
>

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