Firebird 3.0 Is Available Now - with major improvements in
performance, security and SQL features

April 19, 2016 -- The Firebird Project is pleased to announce the
release of version 3 of Firebird, its open source relational database
management system:
http://www.firebirdsql.org/en/firebird-3-0-0/

This version is the most extensive re-architecture of the Firebird DBMS
since its initial release more than 14 years ago. Its new
multi-threaded engine processes and shared page caching enable better
utilization of multi-core hardware and large address spaces. With these
changes, this release features dramatic performance increases, while
maintaining compatibility with old client libraries.

In addition, Firebird 3.0 includes a long list of SQL improvements
(including Window and statistical functions), enhanced security features
such as wire and database encryption and multiple security databases,
and more -- over 100 significant improvements. Yet even with its new
enterprise-level features, it retains the tiny footprint and simple
deployment and management that have made it "the right tool for the job"
for so many applications.

Steve Summers, President of the non-profit Firebird Foundation, said:
"We're very excited about this release. Re-architecting a system as
complex as a relational database system is a very difficult task. We're
extremely impressed with the skills shown by Firebird's development team
and the great job they've done."

Dmitry Yemanov, the core team leader, agreed. "Firebird 3.0 development
was quite a challenge but we've finally completed the work and ensured
that it complies with our QA standards. Besides the scalability and
security features that were our top priority tasks, I'm particularly
happy about the performance improvements in garbage collection and
incremental backup areas. With the renewed architecture and
significantly refactored code, this release establishes a solid platform
for our further progress. Thanks to all the Firebird developers and
contributors."

Mr. Summers added: "If you're building a system that needs to store
structured data at end-users' sites, from a few megabytes to hundreds of
gigabytes, on a desktop or a network with thousands of users, Firebird
has always been a great choice. It's an even better choice now. You owe
it to yourself to at least take a look!"

Pricing and Availability

Firebird 3.0 is an open source database system that is completely free
of charge for any use – including deployment as part of commercial
products (not just non-profit, private or educational use like some of
its competitors). Both binary packages and the complete source code can
be downloaded at no cost through the Firebird Project website:
http://www.firebirdsql.org/en/firebird-3-0-0/

No registration or activation is required.

As of today, Firebird 3.0 is available in 32 and 64 bit versions for
both Windows and Linux. OS X and other platforms will be available soon.
Drivers for JDBC (Java), .NET, ODBC, Python and more are also available
through the FirebirdSQL.org web site, along with documentation.
http://www.firebirdsql.org/en/downloads/

Additional tools (drivers, administration, replication, UDF
(user-defined-function) libraries, etc.) are also available through
third parties:
http://www.firebirdsql.org/en/third-party-tools/

About the Firebird Foundation

The Firebird Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports the
development and maintenance of the Firebird relational database system.
The Foundation was incorporated in 2002 and is currently supported by
more than 300 active members and 23 sponsors. If you find Firebird
useful, and especially if it is helping you earn money, please join us
to help ensure the future of this valuable tool. For details, please
click the Community tab on our website
http://www.firebirdsql.org/en/firebird-foundation/

For more information, contact:

Steve Summers, sesummers@..., or

Alexey Kovyazin, case@...