I use Firebird since 0.x version (open interbase?) .

It's the most versatile db I've found so far : embedded and full server,
linux(99%) and windows, odbc or jaybird.

Installs in 5 minutes with db configuration.

I never had a performance issue that was not my fault and biggest db's
are 80GB+ with ~300 concurrent sessions .

The "tooling" is becoming a problem for me as I use less and less
ms-windows. There are no linux tools I can bare to use daily as
Flamerobin is, and I must start migrating to v3 ASAP. I'm starting to
evaluate windows tools within WINE and java based tools .

Regards

Pablo Sánchez

> Hello everyone,
>
> <IMHO>
>
> I've been using FB since version 1 and I have only good comments about
> the database quality and performance. However, It's true that the
> development has evolved too slow and we had to wait almost 10 years
> since the first release to get a real SMP support (I know that's tricky
> since for Linux and classic was not a problem) and we were far behind
> the competitors MySQL and PgSQL.
>
> In the meantime the great team was improving the database, MySQL and
> PgSQL have won a lot of user base because they evolved faster adding new
> features like XML support, JSON, NoSQL engines, etc. into their database
> core. Some of those features look far away from the Firebird next versions.
>
> Also, today I was looking for a Flamerobin updated version but the
> project seens abandoned. I mean, flamerobin is a really cool tool but
> nobody is helping its developers to keep it updated. Some of you can
> blame that everyone should be able to create code for the project, but
> that's not true, a project needs engagement to develop, knowledge of the
> language, etc. So it's not e asy to add developers (and more difficult
> if they don't see cool features out of the box). Basically, if you want
> a management tool updated you need to go to commercial.
>
> So, my point is, the current Firebird develepment model is not
> delivering features as the market requires, there is not a gui
> management tool once you install the software, all the cool features are
> commercial. If you install MySQL, after the installation you will get a
> DBMS with GUI for management, encryption,  replication out of the box
> since many years ago, all drivers for developers if desired, extensive
> support from Cloud providers, and a lot of features that make it a very
> functional tool out of the box. Also PgSQL offers many of these features
> out of the box fo r free.
>
> I know the Firebird model offers to many Companies to sell those missing
> tools, but to be honest, if your competitors offer the same for free you
> will go for them. In my last project I used MySQL because it has wide
> support in the cloud providers, offering Database as a Service,
> replication, encryption, an integrated GUI out of the box and other
> features. In the next project I will be using PgSQL for similar reasons.
> I'm asking myself how much time I'll still be using Firebird if the
> project evolves slow, there is not GUI officially maintened and the cool
> features are for the commercial companies.
>
> I don't want to start a flame, thos e are only my personal thoughs
> regarding the Firebird future. If nothing changes, we could see some
> users and developers moving to other DBMS for sure... and we have not
> talked about NoSQL competitors yet...
>
> You are the genius, I hope you will figure out how to keep this great
> project alive.
>
>
> </IMHO>
>
> Best regards,
>
>
>