New feature preview feature in LibreOffice 4.2  : Firebird SQL

connector for LibreOffice Base (Andrzej Hunt). When creating a new

Database, select Firebird Embedded in the drop down menu (you have to

first enable the Experimental features in Tools ▸Options ▸ LibreOffice

▸ Advanced). This allows creation of databases that performmany times

faster than the previous built-in HSQLDB 1.8, avoiding the C++-to-Java

overhead inherent in using HSQLDB. We plan to phase HSQLDB out over

the next few releases, and provide a smooth migration path to

Firebird.

https://www.libreoffice.org/download/4-2-new-features-and-fixes/