> -----Original Message-----
> From: aman [mailto:aman.phokela@...]
> Sent: Miércoles 6 de Diciembre de 2000 19:01
>
> Hi
> We as a Project are in the process of moving from existing MS
> SQL Server 6.5 on Windows NT to Interbase on lynux due to non
> existence of support of SQL Server on non windows platform...and
> we are very much naive on Interbase.

Please post in plain text next time. InterBase®/Firebird will let you to
use the same db on the several platforms it supports, provided that you
backup and restore among different operating systems.

> the biggest concern is in terms of:-
> (1)existing data migration

Sql2gdb is an utility that was born in this list. It will handle metadata
and data for now. It's getting better as time passes.

> (2) existing partial schema migration

If you mean selecting some tables, yes, it's supported currently. However,
I don't think the tool checks for dependencies (correct me if I'm wrong), so
if you fail to include tableA that is needed for tableB definition, you will
get an error when you try to execute the script. Anyway, you can save the
script for later manual tweaking.

> including Stored Procedures

No. I've used both MsSql and IB for years and have to say that MsSql
procedures have no syntax... you can write almost any garbage in them and
it's accepted. With IB, you will find a language that resembles Pascal or C
to write your procedures and triggers.

> (3) not clear if the Stored Procedures created in Interbase can
> be called up directly by JDBC APIs( like ASP server objects
> directly allowing SP to be called )

There're connectors for IB in several languages, including PHP, Perl,
Python and Java. The Java adapter is known as InterClient. The native API is
accessed directly through Pascal and C.

> (4) Any other issues related to migration

See a basic document "Comparison IB/MsSql" that I donated to
www.ibphoenix.com where I compare some features. It lacks a lot of more
points, but this is a starting point.

> (5) Can we use multi sql to program for Interbase due to its
> portability across different databases?

What's multi sql, what do you mean? If you mean stardard SQL, there's a
good chance other engines will understand. If you mean to use your gdb on
any operating system where IB runs, yes, excepting UDFs that will need to be
ported. If you mean writing SQL that spans more than one database, then no.

> An advise on this would be greatly helpful for this major
> Business decision. Also a Case Study would be highly appreciated.

There are some case studies on IB itself, but I don't remember if a
conversion from other engine has been addressed. Anyway, if you go to my
site
www.cvalde.com and click on WHO USES IB, you will find misc info and at the
bottom, there're links to other case studies at Borland, Synectics and
DThomas.

C.