On Sun, Aug 14, 2011 at 17:58, Lester Caine <lester@...> wrote:

> squidsrus85 wrote:
>> I had also looked at FlameRobin but it was even more cryptic than IB_SQL.
> Since Flamerobin has all of the tools one could need, I fail to understand why
> you have a problem with it. IB_SQL adds a few more useful extensions such as the
> data pump between databases, but for managing the structure of a database,
> Flamerobin is great, and provides tools that IB_SQL does not for creating tables
> and editing them. So what was the problem?

"Cryptic" doesn't mean "it's missing tools" but "I couldn't figure out
what I have to do to achieve my goal". I think for someone not
familiar with sql database servers it's a bit difficult to get started
anyways. I like FlameRobin but I also see that its look and feel is
different from the average windows desktop application. Here a
"traditional" desktop application like IBExpert with a familiar UI, a
Getting Started screen and a few wizards provides an easier learning
curve and maybe even asks you "It looks like you're creating a new
table. Do you need help?"
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/db/Clippy-letter.PNG
Once you understand what's going on you might get annoyed by Clippy
and use another tool =)

> The main problem you are probably hitting is that Firebird is purely a
> workhorse, you need other tools if you are wanting a graphical interface into
> it. Many users are happier with 'command line' type access and just write SQL
> scripts directly which IS more cryptic.

Agreed. And: with SQL you don't have to wonder what magic is going on
in the layers of abstraction hidden by your tool. That's why I started
writing plain text or looked at the text generated by the tools. And
if you have a problem then the good people in firebird-support will
ask you to try out the sql statement in isql -- to avoid any possible
interference of 3rd party tools.

What I like about IB_SQL is that it heavily uses the property editors
you have to understand anyways when developing with IBO in Delphi. So
you only have to learn once (which is nice when you're just getting
started).

My 0.014€,
Markus