InterBase Data Access Components (IBDAC)

InterBase Data Access Components (IBDAC) is a library of non-visual components for Delphi, Delphi for .NET, C++Builder, and Lazarus (Free Pascal) that provides access to InterBase, Firebird and Yaffil database servers.

InterBase (and FireBird) Data Access Components (IBDAC) is a library of components that provides native connectivity to InterBase, Firebird and Yaffil from Delphi, C++Builder, Lazarus (and Free Pascal) on Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, Android, Linux, and FreeBSD for both 32-bit and 64-bit platforms. IBDAC-based applications connect to the server directly using the InterBase client. IBDAC is designed to help programmers develop faster and cleaner InterBase database applications.

IBDAC is a complete replacement for standard InterBase connectivity solutions. It presents an efficient alternative to InterBase Express Components, the Borland Database Engine (BDE), and the standard dbExpress driver for access to InterBase.

It is available in the following editions:

• IBDAC Standard: The Standard edition includes the IBDAC basic connectivity components and IBDAC Migration Wizard. IBDAC Standard Edition is a cost-effective solution for database application developers who are looking for overall high-performance connectivity to InterBase.
• IBDAC Professional: The Professional edition shows off the full power of IBDAC, enhancing IBDAC Standard Edition with support for InterBase-specific functionality and advanced dataset management features.

You can get Source Access to the implementation of all the component classes in IBDAC by purchasing the special IBDAC Professional Edition with Source Code. The source codes of DataSet Manager and Migration Wizard are not distributed.

Key Features:

• Performance: All the components and libraries are designed to help you write high-performance, lightweight data access layers, therefore they use advanced data access algorithms and techniques of optimization.
  
• Mobile Development: Develompent for iOS and Android mobile devices using IBDAC becomes still easier, as IBDAC allows your mobile applications to work with InterBase database as simply as desktop applications do.
  
• 64-bit Development: IBDAC doesn't limit your choice of the development platform. Now you can develop for 32-bit and 64-bit platforms with Delphi and Lazarus (and FPC).
  
• Data Type Mapping: If you want to make custom correspondence between InterBase and Delphi data types, you can use a simple and flexible Data Type Mapping engine provided by IBDAC.
  
• IDE Compatibility: Our product is compatible with the latest IDE versions: Embarcadero RAD Studio 10.2 Tokyo, Delphi 10.2 Tokyo, C++Builder 10.2 Tokyo, Lazarus (and FPC). It is also compatible with the previous IDE versions since Delphi 6 and C++Builder 6.
  
• Development Platforms: Now you can develop not only VCL-based applications in Delphi and LCL-based ones in Lazarus, but also use the newest FireMonkey application development platform.
  
• DB Compatibility: Our product supports InterBase server versions 5.x up to XE, Firebird 3.x, 2.x, 1.x and Yaffil
  
• Monitoring: Use our freeware dbMonitor tool to monitor and analyze all the DB calls made by your application using IBDAC. dbMonitor performs percomponent tracing of SQL statement execution, commits, rollbacks, etc.
  

InterBase Data Access Components (IBDAC) - Features

InterBase Data Access Components (IBDAC) is a library of components that provides access to InterBase, Firebird and Yaffil database servers. IBDAC uses the InterBase client directly to connect to the server. The IBDAC library is designed to help programmers develop faster and cleaner InterBase database applications.

Key Features

The following list describes the main features of InterBase Data Access Components.

• Direct access to server data. Does not require installation of other data provider layers (such as BDE and ODBC) VCL, VCL.NET, and CLX versions of library available
• Full support of the latest versions of InterBase, Firebird and Yaffil database servers
• Support for all InterBase data types
• Disconnected Model with automatic connection control for working with data offline
• Local Failover for detecting connection loss and implicitly re-executing certain operations
• All types of local sorting and filtering, including by calculated and lookup fields
• Automatic data updating with TIBCQuery and TIBCTable components
• Unicode and national charsets support
• InterBase Events support
• Advanced script execution functionality with TIBCScript component
• Support for using Macros in SQL
• Easy migration from BDE and IBX with Migration Wizard
• Lets you use Professional Edition of Delphi, C++Builder, and Kylix to develop client/server applications
• Includes annual IBDAC Subscription with Priority Support
• Licensed royalty-free per developer, per team, or per site

IBDAC includes the following components:

• TIBCConnection - sets and controls connection to InterBase database
• TIBCTransaction - provides discrete transaction control over database connections
• TIBCQuery - uses SQL statements to retrieve data from InterBase table or tables, automatically generates missing INSERT, DELETE, UPDATE statements
• TIBCTable - lets you retrieve and update data in a single table without writing SQL statements
• TIBCStoredProc - executes stored procedures and functions, allows to edit cursor data returned as parameter
• TIBCSQL - executes SQL statements and stored procedures, which do not return rowsets
• TIBCScript - executes sequence of SQL statements
• TIBCUpdateSQL - lets you tune update operations for a DataSet component
• TIBCDataSource - provides an interface between a IBDAC dataset components and data-aware controls on a form
• TIBCAlerter - transfers messages between connections
• TIBCSQLMonitor - allows to monitor dynamic SQL executing in IBDAC-based applications
• TIBCConnectDialog - serves for entering username, password and server name
• TCRDBGrid - extends TDBGrid capabilities, provides visual access to filters and incremental search
• TVirtualTable - dataset stores data in memory
• IBCDataAdapter - .NET component, uses TDataSet as data source for retrieving and saving data to System.Data.DataSet
• TCRBatchMove - transfers data between all types of TDataSet descendants

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General Features

General usability

• Direct access to server data. Does not require installation of other data provider layers (such as BDE and ODBC)
• Interface compatible with standard data access methods, such as BDE and ADO
• VCL, VCL for .NET, and CLX versions of library available
• Separated run-time and GUI specific parts allow you to create pure console applications such as CGI
• Unicode and national charset support

Network and connectivity

• Disconnected Model with automatic connection control for working with data offline
• Local Failover for detecting connection loss and implicitly reexecuting certain operations

Compatibility

• Full support of the latest versions of InterBase, Firebird and Yaffil database servers
• Support for all InterBase data types
• Compatible with all IDE versions starting with Delphi 5, C++Builder 5, and Kylix 2, except Delphi 8
• Includes provider for UniDAC Standard Edition [New]
• Wide reporting component support, including support for InfoPower, ReportBuilder, FastReport
• Support of all standard and third-party visual data-aware controls
• Allows you to use Professional Edition of Delphi and C++Builder to develop client/server applications

InterBase technology support

• InterBase event support
• Comprehensive array data type support
• Advanced BLOB support
• Streaming (non-caching) BLOB access support
• Advanced generator support
• Advanced support for the character set OCTETS
• Support for the Firebird 2 EXECUTE BLOCK syntax
• Support for the Firebird 2 RETURNING clause
• Advanced locking for Firebird 2
• Automatic updates by DB KEY unique field for Firebird 2
• Default value support for stored procedures

Performance

• High overall performance
• Fast controlled fetch of large data blocks
• Optimized string data storing
• Advanced connection pooling
• High performance of applying cached updates with batches
• Caching of calculated and lookup fields
• Fast Locate in a sorted DataSet
• Preparing of user-defined update statements

Local data storage operations

• Database-independent data storage with TVirtualTable component
• CachedUpdates operation mode
• Local sorting and filtering, including by calculated and lookup fields
• Local master/detail relationship
• Master/detail relationship in CachedUpdates mode

Data access and data management automation

• Automatic data updating with TIBCQuery and TIBCTable components
• Automatic record refreshing and locking
• Automatic query preparing
• Support for ftWideMemo field type in Delphi 2006 and higher

Extended data access functionality

• Separate component for executing SQL statements
• Simplified access to table data with TIBCTable component
• Ability to retrieve metadata information with TIBCMetaData component [New]
• BLOB compression support
• Support for using macros in SQL
• Ability to customize update commands by attaching external components to TIBCUpdateSQL objects
• Deferred detail DataSet refresh in master/detail relationships
• MIDAS technology support
• IBCDataAdapter component for WinForms and ASP.NET applications

Data exchange

• Transferring data between all types of TDataSet descendants with TCRBatchMove component
• Data export and import to/from XML (ADO format)
• Ability to synchronize positions in different DataSets

Script execution

• Advanced script execution features with TIBCScript component
• Support for executing individual statements in scripts
• Support for executing huge scripts stored in files with dynamic loading
• Ability to use standard ISQL syntax in scripts

SQL execution monitoring

• Extended SQL tracing capabilities provided by TIBCSQLMonitor component and DBMonitor application
• Borland SQL Monitor support
• Ability to send messages to DBMonitor from any point in your program

Visual extensions

• Includes source code of enhanced TCRDBGrid data-aware grid control
• Customizable connection dialog

Design-time enhancements

• DataSet Manager tool to control DataSet instances in the project
• Advanced design-time component and property editors
• Automatic design-time component linking
• Easy migration from BDE and IBX with Migration Wizard
• More convenient data source setup with the TIBCDataSource component
• Syntax highlighting in design-time editors

Product clarity

• Complete documentation sets
• Printable documentation in PDF format
• A large amount of helpful demo projects

Licensing and support

• Included annual IBDAC Subscription with Priority Support
• Licensed royalty-free per developer, per team, or per site

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New Features in Version 3.10

• Embarcadero RAD Studio 2010 suppored

Features in Version 3.00

• TIBCLoader component
  serves for fast loading of data to the database. For Firebird 2.0 and higher it combines INSERT statements in one EXECUTE BLOCK statement to speed up loading.

• InterBase services components
  allow to backup and restore database, configure server parameters and security.
• Free Pascal under Linux supported
• Added NoPreconnect property to TIBCScript for executing CONNECT and CREATE DATABASE commands

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InterBase Data Access Components (IBDAC) - System Requirements

Compatibility

IBDAC supports the following database servers:

• InterBase versions 5.x and up
• Firebird 2.x, 1.x
• Yaffil

IBDAC is compatible with the following IDEs:

• Embarcadero RAD Studio 2010
• CodeGear C++Builder 2009
• CodeGear Delphi 2009 for Win32
• CodeGear RAD Studio 2007
• CodeGear C++Builder 2007
• CodeGear Delphi 2007 for Win32
• Turbo Delphi Professional
• Turbo Delphi for .NET Professional
• Turbo C++ Professional
• Borland Developer Studio 2006 including support of Delphi for Win32, Delphi for .NET and C++Builder Personality
• Borland Delphi 2005
• Borland Delphi 7
• Borland Delphi 6
• Borland Delphi 5
• Borland C++Builder 6
• Borland C++Builder 5
• Free Pascal for Win32 and Linux (only Editions with Source Code and Trial Edition)
• Borland Kylix 3
• Borland Kylix 2

IBDAC only supports Architect, Enterprise, and Professional IDE editions. Also, IBDAC does not support Kylix Open Edition.