IBDAC

Connecting to InterBase and Firebird

This tutorial describes how to connect to InterBase and Firebird using the TIBCConnection component.

  1. Requirements
  2. General Information
  3. Creating a Connection
  4. Opening a Connection
  5. Modifying a Connection
  6. Closing a Connection
  7. Additional Information
  8. See Also

Requirements

This tutorial assumes that you have installed IBDAC and run the database server and the IDE. You need to know the server address, the port number (if you use a port other than the default port 3050), the path to the database file (.gdb or .fdb), and the username and password. To connect at runtime, add the IBC unit to the uses clause for Delphi or include the IBC.hpp header file for C++ Builder.

General Information

To establish a connection to the server, set up the properties of the TIBCConnection component: Server, Port, Database, ClientLibrary, Username, and Password. You can also specify all connection parameters in the ConnectString property.

Creating a Connection

Connecting at Design-Time

The following assumes that you have already created or opened an existing form in the IDE. At design-time, you can set up a TIBCConnection object in the TIBCConnection Editor or Object Inspector.

  1. Find the TIBCConnection component in the IBDAC category on the Tool Palette.
  2. Double-click the component. A new object will appear on the form. If this is the first TIBCConnection object in this unit, it will be named IBCConnection1.

Using TIBCConnection Editor

  1. Double-click the IBCConnection1 object.
  2. Specify the DNS name or IP address of the InterBase or Firebird server in the Server edit box.
  3. If you use a port other than the default port 3050, specify it in the Port edit box.
  4. Specify the database file path in the Database edit box, e.g., D:\InterBase\employee.gdb or D:\Firebird\employee.fdb.
  5. Specify the username (sysdba by default) in the Username edit box.
  6. Specify the password (masterkey by default) in the Password edit box.
  7. If you have both InterBase and Firebird client libraries installed, specify the path to the client library — gds32.dll for InterBase or fbclient.dll for Firebird — in the Client library edit box. Otherwise, skip this step.

Using Object Inspector

  1. Select the IBCConnection1 object on the form.
  2. If you have both InterBase and Firebird client libraries installed, set the ClientLibrary property to gds32.dll for InterBase or fbclient.dll for Firebird. Otherwise, skip this step.
  3. Set the Database property to the database file path, e.g., D:\InterBase\employee.gdb or D:\Firebird\employee.fdb.
  4. Set the Password property to the password (masterkey by default).
  5. If you use a port other than the default port 3050, set the Port property to your port.
  6. Set the Server property to the DNS name or IP address of the InterBase or Firebird server.
  7. Set the Username property to the username (sysdba by default).

Connecting at Runtime

The same connection parameters at runtime are set up as follows:

Delphi 

var
  IBCConnection1: TIBCConnection;
begin
  IBCConnection1 := TIBCConnection.Create(nil);
  try
    // adds connection parameters
    // if Server is empty, a connection is established through the local protocol
    IBCConnection1.Server := 'server'; 
    IBCConnection1.Database := 'database';
    IBCConnection1.Username := 'username';
    IBCConnection1.Password := 'password';
    IBCConnection1.Port := 3050;
    // indicates the client lib for InterBase (for Firebird, use fbclient.dll)
    IBCConnection1.ClientLibrary := 'gds32.dll';
    // disables a login prompt
    IBCConnection1.LoginPrompt := False; 
    // opens a connection
    IBCConnection1.Open;
  finally
    IBCConnection1.Free;
  end;
end;

C++ Builder 

TIBCConnection* IBCConnection1 = new TIBCConnection(NULL);
try {
	// adds connection parameters
	// if Server is empty, a connection is established through the local protocol
	IBCConnection1->Server = "server"; 
    IBCConnection1->Database = "database";
	IBCConnection1->Username = "username";
	IBCConnection1->Password = "password";
	IBCConnection1->Port = 3050;
	// indicates the client lib for InterBase (for Firebird, use fbclient.dll)
	IBCConnection1->ClientLibrary = "gds32.dll";
	// disables a login prompt
	IBCConnection1->LoginPrompt = False; 
	// opens a connection
	IBCConnection1->Open();
}
__finally {
	IBCConnection1->Free();
}

Opening a Connection

To open a connection at run-time, call the Open method:

Delphi 

IBCConnection1.Open;

C++Builder 

IBCConnection1->Open;

Another way to open a connection at runtime is to set the Connected property to True:

Delphi 

IBCConnection1.Connected := True;

C++ Builder 

IBCConnection1->Connected = True;

You can also set up the Connected property at design-time in the Object Inspector.

Modifying a Connection

You can modify a connection by changing properties of the TIBCConnection object. Note that while some of the object's properties can be altered without changing the state of a connection, in most cases, a connection is closed when a new value is assigned to the property. For example, if you change the value of the Server property, a connection is closed immediately and you need to reopen it manually.

Closing a Connection

To close a connection, call the Close method or set the Connected property to False:

Delphi 

IBCConnection1.Close;

or:

IBCConnection1.Connected := False;

C++ Builder 

IBCConnection1->Close;

or:

IBCConnection1->Connected = False;

Additional Information

IBDAC offers a wide set of features to achieve better performance, balance network load, and enable additional capabilities, for example:

See Also

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