IBDAC Overview

InterBase Data Access Components (IBDAC) is a library of  components that provides access to InterBase and Firebird database servers. IBDAC directly uses InterBase client software to connect to server. The IBDAC library 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 the Borland Database Engine for access to InterBase and InterBase Express Components.

The IBDAC library is actively developed and supported by the Devart Team. If you have questions about IBDAC, email the developers at [email protected] or visit IBDAC online at https://www.devart.com/ibdac/.

Advantages of IBDAC Technology

IBDAC is a direct connectivity database wrapper built specifically for the InterBase server. IBDAC offers wide coverage of the InterBase feature set, and emphasizes optimized data access strategies.

Wide Coverage of InterBase Features

By providing access to the most advanced database functionality, IBDAC allows developers to harness the full capabilities of the InterBase server and optimize their database applications. IBDAC provides complete support for InterBase Blobs and Arrays, support for Unicode character data, InterBase events. View the full list of supported InterBase features in Features.

Optimized Code

The goal of IBDAC is to enable developers to write efficient and flexible database applications. The IBDAC library is implemented using optimized code and advanced data access algorithms. Component interfaces undergo comprehensive performance tests and are designed to help you write thin and efficient product data access layers. Find out more about how to use IBDAC to optimize your database applications in Increasing Performance.

Compatibility with other Connectivity Methods

The IBDAC interface retains compatibility with standard VCL data access components like BDE and IBX. Existing BDE- and IBX-based applications can be easily migrated to IBDAC and enhanced to take advantage of InterBase-specific features. Project migration can be automated with the BDE/IBX Migration Wizard. Find out more about Migration Wizard in Using Migration Wizard.

Development and Support

IBDAC is an InterBase connectivity solution that is actively developed and supported. IBDAC comes with full documentation, demo projects, and fast (usually within one business day) technical support by the IBDAC development team. Find out more about how to get help or submit feedback and suggestions to the IBDAC Development Team in Getting Support.

A description of the IBDAC components is provided in Component List.

Key Features

• Direct access to server data. Does not require installation of other data provider layers (such as BDE and ODBC)
• VCL, LCL and FireMonkey versions of the library available
• Full support of the latest versions of InterBase and Firebird 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
• InterBase OTW encryption 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 and C++Builder to develop client/server applications
• Included annual IBDAC Subscription with Priority Support
• Licensed royalty-free per developer, per team, or per site

The full list of IBDAC features can be found in Features.

How does IBDAC work?

IBDAC uses InterBase client software to connect to the server directly through the native InterBase interface, without using BDE or ODBC. It is designed to be lightweight. It consists of a minimal layer between InterBase server and your code. This extends functionality without sacrificing performance.

In contrast, the Borland Database Engine (BDE) uses several layers to access InterBase and requires additional data access software to be installed on client machines.

IBDAC Connection

BDE Connection