Version 1.6.

Concerning multithreading.

Generally speaking there are no special problems but we explain as follows:

• GDS32.DLL in common case does not support concurrent access to DataBase by one connection.
• IBProvider implements own two-level lock mechanism:
  1. IB API level. Each connection has own synchronizing object.
  2. Components level. For example different threads can process data of the same rowset.

By other words the possibility of working of the client in a multithreading mode completely depends on used access libraries.

Most interesting that use of new possibility of IB6.5(cancellation of query executing) is possible only when calling isc_dsql_free_statement without synchronization of second (ICommand::Execute) and first level (isc_dsql_execute_xxx). And it does not guarantee passed handle stmt_handle is available. There is hope that specialists of Borland will be able to present an example of reliable in every respect using of this possibility. Periodically called callback-function could give more positive effect. But it is a subjective opinion.

Using compiler

_IBProvider.dll was compiled using "Free Borland C++ Compiler". Import of functions of gds32.dll is effected using names. Compatibility with client part of IB4 is present.

Eliminated errors

• In case of NUMERIC/DECIMAL columns of a resulting set the incorrect size of a type DBTYPE_R8 returned.
• More correct check of names of types passed to ICommandWithParameters::SetParameterInfo. Earlier it was possible to pass such name "DOUBLEPRECISIO N" for example.

Changes

• New load base address of _IBProvider.dll is 0x45E00000. Thanks to BCB5 linker the relocation table is kept.
• Floating conversion of INT64 to VARIANT. Types VT_I4/VT_R8 are available for conversion. Only VT_R8 was available before.

New functionality

• Realization of IDBInfo.
• Specialized support of queries "select * from table" was implemented. In this case IBProvider defines table name and grants the information about primary key columns into columns rowset. To tell the truth there is no own full-fledged SQL syntax analizer.)
• Now VARIANT supports VT_I1, VT_UI2, VT_UI4, VT_INT, VT_UINT types.
• Fault tolerance. One of potential vulnerable places of OLEDB is data exchange buffer. Because of variety of types and ways of data transmitting, guarantee of the buffer correct processing is necessary. In current version new method of compulsory bypass of all buffer items was implemented. If OLEDB client works correctly, it warrants fault tolerance for any dynamic errors (for example memory allocation.)
• isc_rollback_retaining supporting. In this case connection to server with DB Base Level=6 and use of GDS32 by IB6 are checking.

Optimization

At present if we need it then only on server level:). Nevertheless a main direction of this work is the elimination of unnecessary creation of temporary C++ objects and conversions between ANSI and UNICODE. Testing and comparison on this problem is represent to you. If it will be necessary we'll grant equivalent of sale version.

New properties of "Data Source Information" set

• "Provider Version"
• "Read-Only Data Source"
• "Provider Owned Memory"
• "ORDER BY Columns in Select List"
• "GROUP BY Support"
• "Maximum Row Size"
• "Maximum Row Size Includes BLOB"
• "Maximum Index Size"
• "Maximum Tables in SELECT"
• "Identifier Case Sensitivity"
• "Quoted Identifier Sensitivity"
• "Rowset Conversions on Command"
• "Subquery Support"
• "Isolation Retention"
• "IB Base Level"
• "IB GDS32 Version"
• "IB Version"
• "IB Database Dialect"
• "IB ODS Version"
• "IB ODS Minor Version"
• "IB Remote Connection"
• "IB Database Page Size"

Schema Rowsets

• 25 sets. All main and set of auxiliary ones.
• Tested for IB4, IB5, FB 0.9.4 и FB 6.2.641. We hope it will work and under IB6.5
• Support of limitations.
• Sorting of contents according to standard.
• Possibility to manage the mode of metadata caching. See new properties "schema_cache" and Session Schema Cache
• Weak lockout of metadata cache ensures efficiency of multithreaded applications.
• Possibility of an prohibition of implicit transactions for execution of queries of metadata obtaining. See properties "inner_trans" and "Session InnerTrans". If the user started explicitly transaction, just it will be used for metadata obtaining. In case of start of implicit transaction the level of isolation indicated in "Autocommit Isolation Levels" will be used.
• Some sets were extended to present the more sensible information. In particular
  • DBSCHEMA_REFERENCIAL_CONSTRANTS
  • DBSCHEMA_TABLE_PRIVILEGES
  • DBSCHEMA_COLUMN_PRIVILEGES
• Returning sets support IColumnsRowset
• The intensive use of an internal pool of objects minimizes the expenses of recreation of sets.

All

Publish date: 2001-12-13. Copyright: IBProvider. This material may be reproduced on other web sites, without written permission but link to http://www.ibprovider.com required. Printable version: Version 1.6.

All IBProvider news:

2011-11-15 The new IBProvider 3.9.4 improves compatibility with .NET. Fixed known bugs. 2011-09-23 New IBProvider v3.9.1 become more faster. 2011-08-22 The new version of IBProvider v.3.9 is delivered with the warranty(!) of stable performance within systems operating around the clock. 2011-06-07 IBProvider v3.8.2. Are your data access components ready for Firebird 3? 2011-05-11 IBProvider v3.8. UDF in metadata schemas. Configuring of transaction isolation parameters. New "Free". 2011-04-03 IBProvider v3.7. Support for BOOLEAN [Firebird v3]. 2011-03-03 IBProvider v3.6. New interfaces for rowset and new metadata schema. 2011-02-14 IBProvider v3.5. Support for Firebird 2.5.1. Automatic generation of SQL queries has been improved. Support for parameters in SQL scripts. 2011-01-14 4 key distinctions of the new IBProvider v3.4 that make your applications faster 2010-12-18 In the new IBProvider version, we introduced support of the BASE64 charset of InterBase XE, improved algorithms, reduced requirements to memory and corrected errors 2010-11-16 Do you want to enable execution of SQL scripts in your programs and spend less time for exhausting coding? 2010-11-11 Do you want to receive the full-featured IBProvider 64/32? Participate in our contest! 2010-10-20 Do you use TIME and TIMESTAMP in your applications? The new IBProvider version will further simplify your work! 2010-09-16 The new IBProvider version has a new interface and can work correctly with case-dependent names of database objects via MS SQL. 2010-08-26 Download the final build of IBProvider Professional v3(!). 2010-07-08 New IBProvider Professional v3 RC5 that supports updatable rowsets is now available. 2010-06-11 Multiple-step OLE DB operation generated errors. Check each OLE DB status value, if available. No work was done. 2010-05-07 New IBProvider 3.0.0.9496 RC4 release appeared. Query parameters parsing and COM-locking was updated. 2010-04-19 Changes in SQL-parser. Support for SQLSTATE and NativeError. 2010-03-15 Three Reasons Why You Should Upgrade to the New IBProvider 2010-02-14 Be quick to get a free license for IBProvider Professional v.3.0.00.8628 2010-01-18 Today, on January 18, 2010, IBProvider celebrates its 10th anniversary. The grand banquet is preceded by the release of the latest IBProvider version with enhanced support of DDL and updatable rowsets. 2009-12-15 We have improved PROCEDURES scheme loaders to obtain the text of stored procedures in PROCEDURE_DEFINITION. 2009-11-16 Performance of the new IBProvider increased by 4.5 times 2009-10-07 IBProvider 3.0.0.7798. The work with large volumes of data was improved. 2009-08-13 New IBProvider 3.0.0.7575 with queries pool and enhanced working with Delphi. 2009-07-10 IBProvider now supports free ways of NULL-processing. 2009-07-04 New IBProvider version can emulate BOOLEAN and GUID types when working with Firebird and Interbase. 2009-06-11 New IBProvider version has the option of cancelling commands execution and supports the new type of Firebird 2.5 queries containing SQL_NULL. 2009-05-05 The option of working with TIME type via MS SQL Linked Server. 2009-04-17 16 versions of Firebird and Interbase are now available for recording on 64-bit platforms via MS SQL Linked Server. 2009-03-05 IBProvider v3 Release Candidate 4 with enhanced DDEX support and optimized working with nominated parameters. Metadata can now be accessed in user encoding. 2009-02-16 New IBProvider allows comprehensive work in Unicode applications, enhanced work with NONE encoding, and supports charset markers. 2009-01-12 The brand new mechanism has been developed in IBProvider v3 for working with Firebird and Interbase text data charsets. 2008-11-06 New IBProvider - support of 49 code pages, ability to work without provider registering, prevention of memory leaks in Firebird client. 2008-10-03 In the new edition of IBProvider Professional 7 codepages support was implemented, bugs were fixed, BLOB-fields access and memory management was improved 2008-08-25 The 6 world-wide Firebird Conference in Bergamo, Italy 2008-07-30 IBProvider updates are available. Operation with NUMERIC-types and connection pooling were improved. External and temporary tables support in metadata schemes was added. Disabled metadata cache mode performance was increased in 2.5 times. 2008-07-08 New IBProvider Release Candidate 3 is available. Support of the integrated Windows authentication (SSPI) for Firebird 2.1, Support of long names and BOOLEAN type in Interbase 7.x and Interbase 2007, etc. 2008-06-17 IBProvider releases have appeared. OCTETS character set support, data type converter release, 64 bits values in metadata schematics. 2008-05-12 IBProvider releases have appeared. New implementation of the data types converter. 2008-04-07 New IBProvider v3 for 64 bits operational systems. 2008-03-11 New build No 3965 of IBProvider v 3.0 RC2 has appeared. 2008-02-08 Visual Studio 2008 support was improved, work with DTC was corrected, known bugs were fixed and Firebird/Interbase compatibility was enhanced. 2007-12-26 We have changed the IBProvider license agreements and now give discounts. 2007-11-08 The second Russian Firebird and Interbase conference will take place in Moscow, November 23, 2007 2007-10-30 IBProvider Free Edition (3.0.0.3313 Release Candidate 2 [RC2]) has appeared. 2007-10-29 IBProvider v3 Release Candidate 2 (RC2) has appeared. 2007-10-18 New release of the IBProvider Professional Edition appears. We have improved Integration with Microsoft office and fixed known bugs. 2007-09-13 New providers versions in the Professional Edition now can be used with Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence Development Studio 2007-07-20 The latest editions of IBProvider Professional and IBProvider Free now support new features of Firebird 2.1 2007-05-25 Download engine now working. All customers will receive personal releases more quikly. 2007-04-27 The latest editions of IBProvider Professional and IBProvider Free are available for download. 2006-12-13 C++ client library for OLEDB providers now support the Unicode project types (which based on unicode strings). 2006-12-04 New releases appear: IBProvider Professional Edition - is a professional developer kit for Interbase and Firebird. IBProvider Free Edition - is an absolutely free of charge and most powerful version based on the commercial core of IBProvider v3. 2006-10-07 IBProvider 3.0.0.2385 [RC1] and IBProvider 2.5.0.2088 [Release] now avaliable. New properties aliases: Charset, PSWD. Metadata reading algorithm and SQL parser was optimized. Supporting arrays in ADO .Net. 2006-08-28 IBProvider 3.0.0.2065 [Beta]. IBProvider 2.4.7.2034 [Release]. MSSQL 2000/2005 integration improvement. 2006-08-13 IBProvider 3.0.0.1959 [Beta]. IBProvider 2.4.6.1989 [Release]. C++ library for OLEDB providers now support VC8 (VS2005) 2006-05-25 IBProvider 3.0.0.1324 [Beta]. IBProvider 2.4.5.1953 [Release]. Client Library for C++. 2006-05-05 IBProvider price will be changed after 23 may 2006. New demo versions are avalible 2006-03-30 IBProvider release v.2.4.4 (v.1.7.26) build 1885. IBProvider v.3 [build 1107 beta] 2006-02-27 IBProvider v.1/v.2 [build 1877 Release Candidate 1]. IBProvider v.3 [build 1062. beta] 2005-11-30 IBProvider 2.4.3.1859. Release. 2005-11-01 Fix of problem with arithmetic errors in .NET applications. 2005-09-28 IBProvider v3 [build 913] [beta version]. 2005-09-22 IBProvider v3 [build 890] [beta version]. IBProvider v2/v1 [build 1811]. 2005-09-01 The InterBase and Firebird Developer Magazine. 2005-07-28 IBProvider v3 [build 789] [beta version]. IBProvider v2/v1 [build 1802]. 2005-06-15 IBProvider v3 [build 779] [beta version]. IBProvider v2/v1 [build 1795]. 2005-04-12 IBProvider User Forum is Open 2005-03-22 IBProvider 2.4.2.1772. Release. 2005-02-28 IBProvider 3.0.0.639 beta. Change of the corporate license. 2005-02-11 IBProvider 3.0.0.573 beta. 2004-12-24 IBProvider 3.0.0.449 beta. 2004-11-12 IBProvider 2.4.1.1720/1.7.23.1720. Release. 2004-05-31 IBProvider 2.4.0.1607/1.7.22.1607. Release. 2004-05-14 Release Candidate 2.4.0.1588/1.7.22.1588 2004-04-30 Version 2.3.3.1523 beta 2004-03-29 Version 2.3.3.1416 beta 2003-12-17 Version 2.3.3.1300 2003-10-18 Version 2.3.2.1233 2003-08-22 Version 2.3.1.1184 2003-06-25 Version 2.3.0.1134 - extended support of MS AS, MS SQL 2003-04-23 Version 2.2.0.969 - Data Links dialog support, localization 2003-03-31 Version 2.1.2. 2003-03-26 Version 2.1.1. 2003-03-04 Version 2.1. The error processing mechanism is completely reconstructed. 2003-02-26 Discounts on IBProvider. 2003-02-18 Changes in License Terms 2003-01-23 Version 2.0.1.735. Bug fix, optimization, HTML help 2002-12-10 The second generation IBProvider 2002-11-21 Version 1.7.11.584 and 1.8.0.584 beta 2002-11-06 Version 1.7.10.542 and 1.8.0.542 beta 2002-10-20 Version 1.7.9.481 and 1.8.0.481 beta 2002-08-12 Version 1.7.6.350 and 1.8.0.350 beta 2002-07-30 Version 1.7.5.311 - Bugs fixing 2002-07-10 Version 1.7.4.289 2002-06-20 Version 1.7.3.269 2002-05-30 Version 1.7.2.255 2002-05-08 Version 1.7.1 2002-04-22 Version 1.7.0.227. Support of UNICODE. New prices. 2002-03-29 Version 1.6.3.213 2002-02-28 Version 1.6.2.201 2002-02-08 Version 1.6.2.199 2002-01-19 Version 1.6.1.185 2001-12-24 Free Version 1.5.2 2001-12-13 Version 1.6 2001-11-14 1.5.1 - Change of Compiler. Optimization. IColumnsRowset. etc. 2001-08-30 IN-OUT Parameters. Arrays. .... 2001-07-16 Error with test of connection in Data Links 2001-05-21 Support of stored procedure 2001-05-16 New samples on Delphi for MTS from Andrei Semak 2001-05-14 The final touches to RowSet 2001-04-30 Commercial release 2001-04-20 Support of DTC and Resource pooling 2001-04-04 Support for null-containing character in strings 2001-03-16 Implementaion of IOpenRowset::OpenRowset 2001-03-15 Support of DECIMAL and NUMERIC 2001-03-12 Errors correction... 2001-03-01 Fix bug in command prepare 2001-01-03 The main cardinal change is in accordance with implementation of operation auto-commit support. 2000-12-01 IBProvider and client library Reconstruction. 2000-09-15 New version of IBProvider for IB6.

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