Flash Filer

[Crystal_Ra]

Hello everyone.
Tell us whether there is a port for Flash Filer from TurdoPower? for Lazarus ?

[tatamata]

As far as I know, there is none.
You should satisfy yourself with other open-source databases.

[Crystal_Ra]

Flash Filer from TurdoPower - the best quick solution for Pascal ...
as a client-server and as a built-in solution ...
pity that he is not ported so far ...
have to go back to Delphi 

[tatamata]

Why don't you try with Firebird?
It, also, has both server and embedded version and is very well supported for Lazarus (especially with trhird-party Zeosdbo package).

[teos]

Firebird is OK but how about a client-server with Firebird server with other databases on the same server or how about user/password management?

I look forward to the conversion of either FlashFiler or FFSQL to Lazarus so not only the client is at my control but also the server is.

O and I forget: Firebird as mentioned before is running on Windows..

Strange that in these discussions about Flash Filer allways the Sr. Members suggest Firebird and even crappy workarounds like an emulator. ;-D

[tatamata]

Firebird is OK but how about a client-server with Firebird server with other databases on the same server or how about user/password management?

I look forward to the conversion of either FlashFiler or FFSQL to Lazarus so not only the client is at my control but also the server is.

O and I forget: Firebird as mentioned before is running on Windows..

Strange that in these discussions about Flash Filer allways the Sr. Members suggest Firebird and even crappy workarounds like an emulator. ;-D

You can always try to port it by your own effort.
I tried once and didn't succeed...
Embedded database "servers" written in Pascal are most welcome.
You can improve some of very few existing solutions or start brand new project from scratch.
Or you can stick to wrappers around very well known non-pascal databases, such as Firebird, Postgresql etc...

[teos]

I'm very interested in code from your attempts. But I know the code from porting it to Delphi 2007, it's quite complex and full of pointers.

Meanwhile I'm working on a client-server engine for SQLite with Indy and Zeos. The base is ready, I have to implement master-detail, record locks, automatic updates and user control. The next after that will be a maintenance tool.

[BigChimp]

Hi teo,

Noticed you've been inundating the db section with news of your indy-based new efforts

Firebird is OK but how about a client-server with Firebird server with other databases on the same server or how about user/password management?

I look forward to the conversion of either FlashFiler or FFSQL to Lazarus so not only the client is at my control but also the server is.

Having a completely pascal SQL-capable client/server database system would be kind of cool, yes. The questions is, would average users see benefits over existing solutions (sqlite, Firebird embedded, Firebird and other client/server)? I wonder.
But enthousiasts writing their own solution can be a powerful force

If you are going to do something like that, perhaps starting with the tdbf components (advantage: standard though old format, so interoperable with other tools) or tatamata's zmsql might me nice...

O and I forget: Firebird as mentioned before is running on Windows..

As mentioned before? By whom? Where? I don't get what you mean.
Firebird can run on Windows, Linux, OSX, Solaris,....

Strange that in these discussions about Flash Filer allways the Sr. Members suggest Firebird and even crappy workarounds like an emulator. ;-D

I think that is because Firebird just works very well, can switch from embedded to client/server without recompile, has user management built in (IIRC since 2.5 quite complete using SQL statements).
Ludob wrote a services API wrapper that lets you easily do backup/restore etc. This is available in recent FPC/Lazarus (also with examples).

Why reinvent the wheel?

Client/server with Firebird and other database servers? 2 phase commit and stuff? Well if you need things like that, obviously you'd have to code for it. But isn't flash filer some kind of file-based db? Bit strange to go from that to multiple dbs?

Oh, and if you don't like Firebird, use PostgreSQL. Or TDBF. Or sqlite3. Or Oracle. Or MS SQL Server. Or another ODBC-accessible database. Or even mysql...

[TurboRascal]

FlashFiler? I liked the idea of porting it too, but after looking at the source it seemed too complex for me to dabble...

Embedded Firebird is also nice, but AFAIK doesn't work under Linux so it's not a cross-platform solution for a local database. TDbf is unmaintained and it doesn't have any server mode anyway. SQLite can be an excellent solution, but switching to a full server most often needs SQL modifications.

So, I'd say we are still missing a nice crossplatform DBMS which works both local and as server. Especially something originally TDataset-based like FlashFiler is...

[BigChimp]

Embedded Firebird is also nice, but AFAIK doesn't work under Linux

It should. It's still in my to-do list to set up based on the instructions for C++ and older Firebird version and document for current versions with FPC/Lazarus.

Sqlite in server mode? How does that work? You presumably mean that when switching from sqlite to another,  client/server db, you'll need modifications, right?

[TurboRascal]

Sqlite in server mode? How does that work? You presumably mean that when switching from sqlite to another,  client/server db, you'll need modifications, right?

Yes, that's what I meant. Since sqlite has no server mode I must switch to a full RDBMS like, say Postgres, and that means different SQL dialect. Even worse would be to create a standalone application from the client-server based one - if it uses some advanced features which sqlite lacks, but a complex application would make good use of.

[denver]

Meanwhile I'm working on a client-server engine for SQLite with Indy and Zeos. The base is ready, I have to implement master-detail, record locks, automatic updates and user control. The next after that will be a maintenance tool.

Quite agree with teonieuwlande, client-server engine with Indy and Zeos , a 3-tier structure is very good for today requiement. I also tested some code for Indy + Zeos, the performance is awesome. I used Flash Filer  few year ago, the performance is much slower than the Indy + Zeos approach.   A lot of afford is needed to port flash filer to fpc, why not use the less afford to try Indy + Zeos approach .

[teos]

SQLite in Server mode. Yes. That is what I tell you folks.

SQLLite is used as backend, as engine behind my code. What is done: data is fetched by using an in-memory dataset and sent to the client. Clients do not send datasets, they send plain SQL. So there is 1 read and 1 commit in this entire situation.

And since SQLite is backend, it's no problem to use data in a standalone situation.

Who reads this and is somewhat familiar with FlashFiler: the workings are about the same. Also applies to Firebird and the others. But those others need a library (DLL) on Windows for all client computers. My approach only has a library on the server. And if I'm happy with the solution, I will look at compiling SQLite in my code. The advantage: everything is native Delphi.

There is one catch though: I'm not sure if my code will be open source or GPL.

[teos]

Sqlite in server mode? How does that work? You presumably mean that when switching from sqlite to another,  client/server db, you'll need modifications, right?

Yes, that's what I meant. Since sqlite has no server mode I must switch to a full RDBMS like, say Postgres, and that means different SQL dialect. Even worse would be to create a standalone application from the client-server based one - if it uses some advanced features which sqlite lacks, but a complex application would make good use of.

Yep. I think Postgress wil do fine. SQL differences.. well.. they are not THAT big.

[tatamata]

I'm very interested in code from your attempts.

Sorry, I don't have it anymore, it was long time ago.
And in menatime, I rather made my own "database" - zmsql , as you already know
http://sourceforge.net/projects/lazarus-ccr/files/zmsql/
http://wiki.lazarus.freepascal.org/ZMSQL