Modifying Firebird Tables from Lazarus Client

Hi. I really need help.

I am new to Firebird and Lazarus (and to RAD, OOP and to “real mission critical not-toy-desktop-databases”, etc). To teach myself before starting a real project –not an easy task- I tried building a simple one form program to edit a list of accounts with my Windows XPpro laptop as both sever and client. I installed the Superserver version 2.0.3, -installed as a service- and (I think) the FBCLIENT.dll and not the GDS32.dll, since I understood this to be the preferable choice, for those with no “legacy” issues.

I Used Firebird’s ISQL tool to build a database (Test.fb, not “.fdb” because it was what the TIBConnection seemed to like when searching for a database to link) with two tables. Table1 with Two columns: Acct_No and Acct_Descrip, and a Table2 with an additional column using Firebird’s Generator feature to create an “autonumeric” ID column. This in case it was needed by Lazarus’ Navigator buttons.

From the SQLdb tab I dropped boxes on the form: TIBConnection, TSQLQueery and TSQLTransaction. Wrote a “SELECT * FROM.. (table)” command on the TSQLQueery. Connected everything and also dropped a TDBGrid, a TDBNavigator and a TDBEdit, this last to leave the grid as read-only. Everything works fine as far as moving the pointer, editing, inserting, and deleting rows in the DataSet of either table, as displayed by the grid, but changing any data inside either of the two tables is, however, impossible.

I have spent weeks reading everything I could find in the Firebird’s and Lazarus’s documentations, wikis, and everything I could Google. It helped to get me this far, but no further. I have tried everything I could think of, and/or copy, from the little information available, and have only produced errors or access violations. I am ready to give up.

This is a last resort request. If someone out there could point me to a reference, example, white-paper, web-page, book, or any resource that could help me with this, it would be great. Do not want to go back to Dbase tables, and last century’s DOS Foxbase programming.

Help!

You should start reading the sticky on top of this forum, it contains links to many useful resources, I've also quite some posts on my blog about Firebird and a small tutorial in my old site, you can find links to both in my signature.
Do you want to do only Pascal or other languages like Java, *.NET, Php?

Thanks for the links pabloj. Had I found and read your "Getting started with Firebird" before, I would have saved a LOT of time. I will have to go through it more slowly to pick-up a lot of details I have yet to master regarding Firebird.



Briefly stated, what I really wanted was to decide on a single development tool and database for the apps I write mostly (but hopefully not exclusively) for my own small businesses. Since the best way to learn is by doing something real, I decided to try and use Lazarus + Firebird (therefore Pascal) for a small initial simple accounting project. If happy with it, I would then re-write my old foxbase programs and more recent Access aps, plus new projects on the drawing board, using this tools only; link all my loose separate apps into a single integrated tool, and forget all other language alternatives for at least five or six years. I am currently using Windows but wanted to leave the door open for Linux later on (Therefore Lazarus). License cost IS an issue in this decision.

I considered Firebird+Lazarus to be an overkill for my needs, but both: free and worth learning. Java or *Net too much for this old weekend programmer. -I understand that *NET would be only worthwhile for Internet related apps, and do not even know what php is good for.

Anyway it seems the details of managing Firebird from a Lazarus app is a well kept secret, only accessible to the initiated. I cannot find a single "how to" example on this in the web or anywhere (not even a "buy this book" hint! & honestly, recommendations to read Delphi manuals I have found to be not really valid, not a real help as far as using Firebird+Lazarus) so I am considering on settling on Lazarus or Delphi + my less secure, but easily managed old DBase tables. After all, if after two moths I still cannot even write a program to post data to a table, I'm toast.

And that's the story. Sorry if I am too "verbose".

PS: I have noticed a lot of your blogs relate to MySQL. Would you recommend I go the Lazarus+MySQL route instead?

Very long post ... here are my two cents ...
1. Java and .NET can do both desktop and web apps (well .Net is much better than Java at desktop apps)
2. I'd rather have Firebird than MySQL for a small accounting app (and Firebird embedded is great!)
3. You might want to look at FBlib for Lazarus + Firebird

Thanks for 1, 2 & 3.

On 3 (FBLib): Cannot install because package fblib 0.8.5 will not compile. Error message: "No member is provided to access properties". FBLDataset.pass (184,21) IsUniDirectional := True;