Introduction to IBExpress Components

This section will introduce the InterBase Relational Database Manager System (RDBMS) and the InterBase Express (IBExpress) components supplied with C++Builder. Although originally designed as a commercial client/server (C/S) database server, InterBase has joined the Open Source movement with the introduction of version 6.0. This development will benefit database application developers around the world; it will combine a fast, powerful RDBMS solution with a freely distributable license.

Starting with the release of C++Builder 5, Borland supplied IBExpress components that enable the creation of powerful C/S applications without having to distribute the BDE. These applications directly access the InterBase client, which in turn handles the communication with the database server.

IBExpress components tend to look almost exactly like their BDE equivalents. There are some changes in the meaning of various properties as a consequence of the specific nature of Interbase. For instance, it is possible, and sometimes necessary, to specify the IP address of the server on which Interbase is running.

To demonstrate IBExpress components in action, we will design and create a simple database application that will incorporate many of them. The application will track a number of programming projects, their revisions, and their known bugs . We will name this application Bug Tracker. You can find the source code for this application in the BugTracker folder on the CD-ROM that accompanies this book. The project filename is BugTracker.bpr .

NOTE

If you have projects requiring C++Builder 4 or earlier that you want to convert to pure InterBase, Jason Wharton's InterBase ObjectsInterBase Objects (http://www.ibobjects.com) is an excellent set of components to consider. This site also offers a replacement for ISQL, called IB-WISQL, which provides many features that make the design and administration of InterBase databases easier.

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