This is the first official book on Firebird, the free, independent, open source relational database server that sprang forth when Borland's InterBase 6 sources were opened in 2000. Written from within the Firebird Project itself, the book provides newcomers and experienced hands alike with the best of everything they need to know about Firebird database development, from technical details like installation and configuration on a variety of platforms to SQL language, techniques, interfaces and maintenance.

The Firebird Database Developer's Guide is a comprehensive, practical guide to building highly stable, scalable relational database back-ends for small and large client/server networks. It is liberally sprinkled with tips, code examples that work and explanations that make sense. Coverage focuses on release 1.5 with its plethora of new language, security and optimization features, without neglecting the needs of Firebird 1.0 users.

Although less widely publicized than some other open source database management systems, Firebird has accrued a following of dedicated and demanding professional users numbering well into the hundreds of thousands world wide in its three-year history in open source.