Changing Passwords
We know that the Firebird default administrative account is called "sysdba" and its default password is "masterkey". It is a good policy to change the defaults.
Let us suppose we are running Firebird in a Windows environment and have installed it in the path C:\\Program Files\\Firebird\\Firebird_1_5
Launch the command prompt by going to your Start button, then clicking run, then typing in "command" or "cmd". Move to the above directory, or in the installed Firebird directory.
Type
cd bin
Then at the prompt type
gsec -user 'sysdba' -password 'masterkey'
GSEC>modify sysdba -pw newpassword
Here, newpassword (which needs brackets around it like <>) signifies the new password for "sysdba." Now the same technique can be used for changing passwords of other users - you just have to change the first parameter from "sysdba" to the username whose password you want to modify.
Creating Databases
Databases in Firebird are stored with a .fdb extension. To create one, launch the command prompt and type
C:\\Program Files\\Firebird\\Firebird_1_5\\bin>isql
SQL>create database 'c:\\mydbs\\try.fdb' user 'SYSDBA' password 'masterkey';
This creates a database "try.fdb" in the directory c:\\mydbs with the creator as SYSDBA.
Adding Users
For granting roles and accesses to implement access control, it is essential to create new users. Type the following at the command prompt:
C:\\Program Files\\Firebird\\Firebird_1_5\\bin>gsec -user 'sysdba' -password 'masterkey'
GSEC>add newbie -pw pass
This will create a new user called "newbie" and with password "pass".
ODBC Usage
Firebird supports most of the common programming interfaces, such as:
- ODBC (Open Database Connectivity)
- JDBC (Java Database Connectivity)
- ADO.NET
The ODBC Driver is available as a separate executable which, in my case, was named Firebird_ODBC_1.2.0.69-Win32.exe.
The setup of the binary is straightforward, and any DBA will breeze through it.
After installation, go to the ODBC Setup in the Control Panel, select the "System DSN" tab and then click "Add." From the list given, select "Firebird/Interbase Driver" and then click "Finish." This is followed by a "Firebird ODBC Setup" window. In this give a Data Source Name (DSN), the path to your .fdb file, the username and the password associated. Finally test your connection.
Designing front-ends for Firebird databases with tools like Visual Basic comprises of setting up the database, the ODBC connection shown above and the visual design covered in any standard Visual Basic book.
References
http://www.firebirdsql.org
http://www.pcquest.com
http://www.programmersheaven.com
MSDN Online Help
Fundamentals of Database Systems by Elmasri, Navathe
Introduction to Database Management Systems by Date, C. J.
Database Concepts by Silberschatz, Korth
This article was originally published by CyberArmy.net in the CyberArmy Library.
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