InterBase Data Access Components Overview
InterBase Data Access Components (IBDAC) is a library of components that provides access to InterBase, Firebird and Yaffil database servers. IBDAC uses the InterBase client directly to connect to the server. The IBDAC library is designed to help programmers develop faster and cleaner InterBase database applications.
IBDAC is a complete replacement for standard InterBase connectivity solutions. It presents an efficient alternative to InterBase Express Components and the Borland Database Engine for access to InterBase.
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Advantages of IBDAC Technology
IBDAC is a direct connectivity database wrapper built specifically for the InterBase server. IBDAC offers wide coverage of the InterBase feature set, and emphasizes optimized data access strategies.
Wide Coverage of InterBase Features
By providing access to the most advanced database functionality, IBDAC allows developers to harness the full capabilities of the InterBase server and optimize their database applications. IBDAC provides complete support of InterBase Blobs and Arrays, Unicode character data, and InterBase events.
Optimized Code
The goal of IBDAC is to enable developers to write efficient and flexible database applications. The IBDAC library is implemented using advanced data access algorithms and optimization techniques. Classes and components undergo comprehensive performance tests and are designed to help you write high-performance, lightweight data access layers.
Compatibility with Standard Data Access Components
The IBDAC interface retains compatibility with standard VCL Data Access Components, like BDE and IBX. Existing BDE- and IBX-based applications can be easily migrated to IBDAC and enhanced to take advantage of InterBase-specific features. Project migration can be automated with the BDE/IBX Migration Wizard.
How Does IBDAC Work?
IBDAC uses the InterBase client directly to connect to the server. It is designed to be lightweight. IBDAC consists of a minimal layer between the database server and your code. This extends functionality without sacrificing performance.
In comparison, the Borland Database Engine (BDE) uses several layers to access InterBase, and requires additional data access software to be installed on client machines.
The BDE data transfer protocol is shown below.
BDE Connection Protocol
Using IBDAC lets you avoid using BDE.
IBDAC Connection Flow
Key Features
The following list describes the main features of InterBase Data Access Components.
- Direct access to server data. Does not require installation of other data provider layers (such as BDE and ODBC)
- VCL, VCL.NET, and CLX versions of library available
- Full support of the latest versions of InterBase, Firebird and Yaffil database servers
- Support for all InterBase data types
- Disconnected Model with automatic connection control for working with data offline
- Local Failover for detecting connection loss and implicitly re-executing certain operations
- All types of local sorting and filtering, including by calculated and lookup fields
- Automatic data updating with TIBCQuery and TIBCTable components
- Unicode and national charsets support
- InterBase Events support
- Advanced script execution functionality with TIBCScript component
- Support for using Macros in SQL
- Easy migration from BDE and IBX with Migration Wizard
- Lets you use Professional Edition of Delphi, C++Builder, and Kylix to develop client/server applications
- Includes annual IBDAC Subscription with Priority Support
- Licensed royalty-free per developer, per team, or per site
IBDAC Design-Time View
