Hello,

I'd like to start a new life (after Delphi) with Lazarus IDE but got into trouble with basic Firebird connection procedure :( Error message: Cannot load default Firebird clients (fbembed.dll or gds32.dll) ??

System Win7,64bit,home
Firebird 2.5/32bit installed on local machine from zip package; database located on local machine
Lazarus 32bit, 0.9.30.4

Any hints ?

Thanks in advance!
S?awek
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First, make sure that fbclient.dll is in the PATH

Then, try adding

   InitialiseIBase60('fbclient.dll');

as the first line in your program source.

Michael.

Dzien dobry Slawek,

Yes. Where is your fbembed.dll/fbclient.dll and its associated files? (Note: you don't just need one DLL, you also need icudt30.dll etc).

Does this occur in design time or run time? I'm guessing the latter...

For design-time support, you need them in your project directory (where your source is), I think you can also put it in your lazarus directory so you can use it for all projects.

You also need to put them in the directory where the executable is generated.

If you want to use Firebird embedded (instead of the regular server): older versions of FPC required to explictly set a variable (or as workaround, renambe fbembed.dll to fbclient.dll). Don't know if that is still the case with the version distributed with Laz 0.9.30.4

See http://wiki.lazarus.freepascal.org/firebird for an explanation on that. If anything is unclear, let me know and I will update the wiki page - or you can do it yourself ;)

Finally, I see you are using Laz 32 bit. Fine. There are known problems with x64 FPC/Lazarus with embedded Firebird due to faulty FPC exception handling (e.g. bug 21581) but you don't need to worry about that.

Regards,
Reinier

Ah yes, that's of course a neat solution for a dev PC... hadn't thought about that ;)

Then, try adding InitialiseIBase60('fbclient.dll'); as the first line in your program source.

AFAIU, via fpc\packages\ibase\src\ibase60.inc, fbclient.dll should be searched automatically, as well as gds32.dll; in newer FPC (at least since revision 20112) fbembed.dll would be searched (though unfortunately not first in the sequence)
Wouldn't InitialiseIBase60 be superfluous?

It must be true on a client PC as well.

That's why I added 'then'. It's only the second option.

Michael.

W dniu 2012-07-25 12:40, pisze:

Putting "InitialiseIBase60('fbclient.dll');" generated "Identifier not found InitialiseIBase60"

but it works when fbclient.dll is located in SysWOW64 directory !

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Yes, you must of course add the Ibase60dyn unit to the uses clause. I forgot to mention that.

but it works when fbclient.dll is located in SysWOW64 directory !

That particular problem happens often :)

Michael.

It's just that I'd be loath to change a client's PATH; I'd rather put the dlls in the application directory and avoid any issues with existing Firebird dlls being in the PATH etc.

Got it,

thanks,
Reinier

Hi,

Then, try adding InitialiseIBase60('fbclient.dll'); as the first line in your program source.

Why do you need that? All my tiOPF based apps, and tiOPF itself doesn't contain such a line, yet I connect to Firebird without problems.

Just curious, as this is the first time I hear about that function call.

Reinier Olislagers wrote

For design-time support, you need them in your project directory (where your source is), I think you can also put it in your lazarus directory so you can use it for all projects.

Huh?

You also need to put them in the directory where the executable is generated.

Double huh?

I don't do either of those, and I connect to firebird servers no problems. Under Windows, download the Firebird Installation/Setup, and simply select the "client only" option during the install. Lazarus, FPC and your programs will work just fine then. No need to copy Firebird DLL's around manually - the Firebird Setup does everything for you already.

If you want to use Firebird embedded (instead of the regular server):

Never used this, but I believe in this case you need the fbembed.dll in the same directory as the executable, or somewhere in your Library Path.

The call is implicit when you connect to firebird for the first time with SQLDB. It loads the library, and then loads all entry points it finds.

It just means that in your case, the library is always correctly found. (which is a good thing)

You might need the call if the default load sequence is not to your liking. I think it first tries embedded, then FB and finally Interbase.

if you want to force interbase on a system where also Firebird is installed, then you would put a

  InitialiseIBase60('gds32.dll');

at the start.

I use this for instance to switch between embedded and full client/server. The earliest versions of fbembed did not support connecting to a remote database.

Michael.

Which is pretty much what Reinier is saying in the advice you've disparaged.

Hi,

Michael Van Canneyt wrote

It just means that in your case, the library is always correctly found. (which is a good thing)

Is there any other way. :-)

if you want to force interbase on a system where also Firebird is installed, then you would put a

Ah, ok - that makes sense. And only applies is special cases.

Thanks for the info.

Mark Morgan Lloyd wrote

Which is pretty much what Reinier is saying in the advice you've disparaged.

Nope. I agree with his last paragraph of his message - which relates to fbembed.dll.

The earlier part of his message seems to refer to a Client/Server setup, and those instructions seem odd, and what I don't agree with. The Firebird Setup (client only option) is all you need if you want to connect to a Firebird server.

Importantly, I think that all of the database packages have now been updated to allow the location of the library to be passed as a parameter, which means that a privileged user no longer has to set up symlinks etc.

Grepping the case of PostgreSQL, it appears that this was introduced in 2.6.0 (what I wrote earlier was pessimistic, I should have checked the current release).

Graeme Geldenhuys wrote

The earlier part of his message seems to refer to a Client/Server setup, and those instructions seem odd, and what I don't agree with. The Firebird Setup (client only option) is all you need if you want to connect to a Firebird server.

My instructions refer to a client lib connecting to a server on the same or another computer. See my other post.

Because it either copies dlls to the system (syswow64) directory which is in your path or changes your path and adds the location of the dlls (c:\program files\firebird...whatever\).

I'm describing a method that does not mess with a user's path but contains the dlls in the application directory. I think this is much safer than fiddling with a users's environment, because it can break other applications and it is not as robust (imagine an interbase gds32.dll in an earlier path of the path overriding the fbclient.dll you just added to the path).

Not a problem on your own dev machine but problematic when messing with end users PCs that get your application.

I used this.

Nope, unfortunately it doesn't try embedded first, but last. See my earlier post.

Yes, that's useful.

W dniu 2012-07-26 10:24, Graeme Geldenhuys pisze:

Firebird install path is written in win registry and on windows it should be enough to find fbclient.dll but nevertheless it would be better to have a possibility to point the fbclient.dll directly for instance in IBConnection properties.
BTW: when I put Firebird path into project options / library paths Lazarus complains it "contains unusual characters", probably it means "/Program Files (x86)/" dir
but it doesn't check this path as a possible resource of fbclient.dll, it must be in the PATH or located in SysWOW64 dir

S?awek

Reinier Olislagers wrote

My instructions refer to a client lib connecting to a server on the same or another computer. See my other post.

Yes I know that, and still I don't agree with those instructions. I have connected to Firebird database (local & remote) for over 7 years, and never done it that way. The Firebird setup does everything you need.

Reinier Olislagers wrote

other applications and it is not as robust (imagine an interbase gds32.dll in an earlier path of the path overriding the fbclient.dll you just added to the path).

As far as I know the Firebird Setup doesn't by default create a gds32.dll, thus it will NOT override your existing gds32.dll. As default it installs the fbclient.dll and gives you on _optional_ choice to also create/install a gds32.dll for older Interbase applications.

Anyway, enough said. The original poster should be able to sort out his system with the advice given so far.

Client pcs may also have older or newer Interbase clients installed, other Firebird client versions etc...
Seems to me you only have customers where you can control their environments, and you're not willing to acknowledge my point.

I'll leave it as I think we both repeated our standpoints/arguments enough.

Anyway, enough said. The original poster should be able to sort out his system with the advice given so far.

Agreed.