NAME

       DBD::FirebirdEmbedded - embedded Firebird server (and client)

SYNOPSIS

         use DBI;

         $dbh = DBI->connect("dbi:FirebirdEmbedded:db=$dbname", undef, undef);

         # See the DBI module documentation for full details

DESCRIPTION

       DBD::FirebirdEmbedded is a variant of DBD::Firebird, linked with the Firebird embedded
       library, libfbembed. In addition to the ability to work with remote Firebird servers
       (which DBD::FirebirdEmbedded has, being linked with the Firebird client library,
       libfbclient), DBD::FirebirdEmbedded can be used to work with Firebird databases without
       the need of a dedicated Firebird server.

       The following things should be set up first:

       Username/password
           These should be unset. Both in the "DBI->connection(...)" call and in the environment
           ("ISC_USER", "ISC_PASSWORD", "DBI_USER", "DBI_PASSWORD" variables).

       Firebird lock directory
           The "FIREBIRD_LOCK" environment variable should be set to some place where the process
           can write. Note that if you plan for several processes to access the database file
           directly, they all should have "FIREBIRD_LOCK" set to the same directory, or else
           database corruption will occur.

       No "host" in the DSN
           Obviously, do not set any host when calling "DBI->connection(...)", not even
           "localhost".

       Permissions to read/write the database
           Obviously, the process needs to be able to read/write the database file.

COMPARISON WITH DBD::FIREBIRD

       DBD::FirebirdEmbedded provides exactly the same functionality as the Firebird server of
       the same version as the libfbembed library. It still can work with remote datases, in
       which case the use is exactly the same (DSN, environment) as with the regular
       DBD::Firebird.

   Pros
       Standalone work with Firebird databases
           No need to setup/administer a Firebird server. All the server functionality is
           available via the libfbembed library. Shared access to databases is still possible
           (but read "Firebird lock directory" above).

       No network latency
           Working directly with the database file eliminates possible network delays (even if
           the server is on the local host).

   Cons
       Memory footprint
           The libfbembed library contains a fully functional Firebird server and is therefore
           bigger than the ordinary client library, libfbclient.

       Setup complexity
           It is very important to make sure that all processes that access a given database use
           the same lock directory. See "Firebird lock directory" above.

SEE ALSO

       DBD::Firebird