Rock around the blog

Dear readers, I am glad to introduce you the second issue of “The InterBase and Firebird Developer Magazine”. We received a lot of emails with kind words and congratulations which have helped us in creating this issue. Thank you very much!

In this issue

The cover story is the newest Episode from Ann W. Harrison “Locking, Firebird, and the Lock Table”. The article covers the locking issue from general principles to specific advice, so everyone will find a bit that’s interesting or informative.

We continue the topic of savepoints internals with an article “Testing NO SAVEPOINT in InterBase 7.5.1”. Along with interesting practical test results you will find a description of UNDO log workings in InterBase 7.5.1.

We publish the small chapter, “Inside BLOBs” from the forthcoming book “1000 InterBase&Firebird Tips&Tricks” by Dmitri Kouzmenko and Alexey Kovyazin.

Object oriented development has been a high-interest topic for many years, and it is a still hot topic. The article “Object-Oriented Development in RDBMS” explores the practical use of OOD principles in the design of InterBase or Firebird databases.

Replication is a problem which faces every database developer sooner or later. The article “Replicating and synchronizing InterBase/Firebird databases using CopyCat” introduces the approach used in the new CopyCat component set and the CopyTiger tool.

The last article by Dmitri Kouzmenko “Understanding Your Database with IBAnalyst” provides a guide for better understanding of how databases work and how tuning their parameters can optimize performance and avoid bottlenecks

The last article by Dmitri Kouzmenko “Understanding Your Database with IBAnalyst” provides a guide for better understanding of how databases work and how tuning their parameters can optimize performance and avoid bottlenecks

“Oldest Active” column

I am very glad to introduce the new column “Oldest Active” by Helen Borrie. No need to say more about author of “The Firebird Book”, just read it! In this issue Helen looks at the phenomenon of support lists and their value to the Firebird community. She takes a swing at some of the unproductive things that list posters do in this topic, titled “On Silly Questions and Idiotic Outcomes”.

Let’s blog again

Now it is a good time to say a few words about our new web-presentation. We’ve started a blog-style interface for our magazine – take a look on www.ibdeveloper.com if you haven’t already discovered it.. Now you can make comments on any article or message. In future we’ll publish all the materials related to the PDF issues, along with special bonus articles and materials. You can look out for previews of articles, drafts and behind-the-scene community discussions. Please feel welcome to blog with us!

Donations

The magazine is free for readers, but it is a considerable expense for its publisher. We must pay for articles, editing and proofreading, design, hosting, etc. In future we’ll try to recover costs solely from advertising but, for these initial issues, we need your support. See details here http://ibdeveloper.com/donations

On the Radar

I’d like to introduce the several projects which will be launched in the near future. We really need your feedback so please do not hesitate to place your comments in blog or send email to us (readers@ibdeveloper.com)

Magazine CD

We will issue a CD with all 3 issues of “The InterBase and Firebird Developer Magazine” in December 2005 (yes, a Christmas CD!).

Along with all issues in PDF and searchable html-format you will find exclusive articles and bonus materials. The CD will also include free versions of popular software related to InterBase and Firebird and offer very attractive discounts for dozens of the most popular products. The price for CD is USD$9.99 plus shipping. For details see http://ibdeveloper.com/magazine-cd

Paper version of the magazine

In 2006 we intend to issue the first paper version of “The InterBase and Firebird Developer Magazine”. The paper version cannot be free because of high production costs. We intend to publish 4 issues per year with a subscription price of around USD$49. The issue volume will be approximately 64 pages.

In the paper version we plan to include the best articles from the online issues and, of course, exclusive articles and materials.

To be or not be – this is the question that only you can answer. If the idea of subscribing to the paper version appeals to you, please place a comment in our blog (http://ibdeveloper.com/paper-version) or send email to readers@ibdeveloper.com with your pro and cons. We look forward for your feedback!

Invitation

As a footnote, I’d like to invite all people who are in touch with Firebird and InterBase to participate in the life of the community. The importance of a large, active community to any public project — and a DBMS with hundreds of thousands of users is certainly public! — cannot be emphasised enough. It is the key to survival for such projects. Read our magazine, ask your questions on forums, and leave comments in blog, just rock and roll with us!

Sincerely,

Alexey Kovyazin

Chief Editor