The Joel on Software Discussion Group

In a similar vein to the previous Firebird or Postgresql thread.

Firebird or Advantage database server from extended systems

Pro's and cons.

Yes, there are pros and cons.

Spend a little with Firevird and other with Advantage. Talsk with user of both and NOT mention you are evaluating other (that subvert the conversations). Then decide.

Mike,

I have used both and they are great products.  I would recommend trying both for a short while if needed.  I have listed the main differences between the two.

Advantage is a supported product with a company behind it and while not free, it is not as expensive as MSSQL etc.  It is a great choice if your client base will not go open source. Firebird is of course free.

Advantage stores each table, index file and memo file in a separate file on the drive like dbase, FoxPro etc.  Firebird is a single database file structure.  If you have many tables, there will be 2 or 3 files created on the drive for each in Advantage.

When I was using Advantage it was early in version 6 and the SQL language support was broader in Firebird.  If you will have many complex large queries, you might want to check the supported functions in Advantage.

Both have large groups of very dedicated users that will help you through newsgroups etc and both are virtually maintenance free.

RyanG

Thanks Ryan for the information.