FIREBIRD UPGRADE

[browsing sync]

Hello, I have firebird server version 2.1

I want to upgrade to 5.0. 

Is there any risk? I have an accounting software developed in year 2000. This software works with FireBird SQL. I am facing some latency in the software. I believe upgrading to 5.0 would help if it doesn't have any risk. As well, need to ask if the new version is compatible with older jdbc versions or JDBC 5.0.4 is must. 

Thanks.

[Elmar Haneke]

Hello, I have firebird server version 2.1

I want to upgrade to 5.0.

Good idea.

Is there any risk? I have an accounting software developed in year 2000.

There is always some risk that your software fails at some of the documented incompatibilities. Perhaps something simple as defining a domain "boolean" which is reserved word since FB3.

You will have to try out: Copy database to new server (using gbak) and test your application if everything runs well.

As well, need to ask if the new version is compatible with older jdbc versions or JDBC 5.0.4 is must.

The current server can still be configured to communicate with old clients.

Elmar

[Mark Rotteveel]

Upgrading always comes with risk. There have been a lot of changes
between 2.1 and 5.0. Some of them are breaking changes *if* you relied
on the old behaviour that is no longer supported (or produce errors
now), other are minor, but potentially breaking changes, like the data
types of some aggregate functions changing, and other things like new
reserved words which could affect you *if* you use those as table,
column, etc names.

If the software wasn't actually written by you (or you don't have the
sources), it may be hard to overcome those problems

The only way to definitively answer this is by *testing* it, make a
copy, upgrade that copy to Firebird 5.0, and *test* if *everything*
still works, and if the results of - for example - reports, screens, and
other calculations are correct. Consider making *two* copies, one kept
on Firebird 2.1 and the other Firebird 5.0, so you can compare the
applications them side-by-side (using the Firebird 2.1 variant as an
oracle or control).

As an aside, I would highly recommend that you also test your assumption
that upgrading to Firebird 5.0 will fix your latency problems.

As to upgrading Jaybird, it depends a bit on the version you're
currently using. In theory, older versions will work fine, but will not
support all of the newer data types. However, if you're using a really
old Jaybird version (as in Jaybird 2.2 or older), you might run into
some problems with things like Srp authentication, and support for
longer object names (though that only really becomes relevant if you
actually have longer object names).

That said, only 4.0.x and higher were tested with Firebird 5.0, and only
Firebird 5.0.4 was released after the Firebird 5.0.0 release. So from
that viewpoint, only Jaybird 5.0.4 and higher formally support Firebird 5.0.

Mark
--
Mark Rotteveel

[Mark Rotteveel]

On 19/04/2024 11:08, 'Mark Rotteveel' via firebird-support wrote:
>
> That said, only 4.0.x and higher were tested with Firebird 5.0, and only
> Firebird 5.0.4 was released after the Firebird 5.0.0 release. So from
> that viewpoint, only Jaybird 5.0.4 and higher formally support Firebird 5.0.

This should read:


That said, only Jaybird 4.0.x and higher were tested with Firebird 5.0,
and only *Jaybird* 5.0.4 was released after the Firebird 5.0.0 release.