What is the difference in using GDS32.dll's fbclient.DLL, and enter the extension.fdb e. GDB on Firebird?
Speaking of SGDB Firebird, when using the GDS32.dll Library, out compatibility with banks created by Interbase, are there other differences when using fbclient.dll?
Is there a difference between creating banks with the extension .fdb instead of using the .GDB?
2 answers
Firebird is an open source DBMS that emerged when Interbase version 6.0 had its source open to the community under the IPL license, Interbase Public License. However, the new versions of Interbase remained with their source code closed and from then on Firebird and Interbase became separate things, that is, Firebird was a fork of Interbase 6.0.
For this reason most things are compatible between them, however I always recommend using fbclient.dll, for you may be surprised in some situation that BDs ended up differentiating themselves.
As for the extension, it does not affect the operation in what depends on the DBMS, the good thing is to use .fdb to make it clear that the database you are using is Firebird and not Interbase. In what depends on the operating system there is a nuisance when working with Windows, since from Windows XP and its recovery system the extension .gdb is part of a list of extensions which are copied every time the file is changed. As Firebird modifies the file with each transaction if the database is too large performance can be highly impaired.
Sources: ClubeDelphi and Firebird FAQ
When installing firebird it offers to copy the dll as GDS32.ddl for compatibility purposes only, both are the same thing and therefore there is no difference.
As for the extension, it also makes no difference. In each company I worked they used a different extension to the bank and rarely the standard.