InterBase Driver for Python

A powerful, PEP-249-compliant Python driver for InterBase, supporting both 32-bit and 64-bit.

The InterBase Driver for Python is based on the FDB driver and provides access to the InterBase RDBMS using a robust and flexible Python interface. This package supports the Python Database API 2.0 standard (PEP-249) while offering extended access to the native InterBase API.

📚 InterBase Documentation
🔗 GitHub Source Code

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✨ Features

• PEP-249 compliance
• Full Unicode and character set support
• Native API access
• Multiple independent transactions per connection
• Distributed transaction support
• Automatic conversion of textual data
• Prepared statement support

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📦 Installation

Requires Python 3.x (32-bit or 64-bit version to match InterBase client).

Install via PyPI:

pip install interbase

Or install from the GitHub repository:

pip install git+https://github.com/Embarcadero/InterBasePython.git
# or via SSH:
pip install git+ssh://[email protected]/Embarcadero/InterBasePython.git

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🧪 Setting Up a Test Database

cd test/files
isql -i create-test-db.sql

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🔌 Sample Usage

Basic Connection

import interbase

con = interbase.connect(
    host=IBTEST_HOST,                   # Hostname or IP address of the InterBase server
    database=IBTEST_DB_PATH,            # Path to the database file on the server
    user=IBTEST_USER,                   # Username for authentication
    password=IBTEST_PASSWORD,           # Password for authentication
    sql_dialect=IBTEST_SQL_DIALECT,     # SQL dialect to use (usually 1 or 3)
    ssl=IBTEST_SERVER_PUBLIC_FILE is not None,         # Enable SSL if a public server key is provided
    server_public_file=IBTEST_SERVER_PUBLIC_FILE       # Path to the server's public SSL key file (if SSL is enabled)
)

Executing a Query

cur = con.cursor()
cur.execute("SELECT * FROM employees")
for row in cur:
    print(row)

Using Parameters

cur.execute("INSERT INTO employees(name, age) VALUES (?, ?)", ("John Doe", 34))
con.commit()

Handling Transactions

Manual Transaction Control

transaction = con.main_transaction
transaction.begin()

cursor = transaction.cursor()
cursor.execute("INSERT INTO t (c1) VALUES (1)")
transaction.commit()

Using a Context Manager

import interbase

with interbase.TransactionContext(con) as tr:
    cursor = tr.cursor()
    cursor.execute("INSERT INTO t (c1) VALUES (1)")
# The transaction is automatically committed when the block ends.

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🧰 More Examples

Explore the test folder in the GitHub Repository for full coverage of features, including:

• Working with BLOBs
• Using metadata APIs
• Working with stored procedures
• SSL support
• Error handling

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🤝 Contributing

Pull requests are welcome! For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

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📜 License

This project is licensed under the Embarcadero license terms.

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🔗 Stay up to date with the latest changes and enhancements to InterBase by following the official Embarcadero Blog.