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 ODBC/JDBC Driver for Firebird Client ApplicationsFirebird ODBC Configuration 

The kit that you install will depend on what you plan to use it for.Regardless of whether you intend to connect to a 64-bit or a 32-bit Firebird server, you must install the driver and the Firebird client (fbclient.dll on Windows, libfbclient.so on Linux) that matches the “bitness” of your client application.

Installation is similar for both options.You can install both the 32-bit and the 64-bit driver on the same machine if the user is going to access Firebird from multiple applications of mixed bitness.Care will be needed to ensure that each application will connect using the correct DSN for the required driver.

Note
Note for the Less Technically Versed

...because we have been asked: if you want to connect your Windows application — Excel or LibreCalc, for example — to your database running on a Linux or other POSIX server, you want the Windows driver, not the POSIX one.See also the note below about the Firebird client library.

Downloading the Driver

The Downloads section at https://www.firebirdsql.org/en/odbc-driver/ clearly identifies the bitness of the various kits available, with the latest release at the top of the page.For example, the 32-bit installer kit for Windows, at the time this document was prepared, was named Firebird_ODBC_2.0.5.156_Win32.exe, indicating that it is the executable installer for the 32-bit version.The following table should help to indicate what you will need.The “N.n.n.xxx” infix used here indicates “Major1.Major2.Minor.Subrelease”.The “Subrelease” part changes the most frequently.

Table 1. Firebird ODBC/JDBC Driver Kits
Kit Name Purpose

OdbcJdbc-src-N.n.n.xxx.tar.gz

Source code, which is bitness-independent.Recommended for POSIX installs with unusual rules about the location of libraries — instructions below.

Firebird_ODBC_N.n.n.xxx_Win32.exe

Executable installer for use with 32-bit client applications.Use this for an initial installation.

Firebird_ODBC_N.n.n.xxx_x64.exe

Executable installer for use with 64-bit client applications.Use this for an initial installation.

OdbcFb_DLL_N.n.n.xxx_Win32.zip

Zip kit containing just the dynamic and static 32-bit libraries and documentation.This can be used to update the library of an existing installation when the driver is not active.On a 64-bit machine, the older version can be found in the folder c:\Windows\SySWOW64 and Administrator privileges will be required to overwrite it.

OdbcFb_DLL_N.n.n.xxx_x64.zip

Zip kit containing just the dynamic and static 64-bit libraries and documentation.This can be used to update the library of an existing installation when the driver is not active.On a 64-bit machine, the older version can be found in the folder c:\Windows\system32 and Administrator privileges will be required to overwrite it.It will not work on a 32-bit machine.

OdbcFb-LIB-N.n.n.xxx.i686.gz

32-bit binary for a POSIX client, gzipped

OdbcFb-LIB-N.n.n.xxx.amd64.gz

64-bit binary for a POSIX client, gzipped