django-firebird-backend 0.1.1

Firebird database backend for Django 5.0+

django-firebird

Firebird database backend for Django.

This package provides a Django database backend for Firebird, supporting versions 2.5, 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0+. It uses the firebird-driver library for connectivity.

Features

Feature	Firebird 2.5	Firebird 3.0+	Firebird 4.0+	Firebird 5.0+
Basic ORM operations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Migrations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
inspectdb command	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Native BOOLEAN	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Window functions	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
FILTER clause	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Timezone support	No	No	Yes	Yes
SKIP LOCKED	No	No	No	Yes

Requirements

• Python 3.11+
• Django 5.0, 5.1, or 6.0
• firebird-driver 1.10.0+
• Firebird Server 2.5+

Installation

pip install django-firebird

Configuration

Configure your Django DATABASES setting:

DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django_firebird',
        'NAME': '/path/to/database.fdb',
        'USER': 'SYSDBA',
        'PASSWORD': 'masterkey',
    }
}

Remote Database

For remote connections, specify HOST and optionally PORT:

DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django_firebird',
        'NAME': '/path/to/database.fdb',
        'USER': 'SYSDBA',
        'PASSWORD': 'masterkey',
        'HOST': 'localhost',
        'PORT': '3050',
    }
}

Connection Options

Option	Description	Default
charset	Character set for connection	UTF8
fb_client_library	Path to Firebird client library	System default

DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django_firebird',
        'NAME': '/path/to/database.fdb',
        'USER': 'SYSDBA',
        'PASSWORD': 'masterkey',
        'OPTIONS': {
            'charset': 'UTF8',
            'fb_client_library': '/usr/lib/libfbclient.so',
        },
    }
}

Timezone Support (Firebird 4.0+)

DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django_firebird',
        'NAME': '/path/to/database.fdb',
        'USER': 'SYSDBA',
        'PASSWORD': 'masterkey',
        'TIME_ZONE': 'America/New_York',
    }
}

Notes on Django Fields

• AutoField/BigAutoField: Uses Firebird generators (sequences) with triggers
• BooleanField: Uses native BOOLEAN in Firebird 3.0+, SMALLINT in 2.5
• TextField: Uses BLOB SUB_TYPE TEXT
• JSONField: Not supported (Firebird has no native JSON type)
• UUIDField: Uses CHAR(36) storage

Known Limitations

• No JSON support: Firebird does not have a native JSON data type
• No DISTINCT ON: Use other approaches for similar functionality
• Single-row RETURNING: Bulk inserts with RETURNING not supported
• DDL auto-commit: Schema changes cannot be rolled back within a transaction
• Identifier length: 31 characters max in Firebird < 4.0, 63 in 4.0+

Using inspectdb

To inspect an existing Firebird database:

python manage.py inspectdb

For better results with foreign key ordering, use the enhanced command:

python manage.py inspectdb_firebird

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues and pull requests.

License

This project is licensed under the BSD-3-Clause License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Inspired by django-cockroachdb and mssql-django
• Built on firebird-driver