
####################################
FDB - The Python driver for Firebird
####################################

FDB is a `Python`_ library package that implements `Python Database API 2.0`_-compliant support for the open source relational database `Firebird`_ ®. In addition to the minimal feature set of the standard Python DB API, FDB also exposes the entire native (old-style) client API of the database engine and number of additional extensions and enhancements for convenient use of Firebird.

FDB is developed `under`_ the `Firebird Project`_, and is used internally as key component for `Firebird QA <http://www.firebirdsql.org/en/devel-qa/>`__.

FDB is free -- covered by a permissive BSD-style `license <license.html>`__ that both commercial and noncommercial users should find agreeable.

This documentation set is not a tutorial on Python, SQL, or Firebird; rather, it is a topical presentation of FDB's feature set, with example code to demonstrate basic usage patterns. For detailed information about Firebird features, see the `Firebird documentation <http://www.firebirdsql.org/en/documentation/>`__, and especially the excellent `The Firebird Book <http://www.ibphoenix.com/products/books/firebird_book>`__ written by Helen Borrie and published by IBPhoenix_.

Content
*******

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 2

   getting-started
   usage-guide
   python-db-api-compliance
   reference

   changelog
   license


Indices and tables
******************

* :ref:`genindex`
* :ref:`modindex`


.. _IBPhoenix: http://www.ibphoenix.com
.. _Python: http://python.org
.. _Python Database API 2.0: http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0249/
.. _Firebird: http://www.firebirdsql.org
.. _under: http://www.firebirdsql.org/en/devel-python-driver/
.. _Firebird Project: http://www.firebirdsql.org
