[2/3] Add CMake build system; remove obsolete build configurations by fdcastel · Pull Request #281 · FirebirdSQL/firebird-odbc-driver

fdcastel · 2026-03-14T01:43:05Z

This is the second of 3 planned PRs aimed at improving the project infrastructure, as outlined in the plan discussed in PR #275.

Summary

This PR adds a CMake build system for the Firebird ODBC driver and removes obsolete build configurations, vendored headers, and non-functional test projects.

The driver source code is unchanged: the CMake-built DLL is binary-compatible with the existing VS 2022 solution build.

What's new

CMake build system

File	Purpose
`CMakeLists.txt` (root)	Builds the `FirebirdODBC.dll` driver + IscDbc static lib + test suite
`IscDbc/CMakeLists.txt`	IscDbc static library (database connectivity layer)
`cmake/FetchFirebirdHeaders.cmake`	Downloads Firebird 5.0.2 public headers from GitHub at build time
`cmake/GetVersionFromGit.cmake`	Extracts version from git tags (vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH)
`cmake/Version.h.in`	Template for auto-generated `Version.h`

Build instructions (CMake)

cmake -B build -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64
cmake --build build --config Release

The test suite from PR #276 is integrated and runs via CTest:

set FIREBIRD_ODBC_CONNECTION=Driver={Firebird ODBC Driver};Dbname=localhost:C:\path\to\test.fdb;Uid=SYSDBA;Pwd=masterkey;
ctest --test-dir build --output-on-failure

Build instructions (VS 2022 solution)

The existing solution at Builds/MsVc2022.win/OdbcFb.sln continues to work but now requires a one-time CMake configure step to fetch Firebird headers:

cmake -B build          # fetches Firebird headers to build/_deps/

Then open Builds/MsVc2022.win/OdbcFb.sln in Visual Studio and build as usual.

What's removed

Obsolete build configurations (14 directories)

All removed directories contained build files for discontinued platforms, compilers, or IDEs. Only Builds/MsVc2022.win/ is kept.

Directory	Reason
`Builds/Bcc55.win/`	Borland C++ 5.5 — discontinued compiler
`Builds/CC.solaris/`	Solaris — discontinued by Oracle
`Builds/Gcc.darwin/`	macOS makefiles — replaced by CMake
`Builds/Gcc.freeBSD/`	FreeBSD makefiles — replaced by CMake
`Builds/Gcc.lin/`	Linux makefiles — replaced by CMake
`Builds/Gcc.solaris/`	Solaris — discontinued by Oracle
`Builds/MinGW_Dev-Cpp.win/`	MinGW/Dev-C++ — outdated IDE
`Builds/MsSDK64.win/`	Microsoft SDK command-line — replaced by CMake
`Builds/MsVc60.win/`	Visual Studio 6.0 (1998)
`Builds/MsVc70.win/`	Visual Studio .NET 2002
`Builds/MsVc80.win/`	Visual Studio 2005
`Builds/MsVc90.win/`	Visual Studio 2008
`Builds/VAC.aix/`	IBM AIX — discontinued
`Builds/aCC.HP/`	HP-UX — discontinued

Also removed: Builds/makefile.environ, Builds/makefile.sources, Builds/delDependMT.bat, makefile.in, IscDbc/makefile.in.

Vendored headers

Directory/File	Replacement
`FBClient.Headers/` (60 files, ~25K lines)	Downloaded at build time via `cmake/FetchFirebirdHeaders.cmake` (pinned to Firebird v5.0.2)
`Headers/SQL.H`, `Headers/SQLEXT.H`	System Windows SDK (already on every Windows dev machine)

Headers/OdbcUserEvents.h (a project-specific header, not a vendored SDK file) was moved to the project root.

Non-functional old test projects

Directory	Reason
`JdbcTest/`	JDBC-style test — references classes that don't exist in the driver
`Test/`	Old standalone test app — not buildable
`TestInstall/`	Installation test — references VS 6.0 project format

The Google Test suite from PR #276 (tests/) replaces these.

Build artifacts and MinGW remnants

OdbcJdbc.exp, IscDbc/IscDbc.exp, OdbcJdbcSetup/OdbcJdbcSetup.exp — linker export files (build output, not source)
OdbcJdbcMinGw.def, OdbcJdbcSetup/OdbcJdbcSetupMinGw.def — MinGW-specific definition files (MinGW build removed)
OdbcJdbc.dll.manifest → renamed to FirebirdODBC.dll.manifest to match the reference in OdbcJdbc.rc

What's changed in existing files

File	Change
`OdbcConnection.h`	`#include "Headers/OdbcUserEvents.h"` → `#include "OdbcUserEvents.h"`
`Builds/MsVc2022.win/OdbcFb.vcxproj`	Include path updated from `FBClient.Headers` to `build/_deps/firebird_headers-src/src/include`; header reference updated for moved `OdbcUserEvents.h`
`Builds/MsVc2022.win/OdbcFb.vcxproj.filters`	Header reference updated for moved `OdbcUserEvents.h`
`tests/CMakeLists.txt`	Updated from standalone project to integrated sub-project; uses FetchContent for Google Test instead of find_package
`.gitignore`	Added CMake build artifact patterns

What's NOT changed

No driver source code changes — same .cpp/.h files, same behavior
No source reorganization — source remains at root level
No performance changes — no LTO, no -march=native, etc.
No feature additions — no ODBC 3.8, no GUID, no timeout, etc.

Validation

Both build systems produce a working FirebirdODBC.dll with identical exports (120 symbols):

Build system	DLL size	Exports	Test suite
CMake (Release x64)	865 KB	120	375 tests, 375 skipped (no DB), 0 failures
VS 2022 (Release x64)	2,478 KB	120	—

The VS 2022 DLL is larger due to incremental linking and debug information defaults in the solution file. The exported symbol sets are identical.

Requirements

CMake 3.15+
Visual Studio 2022 with C++ ATL component (for ResourceManagerSink.cpp and TransactionResourceAsync.cpp)
Internet access during first build (to download Firebird headers and Google Test)

- Add root CMakeLists.txt that builds the FirebirdODBC.dll driver - Add IscDbc/CMakeLists.txt for the IscDbc static library - Add cmake/ helper modules: - FetchFirebirdHeaders.cmake: downloads Firebird 5.0.2 headers from GitHub - GetVersionFromGit.cmake: extracts version from git tags - Version.h.in: template for generated version header - Update tests/CMakeLists.txt to integrate with root CMake project (uses FetchContent for Google Test instead of find_package) - Remove 14 obsolete build configurations (keep MsVc2022.win): Bcc55.win, CC.solaris, Gcc.darwin, Gcc.freeBSD, Gcc.lin, Gcc.solaris, MinGW_Dev-Cpp.win, MsSDK64.win, MsVc60.win, MsVc70.win, MsVc80.win, MsVc90.win, VAC.aix, aCC.HP - Remove shared makefile includes (makefile.environ, makefile.sources) - Remove root and IscDbc makefile.in (autotools era) - Remove vendored Firebird headers (FBClient.Headers/) — now fetched at build time via CMake FetchContent - Remove vendored ODBC SDK headers (Headers/SQL.H, Headers/SQLEXT.H) — use system SDK instead - Move Headers/OdbcUserEvents.h to project root - Update OdbcConnection.h include path accordingly - Remove non-functional old test projects: JdbcTest/, Test/, TestInstall/ - Remove tracked build artifacts (.exp files) and MinGW .def files - Rename OdbcJdbc.dll.manifest to FirebirdODBC.dll.manifest (matches the reference in OdbcJdbc.rc) - Update MsVc2022.win/OdbcFb.vcxproj: - Include path: FBClient.Headers -> build/_deps/firebird_headers-src/src/include - Header reference: Headers/OdbcUserEvents.h -> OdbcUserEvents.h (Requires running 'cmake -B build' first to fetch Firebird headers) - Update .gitignore with CMake build artifact patterns Build validation: CMake: cmake -B build -G 'Visual Studio 17 2022' -A x64 cmake --build build --config Release -> FirebirdODBC.dll (120 exports, matching VS 2022 build) VS 2022: MSBuild Builds/MsVc2022.win/OdbcFb.sln /p:Configuration=Release /p:Platform=x64 -> FirebirdODBC.dll (120 exports) Tests: 375 tests, 375 skipped (no database), 0 failures

irodushka · 2026-03-20T12:05:43Z

Hi @fdcastel

Have you ever tested this PR on Linux?..

fdcastel · 2026-03-20T12:30:01Z

Have you ever tested this PR on Linux?..

DOH! 🤦🏻‍♂️

No! I only ran them on my (Windows) machine, sorry. 😞

I rely on GitHub Actions for the Linux build and tests (those are coming in the third PR, the next one).

I’ll work on the next PR, basing it on this one, so I can verify that everything works across all platforms.

irodushka · 2026-03-20T12:44:01Z

So it shouldn't surprise you that the Linux build is not working)

fdcastel · 2026-03-20T12:54:09Z

So it shouldn't surprise you that the Linux build is not working)

Definitely not 🤣.

I’ll take care of this over the weekend. Please hold.

irodushka · 2026-03-20T13:33:54Z

Aha)
And just another question - you remember my PR #248 - the first approach to implement cmake.

Your PR lacks many features that exist in my one. I'm not speaking about an ugly makefile.sources parser)) it's obviously not needed and was made to support the native MSBuild compatibility. But what about the rest? You've dropped them consciously or by accident?

fdcastel · 2026-03-20T14:24:46Z

Aha) And just another question - you remember my PR #248 - the first approach to implement cmake.

Your PR lacks many features that exist in my one. I'm not speaking about an ugly makefile.sources parser)) it's obviously not needed and was made to support the native MSBuild compatibility. But what about the rest? You've dropped them consciously or by accident?

I dropped everything aiming to keep it simpler. But -- of course -- this is just the initial concept and may change.

The idea here was to get initial feedbacks. I had no idea what you really want to keep from the legacy code. 😉

Please point here in the code review what you’d like to retain from the previous sources, and I’ll backport it. 👍🏻

fdcastel · 2026-03-20T14:26:26Z

P.s.: Great feedback so far, thanks! Please keep it coming!!!

Share anything you’re not happy with here, and I’ll address it in an updated version of this PR over the next few days.

irodushka · 2026-03-20T15:27:49Z

+++ maybe is makes sense to move all the source code to /src folder. It's a kind of standard approach. And just put
add_subdirectory(src)
to the up-level makefile...

irodushka · 2026-03-20T15:41:50Z

Aha) And just another question - you remember my PR #248 - the first approach to implement cmake.
Your PR lacks many features that exist in my one. I'm not speaking about an ugly makefile.sources parser)) it's obviously not needed and was made to support the native MSBuild compatibility. But what about the rest? You've dropped them consciously or by accident?

I dropped everything aiming to keep it simpler. But -- of course -- this is just the initial concept and may change.

The idea here was to get initial feedbacks. I had no idea what you really want to keep from the legacy code. 😉

Please point here in the code review what you’d like to retain from the previous sources, and I’ll backport it. 👍🏻

The major things I meant are:

CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE processing, setting Release as the default value
Explicit compiler options for different build types (optimizations, etc)
CPU arch detection (should be moved to a separate cmake include file) and the -msse4.1 flag. This flag means that g++ will use the sse4.1 SIMD instructions (and not higher!) while auto-vectorization if -O3 is set. We suppose that in 2026 even the cheapest x64 CPU has sse4.2 on board)
Target (maybe an option) for static lib build (legacy, but maybe needed by someone)

- Fix OdbcJdbcSetup sources: Windows uses full GUI setup (17 files), Linux uses only OdbcInstGetProp.cpp (matching makefile.sources) - Exclude ResourceManagerSink.cpp and TransactionResourceAsync.cpp from Linux build (ATL-only) - Add -D_REENTRANT -D_PTHREADS -DEXTERNAL -DunixODBC for Linux (matching old makefile.linux compile flags) - Fix ODBC linking on Linux: use ODBC::ODBC target instead of empty ODBC_LIBRARIES variable - Change IscDbc from STATIC to OBJECT library (avoids unnecessary intermediate archive; objects consumed directly by OdbcFb) - Add CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE defaulting to Release (single-config generators) - Add per-config compiler optimization flags for GCC/Clang (Debug: -O0 -g3, Release: -O3 -ftree-loop-vectorize, etc.) - Add CPU architecture detection (x86, x86_64, ARM64, generic) with -msse4.1 for x86/x86_64 (from PR FirebirdSQL#248) CI workflow updates: - linux.yml: use CMake instead of deleted Gcc.lin makefiles - msbuild.yml: add cmake -B build step to fetch Firebird headers (required by updated .vcxproj include paths) - rpi_arm64.yml: use CMake instead of deleted Gcc.lin makefiles - All workflows: trigger on new-build-system branches + PRs

fdcastel · 2026-03-21T16:15:36Z

+++ maybe is makes sense to move all the source code to /src folder.

I FULLY agree. That would be cleaner.

But let’s hold off on that for now. I implemented it in v4, so we’ll get there soon.

fdcastel · 2026-03-21T16:17:56Z

Missing features from PR #248

a. CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE processing, setting Release as default

Fixed. Added:

if(NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE AND NOT CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES)
    set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE Release CACHE STRING "Choose the type of build." FORCE)
    set_property(CACHE CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE PROPERTY STRINGS Debug Release RelWithDebInfo MinSizeRel)
endif()

b. Explicit compiler options for different build types

Fixed. Added per-config optimization flags for GCC/Clang:

add_compile_options(
    "$<$<CONFIG:Debug>:-O0;-g3;-D_DEBUG;-DDEBUG;-DLOGGING;-fexceptions>"
    "$<$<CONFIG:Release>:-O3;-DNDEBUG;-ftree-loop-vectorize>"
    "$<$<CONFIG:RelWithDebInfo>:-O2;-g;-DNDEBUG>"
    "$<$<CONFIG:MinSizeRel>:-Os;-DNDEBUG>"
)

c. CPU arch detection and -msse4.1 flag

Fixed. Added architecture detection (x86, x86_64, ARM64, generic) and
-msse4.1 for x86/x86_64:

set(FBODBC_ARCH ${CMAKE_HOST_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR})

if(FBODBC_ARCH STREQUAL "x86" OR FBODBC_ARCH STREQUAL "i686")
    add_definitions(-DFBODBC_ARCH_X86)
elseif(FBODBC_ARCH STREQUAL "x86_64" OR FBODBC_ARCH STREQUAL "AMD64")
    add_definitions(-DFBODBC_ARCH_X86_64)
elseif(FBODBC_ARCH STREQUAL "aarch64" OR FBODBC_ARCH STREQUAL "arm64" OR FBODBC_ARCH STREQUAL "ARM64")
    add_definitions(-DFBODBC_ARCH_ARM64)
else()
    add_definitions(-DFBODBC_ARCH_GENERIC)
endif()

if(FBODBC_ARCH_X86 OR FBODBC_ARCH_X86_64)
    add_compile_options(-msse4.1)
endif()

d. Target for static lib build

Not included in this PR. Can be added as an option if there's demand:

option(BUILD_STATIC_LIB "Also build a static library" OFF)

Let me know if you'd like this in the current PR or a future one.

Fix Linux build; address PR FirebirdSQL#281 review feedback - Fix OdbcJdbcSetup sources: Windows uses full GUI setup (17 files), Linux uses only OdbcInstGetProp.cpp (matching makefile.sources) - Exclude ResourceManagerSink.cpp and TransactionResourceAsync.cpp from Linux build (ATL-only) - Add -D_REENTRANT -D_PTHREADS -DEXTERNAL -DunixODBC for Linux (matching old makefile.linux compile flags) - Fix ODBC linking on Linux: use ODBC::ODBC target instead of empty ODBC_LIBRARIES variable - Change IscDbc from STATIC to OBJECT library (avoids unnecessary intermediate archive; objects consumed directly by OdbcFb) - Add CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE defaulting to Release (single-config generators) - Add per-config compiler optimization flags for GCC/Clang (Debug: -O0 -g3, Release: -O3 -ftree-loop-vectorize, etc.) - Add CPU architecture detection (x86, x86_64, ARM64, generic) with -msse4.1 for x86/x86_64 (from PR FirebirdSQL#248) CI workflow updates: - linux.yml: use CMake instead of deleted Gcc.lin makefiles - msbuild.yml: add cmake -B build step to fetch Firebird headers (required by updated .vcxproj include paths) - rpi_arm64.yml: use CMake instead of deleted Gcc.lin makefiles - All workflows: trigger on new-build-system branches + PRs

… feedback - Fix OdbcJdbcSetup sources: Windows uses full GUI setup (17 files), Linux uses only OdbcInstGetProp.cpp (matching makefile.sources) - Exclude ResourceManagerSink.cpp and TransactionResourceAsync.cpp from Linux build (ATL-only) - Add -D_REENTRANT -D_PTHREADS -DEXTERNAL -DunixODBC for Linux (matching old makefile.linux compile flags) - Fix ODBC linking on Linux: use ODBC::ODBC target instead of empty ODBC_LIBRARIES variable - Change IscDbc from STATIC to OBJECT library (avoids unnecessary intermediate archive; objects consumed directly by OdbcFb) - Add CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE defaulting to Release (single-config generators) - Add per-config compiler optimization flags for GCC/Clang (Debug: -O0 -g3, Release: -O3 -ftree-loop-vectorize, etc.) - Add CPU architecture detection (x86, x86_64, ARM64, generic) with -msse4.1 for x86/x86_64 (from PR FirebirdSQL#248) CI workflow updates: - linux.yml: use CMake instead of deleted Gcc.lin makefiles - msbuild.yml: add cmake -B build step to fetch Firebird headers (required by updated .vcxproj include paths) - rpi_arm64.yml: use CMake instead of deleted Gcc.lin makefiles - All workflows: trigger on new-build-system branches + PRs

fdcastel · 2026-03-21T16:23:17Z

All three existing workflows have been updated:

Workflow	Before	After
`linux.yml`	`make` in `Builds/Gcc.lin`	`cmake -B build && cmake --build build`
`msbuild.yml`	MSBuild only	Added `cmake -B build` step to fetch Firebird headers
`rpi_arm64.yml`	`make` in `Builds/Gcc.lin`	`cmake -B build && cmake --build build`

All workflows also trigger on the new-build-system and new-build-system-no-pr branches for testing (this must be reverted to master-only when merging).

fdcastel · 2026-03-21T16:24:41Z

@irodushka The fixes are in!

When you have a moment, please take a look and share your thoughts, suggestions, or any feedback here.

irodushka · 2026-03-28T20:45:55Z

@fdcastel
Sorry for the delay, have a lot to do besides FB)

Linux build is ok.
MS build - generally ok, but I have some questions (see in PR)

I'm ready to merge this PR as we quickly resolve those questions.

When Visual Studio opens CMakeLists.txt directly (Open Folder / CMake mode), it defaults to out/build/<config>/ as the binary directory. This breaks the OdbcFb.vcxproj include path (../../build/_deps/...) which expects 'build/'. CMakePresets.json standardizes the binary directory to 'build/' across all environments (command-line, Visual Studio, CLion, VS Code), so the .vcxproj include path works without manual adjustments. Also adds CMakeUserPresets.json to .gitignore for user-local overrides.

fdcastel · 2026-03-29T03:58:43Z

@irodushka The VS include path issue is now fixed — I added a CMakePresets.json that ensures Visual Studio's built-in CMake mode uses build/ as the binary directory (matching the command-line cmake -B build).

All three CI workflows are green (Linux, MSBuild, RaspberryPI ARM64).

Let me know if there's anything else!

irodushka · 2026-03-31T11:12:51Z

Well, okay! It's the final countdown!

irodushka · 2026-03-31T11:23:19Z

@fdcastel
Oops, someone has forgotten to update msbuild_arm64.yaml )

UPD: Well, it's really green now. And FYI: I've also updated buildno 21->22 (in WriteBuildNo.h)

irodushka · 2026-03-31T11:56:17Z

Continuing with the astronomical theme - this merge is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind!

fdcastel · 2026-03-31T12:12:16Z

@fdcastel Oops, someone has forgotten to update msbuild_arm64.yaml )

UPD: Well, it's really green now. And FYI: I've also updated buildno 21->22 (in WriteBuildNo.h)

We’ll be changing all of this soon, too 😉

Working on the rebase for [3/3], ~~now~~ in a few hours. Feel free to make any other changes and let me know when everything is fine.

This was referenced Mar 14, 2026

add odbc test to the github action workflow #280

Closed

V4 - Firebird ODBC Driver Modernization #275

Closed