Commented by: Cosmin Apreutesei (cosmin_ap2)

I aggree... IBExpert has the "Recreate script" option as a workaround, but sure it's better to just invalidate dependencies, like in Oracle.

Commented by: Volker Rehn (vr2_s18)

In Firebird versions < 3 it was possible to just delete from rdb$dependencies. Now, since system tables are read only, this option is gone.

Most of the time it is important to have dependencies checked by the database, but sometimes they need to be out of the way. Much like with indexes, which can be deactivated e.g. for bulk inserts and tthen activated again.

Typical use case for deactivated dependencies is an ETL database: hundreds of source queries, target tables, index definitions and - stored procedures, all interconnected. During an ETL run, many of the target tables are recreated (due to the lack of truncate, delete would be too costly, or due to the occasional additional field) and refilled. Stored procedures are there to bundle more complex ETL logic. To wrap SPs in packages and then empty/recreate their bodies is not an option, since they might be used in more than one place at the same time. The ETL data flow is run in parallel as much as possible. Delete from rdb$dependencies at the beginning of an ETL run has worked nicely for years.

So this kind of database is more like a scratchpad which needs many database mechanisms, but without dependency check. Dependencies are being rebuilt during the process.