NAME

sqlay - a tiny suite of tools for relational database schema visualization or data display / entry on console, X or WWW.

SYNOPSIS

sqlaya [options] datasource

sqlayh [options] datasource

sqlay.cgi [options] datasource

sqlayc [options] datasource

sqlayq [options] datasource

DESCRIPTION

sqlay is a tiny suite of tools allowing to perform simple operations on relational databases, like schema visualization and fast data visualization or entry.

It currently offers two basic functionalities: paging through a (near-UML stylish) graphical schema of the tables or views and data viewing / editing (if compiled with debug) in a spreadsheet like datasheet.

Those functions are available in three UI flavours: ncurses for console, Qt for windowing environment and, either pure ASCII for raw console, or HTML, which can in turn also render a Web Page if the executable is running as cgi-bin in a Web server.

As for the backends they are available for the following RDBMS'es: MySQL, PostgreSQL and both Sybase and Microsoft throug FreeTDS. They allow file connection to SQLite and MS-Access (through MDBTools) database files and to sql and csv (or tab separated) files through basics. Above this, they also can simulate connections to a dummy RDBMS server returning random (meta-)data. At least, bridges through unixODBC or iodbc ar possible as well, giving access to virtually any RDBMS.

sqlay could be a symlink to one of those programs, and sqlaya, sqlayh, sqlayc, sqlayq symlinks to their respective sqlsc (schema viewer) program. Note nevertheless that those symlinks are very likely to disappear in the future (if any) in the profit of a single binary using -od (output driver) and -oo (output object) command line options.

FEATURES

SqLay tools should behave properly on simple, classical database schemas but unpredictable results would FOR SURE occur (included data corruption if used for edition or false resultsets in queries) on database schemas having the following characteristics:

• field or table names including spaces or non ascii characters.
• binary datatype (blob) fields (with C/C++ tools only).

Unpredictable behaviour may also occur on database schemas having mixed case field or table names. In such a situation, it is advisable to do some testing on non-sensitive data.

OPTIONS

Options tend to use the same naming conventions between executables with possible slight changes in meaning.

See the executables man pages for details. Nevertheless, the output object can be chosen from the main executable as follows:

Options:

• -oo object Output object to be chosen in 'sc' (for schema) or 'ds' (for datasheet). Default is 'sc'.

COMMANDS

Key bindings as well tend to be harmonized, eventhough the schemas, read-only, allow simple characters keystrokes as commands while those are bound to values edition in the datasheet.

See the executables man pages for details.

FILES

See the executables man pages.

BUGS

Very probably a lot (see the files BUGS and TODO included in the source).

Also, pls understand that this is an alpha release and none of the executables is securized against buffer overflows, and so on.

The drivers also are not thread safe. Not even the connections are safe. Everything has really been designed until now for use on trusted developpement machines, accessed only by trusted users. I hope it may change in the future...

AUTHOR

E. Lurquin <sqlay@hitud.net>

CREDITS

We want to thank Openweb <http://www.openweb.be/> for having given the opportunity to start this small developpement effort and having sponsored part of it.

SEE ALSO

sqlsc(1), sqlds(1), sqlayin(1), sqlayindummy(1), sqlayinfiles(1), sqlayinfilet(1), sqlayinslite(1), sqlayinmdbtl(1), sqlayinpgsql(1), sqlayinmysql(1), sqlayinfrtds(1), sqlayinodbc3(1).