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Show HN: Sublime Text Database Client

44 points by alexggordon 11y ago

alexggordon 11y ago
Hey everyone! I just wanted to add a little back story to DB1 I developed DB1 mostly this summer and put a lot of work into figuring how to do the various parts of it. I posted it here looking for as much feedback as I can get on the various parts of it (the cost was something I struggled a lot with). I also have a lot of features in the pipeline for DB1 that I think add a lot of additional value to the product[0]. Feel free to let me know any questions or comments you have! [0] https://github.com/sequoiastudios/DB1/issues https://github.com/sequoiastudios/DB1/issues
gamesbrainiac 11y ago
I think pgcli (for postgres) still remains a better option. It has code completion.
- glogla 11y ago
  Pgcli is good, but there are two "modes" to use DB. One is interactive querying, which pgcli is good for. The other is developing a complex query and running it again and again, while watching the result, or maybe running multiple queries and comparing the result, etc. That is more of a task for text editor that can execute queries than a CLI query tool. Now, I don't think this is worth the 30 USD. Something like the upcoming 0xDBE might be worth it, especially since you can avoid stupid Oracle SQL Developer that hands every time there's a network problem.
  - gamesbrainiac 11y ago
    If you're paying for a JB IDE, you already have all the features of 0xDBE.
  - mbreese 11y ago
    > developing a complex query and running it again and again, while watching the result, or maybe running multiple queries and comparing the result Or maybe you should just script that so that you have the entire process automated? You could even write the script in Sublime Text if that makes you feel better :)
  - imakesnowflakes 11y ago
    >The other is developing a complex query and running it again and again, while watching the result... I created a small Python/Flask application with integrated Ace editor that run in tabs for this exact use case.. https://pypi.python.org/pypi/Pygmie https://pypi.python.org/pypi/Pygmie It has been a HUGE time saver for me. It also has a query history that is saved to browsers local storage. So no more lost queries due to a system/server crash.
Timucin 11y ago
$29 for running sending queries to the sql client through sublime? I'll pass.
mullsork 11y ago
Pretty cool but that pricing... I'd be happy to shell out $9 if the trial was successful and the app felt more useful than the alternatives. But $29?
- occsceo 11y ago
  I agree. I feel its worth the $9 price point too. $29? No way. Sublime Integration isn't worth $20 when I can just alt+tab. There are a lot of free apps that provide a ton more db functionality.
  - antaviana 11y ago
    Since it is convenience/time save tool, price point suitability will depend largely in your price per hour. For example, if your price per hour is $20 and this tool saves you 1.5 hours of time in your lifetime, it would make the business case. Or, if your price per hour is $5 and it saves you 6 hours in your lifetime it also would make the business case. However, it would be a bad investment if your price per hour is $5 and it only saves you 5 hours in your lifetime.
  - wbond 11y ago
    But if you are alt-tabbing, you no longer have the full suite of Sublime Text tools to work with. You don't have multiple cursors, and you can't use goto file, you don't get nice syntax highlighting, you can't select and execute SQL embedded in other source code files. In the grand scheme of things, I think it all depends on how much you interact with a db. If you just run an odd command here and there, $30 may seem like a lot. If you work with databases for an hour or more a day, this could be a huge time-saver.
    - imakesnowflakes 11y ago
      >you can't select and execute SQL embedded in other source code files.. How is it possible anyway? Queries in source files almost always cannot be executed as such, because of placeholders/parameters. Or what am I missing?
    - 11y ago
favadi 11y ago
Anyone knows what is current status of Sublime Text? I think the version 3 is already in beta for years.
- jbrooksuk 11y ago
  Sublime Text is fine :) Edit: I'm a moderator on the forums. I've been in touch.
  - coldtea 11y ago
    We've had 3-4 months without a new dev release though, after it had picked some steam.
    - luch 11y ago
      Well that's to be expected from a one-man company (IIRC). There used to be a time when you had yearly releases at best for commercial software (and you had to renew your license in order to get the new version). Not every company has to invest in continuous release. I'm perfectly happy to get infrequent but stable evolutions for Sublime Text. PS : However if the author could open his source code in order for me to take "inspiration from it" and improving my own Python codebase, that would be great :p
      - coldtea 11y ago
        >Well that's to be expected from a one-man company (IIRC). There used to be a time when you had yearly releases at best for commercial software. The thing is those "dev builds" are not actual releases -- the last 10 or so of them represent at most a few dozen commits, and quite small and isolated features or fixes. So, to put it in other words, the activity is like he has abandoned coding again the last few months (after a short stint of activity that followed a year-long halt).
        jbrooksuk 11y ago
        > and quite small and isolated features or fixes. This is simply not true. Jon wrote a parser for the new .sublime-syntax files, rather than using .tmTheme files.
alexis-d 11y ago
I've been using Jetbrains' 0xDBE recently (https://www.jetbrains.com/dbe/ https://www.jetbrains.com/dbe/) and I highly recommend it: * it works with IDEAVim * it uses JDBC so you can easily connect to "non-standard" DBs by using any JDBC driver * it's better than psql/vsql/... for dealing with complex queries (you have a real editor rather than limited readline support, if you're lucky enough to have readline support)
- ciokan 11y ago
  You can't even download/purchase that software.
  - teh_klev 11y ago
    Yes you can, it's in preview mode at the moment: https://www.jetbrains.com/dbe/download/ https://www.jetbrains.com/dbe/download/
- dontscale 11y ago
  Nice. Great way to shit on OP and steal his/her thunder under the guise of being helpful with alternatives. "...I was simply (insert BS justification here)." Sure you were.
  - xemoka 11y ago
    I'm not sure if you realise how combative your comment is. You mock and belittle alexis-d with no real reason other than your own perception. Why can we not talk about tools that we're using to get the job done, isn't this what part of HN is about? This isn't Product Hunt or a site for purely marketing products.
astateoftrance 11y ago
No one using DBeaver?
- xmstr 11y ago
  I use dbeaver for my oracle work, it's a great tool. It beats using the bloated sqldeveloper.
- sandebert 11y ago
  I do. Can recommend it.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
rlvesco7 11y ago
Emacs provides support for all major databases. You can interactively "send" chunks of sql to the db client, get syntax highlighting, etc. However, this seems better in that it does not rely on db clients. That said, here is a cool write-up of using emacs with postgres: https://truongtx.me/2014/08/23/setup-emacs-as-an-sql-database-client/ https://truongtx.me/2014/08/23/setup-emacs-as-an-sql-databas...
saurabh 11y ago
Get dbext.vim if you are a vimmer. http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=356 http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=356 Current databases supported are: ODBC / Perl DBI Mysql Oracle Oracle Rdb (VMS) SAP HANA SAP Sybase SQL Anywhere (SA/ASA) SAP Sybase IQ (ASA) SAP Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) SAP Sybase UltraLite (UL) Microsoft SQL Server IBM DB2 Interbase SQLite PostgreSQL Ingres Firebird https://mutelight.org/dbext-the-last-sql-client-youll-ever-need https://mutelight.org/dbext-the-last-sql-client-youll-ever-n... Working with SQL in Vim, by Kris Jenkins https://vimeo.com/76005855 https://vimeo.com/76005855
ZenoArrow 11y ago
Looks promising, could see myself using it at some point in the future. On a related note, it's a shame SSMS doesn't work with more databases (aside from as linked databases), I haven't found any database management tools that are better (commercial or free/open-source). The only drawback I've found with SSMS so far is limited colour theme functionality and slightly awkward debugging of .NET assemblies (you'd want to use VS2013 for writing them anyway, so it's not much of an issue). I'd be interested to know what's out there, perhaps I've missed something. What do Java developers tend to use?
mescalito 11y ago
I went ahead and gave it a try. I choose the first db in my local environment, give "select * from users" for a spin. It's a table with 84k records. It's loading for quite a bit now. I see is a big table, however isn't huge. I wonder if there's something to warn about long result queries and also if you can somehow prevent this, by adding a fixed limit to a query or something like that, maybe making this configurable? EDIT: Might it be possible to stop a running query, still loading :). One thing I couldn't figure out from your page is how the trial works? Would just end at some point or would you remind us to license from time to time, in the like of sublime text/svn form wbond?

44 points by alexggordon 11y ago

Hey everyone! I just wanted to add a little back story to DB1 I developed DB1 mostly this summer and put a lot of work into figuring how to do the various parts of it. I posted it here looking for as much feedback as I can get on the various parts of it (the cost was something I struggled a lot with). I also have a lot of features in the pipeline for DB1 that I think add a lot of additional value to the product[0]. Feel free to let me know any questions or comments you have! [0] https://github.com/sequoiastudios/DB1/issues https://github.com/sequoiastudios/DB1/issues

gamesbrainiac 11y ago

I think pgcli (for postgres) still remains a better option. It has code completion.

glogla 11y ago
Pgcli is good, but there are two "modes" to use DB. One is interactive querying, which pgcli is good for. The other is developing a complex query and running it again and again, while watching the result, or maybe running multiple queries and comparing the result, etc. That is more of a task for text editor that can execute queries than a CLI query tool. Now, I don't think this is worth the 30 USD. Something like the upcoming 0xDBE might be worth it, especially since you can avoid stupid Oracle SQL Developer that hands every time there's a network problem.
- gamesbrainiac 11y ago
  If you're paying for a JB IDE, you already have all the features of 0xDBE.
- mbreese 11y ago
  > developing a complex query and running it again and again, while watching the result, or maybe running multiple queries and comparing the result Or maybe you should just script that so that you have the entire process automated? You could even write the script in Sublime Text if that makes you feel better :)
- imakesnowflakes 11y ago
  >The other is developing a complex query and running it again and again, while watching the result... I created a small Python/Flask application with integrated Ace editor that run in tabs for this exact use case.. https://pypi.python.org/pypi/Pygmie https://pypi.python.org/pypi/Pygmie It has been a HUGE time saver for me. It also has a query history that is saved to browsers local storage. So no more lost queries due to a system/server crash.

Timucin 11y ago

$29 for running sending queries to the sql client through sublime? I'll pass.

mullsork 11y ago

Pretty cool but that pricing... I'd be happy to shell out $9 if the trial was successful and the app felt more useful than the alternatives. But $29?

occsceo 11y ago
I agree. I feel its worth the $9 price point too. $29? No way. Sublime Integration isn't worth $20 when I can just alt+tab. There are a lot of free apps that provide a ton more db functionality.
- antaviana 11y ago
  Since it is convenience/time save tool, price point suitability will depend largely in your price per hour. For example, if your price per hour is $20 and this tool saves you 1.5 hours of time in your lifetime, it would make the business case. Or, if your price per hour is $5 and it saves you 6 hours in your lifetime it also would make the business case. However, it would be a bad investment if your price per hour is $5 and it only saves you 5 hours in your lifetime.
- wbond 11y ago
  But if you are alt-tabbing, you no longer have the full suite of Sublime Text tools to work with. You don't have multiple cursors, and you can't use goto file, you don't get nice syntax highlighting, you can't select and execute SQL embedded in other source code files. In the grand scheme of things, I think it all depends on how much you interact with a db. If you just run an odd command here and there, $30 may seem like a lot. If you work with databases for an hour or more a day, this could be a huge time-saver.
  - imakesnowflakes 11y ago
    >you can't select and execute SQL embedded in other source code files.. How is it possible anyway? Queries in source files almost always cannot be executed as such, because of placeholders/parameters. Or what am I missing?
  - 11y ago

favadi 11y ago

Anyone knows what is current status of Sublime Text? I think the version 3 is already in beta for years.

jbrooksuk 11y ago
Sublime Text is fine :) Edit: I'm a moderator on the forums. I've been in touch.
- coldtea 11y ago
  We've had 3-4 months without a new dev release though, after it had picked some steam.
  - luch 11y ago
    Well that's to be expected from a one-man company (IIRC). There used to be a time when you had yearly releases at best for commercial software (and you had to renew your license in order to get the new version). Not every company has to invest in continuous release. I'm perfectly happy to get infrequent but stable evolutions for Sublime Text. PS : However if the author could open his source code in order for me to take "inspiration from it" and improving my own Python codebase, that would be great :p
    - coldtea 11y ago
      >Well that's to be expected from a one-man company (IIRC). There used to be a time when you had yearly releases at best for commercial software. The thing is those "dev builds" are not actual releases -- the last 10 or so of them represent at most a few dozen commits, and quite small and isolated features or fixes. So, to put it in other words, the activity is like he has abandoned coding again the last few months (after a short stint of activity that followed a year-long halt).
      - jbrooksuk 11y ago
        > and quite small and isolated features or fixes. This is simply not true. Jon wrote a parser for the new .sublime-syntax files, rather than using .tmTheme files.

alexis-d 11y ago

I've been using Jetbrains' 0xDBE recently (https://www.jetbrains.com/dbe/ https://www.jetbrains.com/dbe/) and I highly recommend it: * it works with IDEAVim * it uses JDBC so you can easily connect to "non-standard" DBs by using any JDBC driver * it's better than psql/vsql/... for dealing with complex queries (you have a real editor rather than limited readline support, if you're lucky enough to have readline support)

ciokan 11y ago
You can't even download/purchase that software.
- teh_klev 11y ago
  Yes you can, it's in preview mode at the moment: https://www.jetbrains.com/dbe/download/ https://www.jetbrains.com/dbe/download/
dontscale 11y ago
Nice. Great way to shit on OP and steal his/her thunder under the guise of being helpful with alternatives. "...I was simply (insert BS justification here)." Sure you were.
- xemoka 11y ago
  I'm not sure if you realise how combative your comment is. You mock and belittle alexis-d with no real reason other than your own perception. Why can we not talk about tools that we're using to get the job done, isn't this what part of HN is about? This isn't Product Hunt or a site for purely marketing products.

astateoftrance 11y ago

No one using DBeaver?

xmstr 11y ago
I use dbeaver for my oracle work, it's a great tool. It beats using the bloated sqldeveloper.
sandebert 11y ago
I do. Can recommend it.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

rlvesco7 11y ago

Emacs provides support for all major databases. You can interactively "send" chunks of sql to the db client, get syntax highlighting, etc. However, this seems better in that it does not rely on db clients. That said, here is a cool write-up of using emacs with postgres: https://truongtx.me/2014/08/23/setup-emacs-as-an-sql-database-client/ https://truongtx.me/2014/08/23/setup-emacs-as-an-sql-databas...

saurabh 11y ago

Get dbext.vim if you are a vimmer. http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=356 http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=356 Current databases supported are: ODBC / Perl DBI Mysql Oracle Oracle Rdb (VMS) SAP HANA SAP Sybase SQL Anywhere (SA/ASA) SAP Sybase IQ (ASA) SAP Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) SAP Sybase UltraLite (UL) Microsoft SQL Server IBM DB2 Interbase SQLite PostgreSQL Ingres Firebird https://mutelight.org/dbext-the-last-sql-client-youll-ever-need https://mutelight.org/dbext-the-last-sql-client-youll-ever-n... Working with SQL in Vim, by Kris Jenkins https://vimeo.com/76005855 https://vimeo.com/76005855

ZenoArrow 11y ago

Looks promising, could see myself using it at some point in the future. On a related note, it's a shame SSMS doesn't work with more databases (aside from as linked databases), I haven't found any database management tools that are better (commercial or free/open-source). The only drawback I've found with SSMS so far is limited colour theme functionality and slightly awkward debugging of .NET assemblies (you'd want to use VS2013 for writing them anyway, so it's not much of an issue). I'd be interested to know what's out there, perhaps I've missed something. What do Java developers tend to use?

mescalito 11y ago

I went ahead and gave it a try. I choose the first db in my local environment, give "select * from users" for a spin. It's a table with 84k records. It's loading for quite a bit now. I see is a big table, however isn't huge. I wonder if there's something to warn about long result queries and also if you can somehow prevent this, by adding a fixed limit to a query or something like that, maybe making this configurable? EDIT: Might it be possible to stop a running query, still loading :). One thing I couldn't figure out from your page is how the trial works? Would just end at some point or would you remind us to license from time to time, in the like of sublime text/svn form wbond?