

Ask HN: Why no SQL Query Tools for iPad? Am I missing something.... - jason_slack

I noticed that there is only 1 real SQL tool for iPad. That is SQLite Editor.<p>Am I missing something there? It would seem there would be more something like Sequel Pro or MySQL Workbench for iPad.<p>Are there not a lot of these for an obvious reason?
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Flemlord
Because you'd have to be insane to thumb-type SQL queries.

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Construct
The iPad has a massive touchscreen. I can think of several clever ways to
visually 'build' queries by dragging-and-dropping query building blocks,
column names, etc. into place.

Designing iPad apps around the idea of typing everything in is quite wasteful
of that big touchscreen. Also, it doesn't give anyone a reason to purchase
your app when they can just type the queries into their laptop/desktop with
great efficiency.

Leveraging the touchscreen to turn a typing task into a visual, tactile task
is a great use of the iPad.

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woodall
I agree with the "drag and drop" method of doing things. I was playing with it
here, christopherwoodall.com/youtube , and found that it is much more
enjoyable. Even on a PC.

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thehodge
I have exactly the same query with SVN / Git tools, the iPhone has an SVN
editor but it hasn't been updated in over a year and hasn't been ported to the
iPad... there is a massive gap for even a small editor with git/svn support

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sjs
May as well be web based imo. Editor + github/bitbucket + codepad[1]
functionality sounds really interesting to me.

[1] <http://codepad.org/>

For the editor ymacs and of course bespin would be good choices.

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wwortiz
You can't really use ymacs on an ipad can you?

It would probably have to be more button or menu driven.

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sjs
True, ymacs is probably not the right solution for a touch device. You'd have
to have a keyboard visible almost all the time.

Maybe using a hardware keyboard would be a requirement. Without a keyboard the
iPad would still make a good code viewer.

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JunkDNA
I haven't searched it too much, but I suspect a lot of devs are just not
interested in wading through the licensing swamp. For some commercial
databases, the vendor may or may not allow for linking their drivers without a
licensing deal. For a database released under GPL, there isn't a way to
release into the app store and not get the FSF all bunched up. I do a lot of
database work and this is a major reason I crossed this app idea off my list.
It feels like a headache in the making.

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jsatok
I agree that it's missing. I'd really like a SQL tool for the iPad, as I need
to use an SSH client, then use mysql on the command line to query my
databases.

I don't know anything about the porting process, but Sequel Pro for Mac is
open source.

Could it be ported? <http://code.google.com/p/sequel-pro/>

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jluxenberg
_Sequel Pro for Mac is open source ... could it be ported?_

Probably not without the consent of the original authors, as it is released
under the GPL and distribution through the App Store violates the GPL.

[1] <http://stackoverflow.com/questions/762498/iphone-and-gpl>

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SilentMobius
IMHO it's because the iOS ecosystem retards that "itch-scratch" development
process and promotes the "only-if-it-makes-money" process. Most mid-range SQL
tools were created to scratch an itch and the iPad is hardly the target market
for high-end tools. I'd imagine you'll get cut down/client versions of
FileMaker though (whether that's a good thing is up to you)

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micmcg
+1 Seems like it would be a handy tool, especially with a visual query builder

