Friday, March 13, 2009

Senora 1.0.1, and mutual FOSS goading

Martin Drautzburg just published version 1.0.1 of Senora, a command-line client for Oracle that makes a very attractive alternative to Oracle's SQL*Plus.

The timing - seven weeks before I present a review of Senora, sqlpython, and others at IOUG Collaborate - is not a coincidence. I asked Martin to review my draft paper submission for the conference. He graciously did, and supplied several crucial corrections and additions regarding Senora.

He also mentioned that he'd been continuing Senora development for in-house use, but that it had been years since he'd released the updates. My upcoming review spurred him to do the release.

And what a release it is - it's full of awesome! Mighty new flag options! Multiple sessions! Automatic generation of Senora commands from SQL scripts!

It sent me to scheming about how I can copy this fresh goodness to sqlpython.

Plus, of course, the paper reminded me painfully of some of sqlpython's shortcomings. I'm starting to use the sqlpython trac seriously now, as a token to myself of my goodwill. This will probably lead to a spurt of Embarrassment-Driven Development before the conference.

FOSS people know what the ancient Romans knew: money is a feeble motivator compared to glory. (Half the time, people only want money so they can buy things that will make them feel glorious...)

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