HeidiSQL tool for mySQL

We have been using XAMPP on USB sticks for teaching for some time now. One of the problems has been the limited tools to manage the mySQL database server:

- phpmyadmin web interface
- mysql command line text-mode client

While the command line client is fast and has a lot of advantages it is somewhat an alien way of working for students. The web interface is more familiar but is slow and very old web like.

Of course you can use some of the great third-party tools for mySQL if they are installed but the general use labs only have the mySQL query browser. My favorite 2rd party tool is Navicat for OSX, I first purchased it years ago for a database project, it did everything well. But it is commercial (although they now have a free Lite version) so out of the student's reach. What we really wanted was a nice GUI tool that would run as a portable application.

Well, amazing enough such a creature exists and it is called HeidiSQL. Goto http://www.heidisql.com/ and have a look. There is a portable version that takes only 4.6 mb of space on a USB Stick.

Run the .exe installer and point it to the PortableApps folder on your USB stick. You don't have to install it there but if you do then it automatically gets added to the Portable Apps menu. Note that you don't actually have to have Portable Apps installed to run any portable application, you can just run the .exe file. However, having a nice menu system is a bonus that helps keep things organized.

When you run the program it brings up a connection manager for your session. Just fill in localhost for the IP, root for the User and click Connect! If you do not specify a database it will show you all the databases on the mySQL server, if you specify a database it only shows you that one.

For a light client it has lots of features, import/export of data and sql files, data search/edit etc, user account admin, SQL queries, database admin and it can even create views. What's not to like?

I think we have found a winner for class use. For more information goto:
http://code.google.com/p/heidisql/ which provide the following list of features:

With HeidiSQL you will be able to

• generate nice SQL-exports
• synchronize tables between two databases
• manage user-privileges
• import text-files
• export table-data as CSV, HTML, XML and SQL
• browse and edit table-data using a comfortable grid
• create and edit stored procedures
• batch-insert ascii or binary files into tables
• write queries with customizable syntax-highlighting and code-completion
• monitor and kill client-processes
• connect to servers via commandline
• and much more

We will know more by the end of term...