FIRST LOOK: ENTRANCE, A MYSQL BROWSER WITH CHARTS
Macintosh users with Java JRE 1.6 installed and a sense of adventure will
want to try out Entrance, a new MySQL browser. Entrance generates
Access-like charts based on data in MySQL databases, and it features a
“match box” search facility that works a lot like Spotlight, but for
database tables.
You don’t need to speak SQL to create Entrance charts, but if you do, a new
PLOT keyword lets you embed chart descriptions in SQL scripts.
The charts you create are interactive. They can be panned and zoomed, and
you can select data from them. This means you can answer “What are these?”
type questions simply by dragging selection boxes over a chart.
Entrance also introduces a new, innovative feature, called “data painting”,
that lets you paint the points in a Scatter or Correlation Chart with
color. The color shows up on the chart and is recorded in the underlying
database table, which means you can write SQL queries based on colors in
charts.
Entrance has been released under the GPL, so you can use it for free. Over
time other packages and licensing options will become available.
A beta DMG download and more information are available here:
http://todlandis.com/Entrance.html
You will need Java JRE 1.6, which is only available from Apple through the
Apple Developers Connection. The good news is that the Entrance DMG
installs itself as a Mac application pre-configured to run with JRE 1.6, so
you won’t have to mess around with the Java command line tools. It can be
kept in the Mac toolbar, too.
