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package App::AltSQL;

=encoding utf-8

=head1 NAME

App::AltSQL - A drop in replacement to the MySQL prompt with a pluggable Perl interface

=head1 SYNOPSIS

  ./altsql -h <host> -u <username> -D <database> -p<password>

  altsql> select * from film limit 4;
  ╒═════════╤══════════════════╤════════════════════════════
  │ film_id │ title            │ description                
  ╞═════════╪══════════════════╪════════════════════════════
  │       1 │ ACADEMY DINOSAUR │ A Epic Drama of a Feminist 
  │       2 │ ACE GOLDFINGER   │ A Astounding Epistle of a D
  │       3 │ ADAPTATION HOLES │ A Astounding Reflection of 
  │       4 │ AFFAIR PREJUDICE │ A Fanciful Documentary of a
  ╘═════════╧══════════════════╧════════════════════════════
  4 rows in set (0.00 sec)

=head1 DESCRIPTION

AltSQL is a way to improve your user experience with C<mysql>, C<sqlite3>, C<psql> and other tools that Perl has L<DBI> drivers for.  Currently written for MySQL only, the long term goal of this project is to provide users of the various SQL-based da...

There are a few key issues that this programmer has had with using the mysql client every day.  After looking for alternatives and other ways to fix the problems, reimplementing the client in Perl seemed like the easiest approach, and lent towards th...

=over 4

=item Ctrl-C kills the program

All of the shells that we used on a daily basis allow you to abandon the half-written statement on the prompt by typing Ctrl-C.  Spending all day in shells, you expect this behavior to be consistent, but you do this in mysql and you will be thrown to...

=item Wide output wraps

We are grateful that mysql at least uses ASCII art for table formatting (unlike C<sqlite3> for some reason).  But there are some tables that I work with that have many columns, with long names (it's often easier to keep adding columns to a table over...

Suffice it to say, it's a much better experience if, just like with C<git diff>, wide output is left wide, and you are optionally able to scroll horizontally with your arrow keys like you wanted in the first place.

=item Color

Most other modern programs we developers use on a daily basis (vim, ls, top, git, tmux, screen) offer to provide additional context to you via color.  By consistently setting colors on a variable type or file type, programs can convey to us additiona...

=item Unicode Box characters

The usage of '|', '+' and '-' for drawing tables and formatting data seems a bit antiquated.  Other tools are adopting Unicode characters, and most programmers are now using terminal programs that support Unicode and UTF8 encoding natively.  The Unic...

=back

I've thought of a number of other features, but so too have my coworkers and friends.  Most people I've spoken with have ideas for future features.  Next time you're using your DB shell and find yourself irritated at a feature or bug in the software ...

=head1 CONFIGURATION

The command line arguments inform how to connect to the database, whereas the configuration file(s) provide behavior and features of the UI.

=head2 Command Line

The following options are available.

=over 4

=item -h HOSTNAME | --host HOSTNAME

=item -u USERNAME | --user USERNAME

=item -p | --password=PASSWORD | -pPASSWORD

=item --port PORT

=item -D DATABASE | --database DATABASE

Basic connection parameters to the MySQL database.

=item --A | --no-auto-rehash

By default, upon startup and whenever the database is changed, the C<information_schema> tables will be read to perform tab completion.  Disable this behavior to get a faster startup time (but no tab complete).

=back

=head2 Config File

We are using L<Config::Any> for finding and parsing the configuration file.  You may use any format you'd like to write it so long as it's support in C<Config::Any>.

=over 4