(Note: Casual readers who are not nerds: The following post is technology !intense!)
I do a lot of work with MySQL for data dependant websites. One of my biggest qualms with MySQL is the lack of a good admin tool. MySQL has an official “MySQL Administrator” program, but depending on the ISP and how MySQL is hosted depends how much functionality you are able to get out of the program that is deathly slow and locks up occasionally. There is also PHPMyAdmin, a web-based program, but it still lacks some functionality in transferring data between databases.
I wish I was getting paid or a free copy, but I am now endorsing using till I have to pay for SQLyog. So far it has been a great program and more importantly it has not locked up on me on large data transfers. Whoo-hoo! Lots of functionality and a good comparison is that it is the Enterprise Manager for MySQL.
Right now, I am using the free edition which just requires clicking on a dialog acknowledging that you are using the free version. No limits on how long or what functions you can or can’t use. If you want to be legit it is $27 for a non-commercial license and $47 for a single user.
Russ, Dave or anyone else using something different?
For the every day data transfer type stuff I just create an ODBC connection and then link the tables in Access. I still use phpMyAdmin for creating tables though. I like the price.
I use phpMyAdmin exclusively, although I’m not happy about it. It seems like every site I have uses a different version of that program. Also my biggest pet peeve is that it uses frames, and most of the time clicking a table on the left opens a new window instead of loading into the frame on the right. Really irritating, but manageable.
SQLyog doesn’t have a Mac version, do they? I looked on their site briefly but didn’t see one. That cuts me out of the picture, but I would totally love to use something better than phpMyAdmin.
No big deal though really, ’cause I just make 1 database table with about 400 fields, each of which represent a piece of content on the client’s site. That’s efficient, right? Kidding of course.
Dave,
You might want to try something like Russ is using. Not too familiar in connecting DBs to a mac, but I assume you could rig up an ODBC connection to some type of DB management program. Glad to hear I am not the only one frustrated with phpMyAdmin.