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Log Buffer #106: A Carnival of the Vanities for DBAs

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:51:58 -0700

Greetings from Wisconsin! Welcome to the 106th edition of the Log Buffer. Mr. Edwards is on a brief holiday and kindly asked me to fill in for him. So join me as we take a tour of some of this week’s database blogging activity.

I’d like to start by sharing the story of MySQL engineer Andrii Nikitin’s young son, Ivan. The short story is that Ivan is in need of a bone marrow transplant and that would also require travelling outside of their native Ukraine for the procedure. The family is asking for donations to cover the cost of the operation and trip, so please consider donating via the previous link.

Now, moving on to the database topics, we begin with my own area of (relative) expertise, Oracle. The big news this week is the July 2008 CPU, or Critical Patch Update, which Oracle releases quarterly. The Integrity blog has a nice summary of what’s included in this latest patchset. I’m sure plenty of you will be heading to Oracle OpenWorld 2008 as well, and OTN’s Justin Kestelyn announced a community preview page with some sneak peeks of what to expect (spoiler: beer!).

In a quick round-up of Oracle 11g topics, Amit Bansal at AskDBA.org has a nice guide for installing Oracle 11g on Solaris 10. Meanwhile, Oracle performance guru (and fellow Wisconsin native) Greg Rahn makes a great case for using incremental global statistics on partitioned tables. I see that Tim Hall has taken a break from reviewing summer blockbusters to write up a nice article on AWR baseline enhancements in Oracle 11gR1, and Alex Nuijten at AMIS has a nice presentation on using Oracle 11g’s virtual columns to clean up your data model.
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Chuck Ros' Blog

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:55:19 -0700

Pilgrimages

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:03:10 -0700

Unitours, the most respected name in customized group travel offers Catholic Pilgrimages and Protestant Christian pilgrimages group tours & Cultural Heritage travel to Europe and the Middle East.

Announcing TYPO3 Bug Day

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:46:50 -0700

1st TYPO3 BugDay on June 27th, 2008

Projects looking for sponsors!

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:46:49 -0700

Sponsored projects offer a new way for companies to support the development of TYPO3 v4 by donating money and pushing their own ideas. It also provides the developers with more opportunities for...

1st TYPO3 Bug Day a Success!

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:46:49 -0700

Here's a small summary about our first Bug Day which took place on June 27th. Benjamin Mack and myself were responsible for that first Bug Day. Although we didn't announce it too far in advance we...

Getting Even Further with Spring RCP | Javalobby

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:53:01 -0700

LogFile Group creation - SQL Errors vs SQL Warnings

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:52:40 -0700

On Windows® - but I guess it’s the same on another O.S. that does not support cluster - I noticed the following behavior when trying to execute a CREATE LOGFILE GROUP syntax like this:

CREATE
LOGFILE GROUP `test`
ADD UNDOFILE ‘test’
INITIAL_SIZE = 33M
UNDO_BUFFER_SIZE = 8M
ENGINE = NDBCLUSTER;

In v.5.1.25-rc, v.5.1.24-rc and v.5.1.23-rc, only SQL warnings are shown:

mysql> CREATE
    -> LOGFILE GROUP `test`
    -> ADD UNDOFILE ‘test’
    -> INITIAL_SIZE = 33M
    -> UNDO_BUFFER_SIZE = 8M
    -> ENGINE = NDBCLUSTER;
Query OK, 0 rows affected, 2 warnings (0.01 sec)

mysql> CREATE
    -> LOGFILE GROUP `test`
    -> ADD UNDOFILE ‘test’
    -> INITIAL_SIZE = 33M
    -> UNDO_BUFFER_SIZE = 8M
    -> ENGINE = NDBCLUSTER;
ERROR 1478 (HY000): Table storage engine ‘MyISAM’ does not support the create option ‘TABLESPACE or LOGFILE GROUP’

This difference can generate a bug in your applications if you were using code like this:

IF mysql.error = 0 THEN
ok, post-creation operations
ELSE
error, do nothing

In fact, the code above is correct if used on v.6.0.5 but it is wrong if used on v.5.1.25 (the application executes the post-creation operations even if the logfile group hasn’t been created).

I don’t remember exactly which version, but an old 5.1.x version had the same behavior of v.6.0.5 - i.e. SQL error - and that was the reason why I coded in that way.

Well.. one more application-bug discovered while testing the version 6.0.5-alpha of the server.

This afternoon I changed the code in this way:

IF (mysql.error = 0 AND mysql.warnings=0) THEN
ok, post-creation operations
ELSE
error, do nothing

uhmm, I would like to read such changes (errors -> warnings) in the internal mailing list or in the release notes file of the server (indeed, I’m not sure if it’s included in the chapter “Changes in release 5.1.x”).

Moral:

always read the release notes carefully;
never eat chocolate biscuits when coding: they could make you lose your concentration!

Getting Even Further with Spring RCP | Javalobby

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:51:00 -0700

Getting Even Further with Spring RCP | Javalobby

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:51:31 -0700

чечня

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:49:36 -0700

чехия

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:49:36 -0700

Guardian Media Group Acquires Paid Content For $30 Million

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 04:45:18 -0700

It’s getting kind of lonely out here as an independent blogging startup. In May Ars Technica was picked up by Wired. Today Kara Swisher and Marshall Kirkpatrick report that blog network Paid Content’s parent company ContentNext Media is being acquired by The Guardian Group for $30 million or more, including earnout.

Paid Content is led by CEO Nathan Richardson, and was founded in 2002 by former journalist Rafat Ali. The company operates a number of blogs and holds regular events.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Log Buffer #105, a Carnival of the Vanities for DBAs

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:48:55 -0700

This week, database blogs seemed to talk about conforming to stereotypes as well as breaking them.

Fulfilling the stereotype of Microsoft software being unsecure, Microsoft released a very important SQL Server update that Aaron Bertrand notes patches “four elevation of privilege vulnerabilities.” That’s right, not one, not two, but four!!! At least there is a patch now……go forth and patch! Usually it is MySQL that throws ambiguous warnings or errors which are not an accurate representation of the actual error, but Bertrand also notes that there is A Little Management Studio Oops.

Contrary to stereotype, Microsoft is giving away content with NO DRM! Kalen Delaney asks, Did You Know the History of SQL Server? and shares a link to a chapter from a book on SQL Server 2000 in the Inside SQL Server series.

The PSS SQL Escalation Services team has fought many times about SQL Server I/O Bottleneck, I don’t have one, YES YOU DO! The team gives some reminders about how to interpet averages properly.

Allen White asks about Tools for the Reluctant DBA — that is, a programmer or administrator so good at databases that they were promoted to DBA, but may not actually want the job. Check out the comments and add your own.

Tibor Karaszi shares his stored procedure to find physical index details. Now you can use one stored procedure does what a stored procedure plus 3-4 tables ordinarily does.

But wait! There are some more updates!

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Mapping users/groups from OpenLDAP or Generic LDAP server | Kerio Support Center

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:42:52 -0700

hibernate-memcached Google Group

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:47:17 -0700

Good SQL Querying

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:50:20 -0700

By “Good SQL Querying”, I am not referring to “how to make your queries more perfomant.” I am about to go on a mini-rant about how to make readable and self-documenting SQL queries.

One practice that will get me instantly going on a rant is using a comma join. There is NO reason to do the following:

-- uses the sakila sample database
SELECT first_name, last_name, address
FROM customer,address;

What kind of join did the original author intend? A CROSS JOIN? Or did they really want an INNER JOIN and forget the WHERE clause?

The answer: you do not know for sure; you can only guess. Had the query been

SELECT first_name,last_name,address
FROM customer INNER JOIN address;

you would know that the author intended an INNER JOIN; had the query been

SELECT first_name,last_name,address
FROM customer CROSS JOIN address;

you would know that the author intended a CROSS JOIN. I advocate using INNER JOIN instead of JOIN because like the comma, JOIN is ambiguous.

For full disclosure, the MySQL EXPLAIN plan is exact same for the above queries. The difference is purely semantic, but I think it a very important difference, because it makes the query author’s intentions clear. There are issues with the comma join not having the same precedence as INNER JOIN, but that is for more complex queries. To wit:

SELECT first_name,last_name,address
FROM customer, address INNER JOIN city;

will actually do address INNER JOIN city first, then join with customer. This was changed to be more like the SQL standard, so it’s only in MySQL 5.0.12 and higher that it acts this way.

My feeling is that a comma join should NEVER be used in MySQL. There is no such thing as a “comma join”, really what you mean is an “inner join” or a “left/right join” or “cross join” (or “natural join”).

I know that naysayers will say that

SELECT first_name,last_name,address
FROM customer INNER JOIN address;

actually does a CROSS JOIN (Cartesian product), so it is folly to rely only on the name of the join. And I agree. However, if you name your joins appropriately for what you want and intend them to be, it is much easier to catch mistakes.

And while we are on the topic of good SQL query techniques…..I would like to rant a bit about join criteria. (more…)

MySQL User Group in Malta

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:50:19 -0700

That’s right. MySQL now has a user group in Paradise.

I am always looking into connecting with other MySQL professionals, to share the laughs and tears, and to enjoy what we love working with every day, MySQL. I have always wanted to bring us all together, and I thought that this would have a good chance of doing so. Since I live in Malta, this made for the perfect location for it. If you live in Malta, or perhaps in Sicily or Tunisia, and want to take a trip, please do join us at our first meeting.

We will be having our first meeting in Mellieha, and please RSVP to me personally via email, westerlund (at) pythian.com if you want to attend. The date is set for Thursday, July 31^st at 6pm. We will discuss the current use of MySQL, its future, and whatever else comes into mind. I myself would love to hear usage stories for our first meeting, so we all get an understanding of how MySQL is used in Malta and environs.

I will make sure there are some refreshments to be had.

Let’s keep ourself educated and aware of how other people solve problems that we all sometimes encounter, as well as their interesting technical solutions. And let’s have some fun doing so!

Dimdim: Free Live Meeting, Web Conference, Net Meeting, Online Meetings, Online Training, Desktop Sharing, Web Meeting, Free Web conferencing, eLearning, Presentation Software, Web x collaboration, Collaboration software

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:50:26 -0700

Ian Rogers’ Topspin Raises New Cash

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:54:01 -0700

Topspin Media, a startup launched by former Yahoo Music General Manager Ian Rogers and widely regarded as digital-music maverick, has raised a new round of founding from Denver Boulder, Colorado-based VCs at The Foundry Group. The news was announced on the Foundry Group blog by partner Ryan McIntyre, but the funding amount wasn’t disclosed. The company recently came out stealth and was featured in Billboard magazine. Topspin also raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Redpoint Ventures.

So why are VCs all hot and heavy about this company? The shift to downloading music has boiled away the fat in the industry. Now all you need is an artist, a recording studio and an audience willing to pay for the artist’s music. But someone still needs to handle the marketing and distribution of that music across the web. That’s where Topspin comes in: The company is creating an enterprise-class software platform to track, analyze and monitor music sales and fan response.

As Hypebot, an influential music industry blog notes, “Topspin appears to be breaking through the clutter of disjointed widgets and apps.” And that makes selling easier.

ACL is back in Joomla 1.5.3

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:44:35 -0700

Joomla! • View topic - RESOURCE: User Group Access levels explained in simple terms!

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:45:52 -0700

Setting user registration policy - Joomla! Documentation

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 04:44:18 -0700

Mobile Web For Social Development (MW4D) Interest Group Patent Policy Status - IPP

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:49:47 -0700

JBUG Northern Italy | Google Gruppi

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:47:34 -0700

1st TYPO3 Bug Day a Success!

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:44:33 -0700

Here's a small summary about our first Bug Day which took place on June 27th. Benjamin Mack and myself were responsible for that first Bug Day. Although we didn't announce it too far in advance we...

W3C POWDER Working Group

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:50:04 -0700

The POWDER Working Group is specifying a protocol for publishing descriptions of (e.g. metadata about) Web resources using RDF, OWL, and HTTP.

Projects looking for sponsors!

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:46:02 -0700

Sponsored projects offer a new way for companies to support the development of TYPO3 v4 by donating money and pushing their own ideas. It also provides the developers with more opportunities for...

Reviewing MONyog

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:50:05 -0700

I was contacted by the folks at MONyog and asked if I would review MONyog. Since using MONyog is something I have been wanting to do for a while, I jumped at the chance. Of course, “jumped” is relative; Rohit asked me at the MySQL User Conference back in April, and here it is two months later, in June. My apologies to folks for being slow.

This review is an overall review of MONyog as well as specifically reviewing the newest features released in the recent beta (Version 2.5 Beta 2). Feature requests are easily delineated with (feature request). This review is quite long, feel free to bookmark it and read it at your leisure. If you have comments please add them, even if it takes a while for you to read this entire article.

While the webyog website gives some information about what MONyog can do, it is a bit vague about what MONyog is, although there is a link to a PDF whitepaper on What is MONyog? which does answer much of these questions.

The screenshots available from the website are accurate, so I will not reproduce them here. I will note that I have not shared this feedback with the webyog team yet, so I may be upset that a feature is lacking, and the feature may be implemented but I missed it. I will post a follow-up in that case, even though they will likely comment here too.

My reference points — I have used other monitoring and graphing tools such as Nagios, Cacti, and Intermapper as well as MySQL’s Enterprise Monitor.

Overall

As an overall review — MONyog is the best out-of-the-box GUI monitoring tool for MySQL that I have seen. It “just works.” As promised, getting up and running quickly is easy, and having a centralized location for monitoring is very useful. The graphs are beautiful and the statistics that are graphed are useful time-savers.
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TYPO3 Association announces sponsored projects

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:43:51 -0700

Sponsored projects offer a new way for companies to support the development of TYPO3 v4 by donating money and pushing their own ideas. It also provides the developers with more opportunities for...