gda-sql(1) LIBGDA Manual Pages gda-sql(1)NAME
gda-sql - an SQL console based on Libgda
SYNOPSIS
gda-sql [--help] [-v] [--version] [-o] [--output-file <filename>] [-C]
[--command] [-f] [--commands-file <filename>] [-i] [--interactive] [-l]
[--list-dsn] [-L] [--list-providers] [-s] [--http-port <port>] [-t]
[--http-token <token phrase>] [--data-files-list] [--data-files-purge
<criteria>] [connection's spec] [connection's spec...]
DESCRIPTION
gda-sql is an SQL console based on the Libgda library.
It enables you to type in queries interactively, issue them to be exe‐
cuted by a connection, and see the query results.
Several connections can be opened at the same time, allowing you to
switch the active connection to any opened connection. When starting,
gda-sql opens a connection for each connection specified on the command
line (plus optionally one corresponding to the GDA_SQL_CNC environment
variable). The prompt indicates the current connection used when exe‐
cuting commands. See the .c internal command for an explanation about
the syntax to specify a connection on the command line.
Alternatively, input can be from a file. In addition, it provides a
number of meta-commands and various shell-like features to facilitate
writing scripts and automating a wide variety of tasks.
It is also possible to run the tool as a script using the classic '#!'
string at the start of a script file, with the limitation that behav‐
iour of arguments passed on the line after the '#!' command is unde‐
fined. Example:
#!/bin/path/to/gda-sql
#!/usr/bin/env gda-sql
OPTIONS
gda-sql accepts the following options:
--help Show command-line options.
-o, --output-file <filename>
Specifies a file to which outputs are redirected.
-C, --command
Run only single command (SQL or internal) and exit.
-f, --commands-file <filename>
Execute commands from <filename>, then exit (except if -i spec‐
ified).
-i, --interactive
Keep the console opened after executing a file (used with the
-f option).
-l, --list-dsn
List configured data sources and exit.
-L, --list-providers
List installed database providers and exit
-s, --http-port <port>
Starts the embedded HTTP server on port <port>
-t, --http-token <token phrase>
Requires HTTP clients to authenticate by providing the <token
phrase> (empty phrase by default)
--data-files-list
Lists all the files used to hold information related to each
connection (ie. information gathered by the tool about the
connection such as meta data, defined statements,...)
--data-files-purge <criteria>
Removes file used to hold information related to each connec‐
tion for the criteria passed as argument (note that adding
"list-only" to the criteria, either before or after it using a
comma, will not actually remove the file):
"non-dsn": remove all the files which do not correspond to a
DSN (data source name). These are the files created when a con‐
nection is specified using connection parameters instead of
using a DSN
"non-exist-dsn": same as "non-dsn" except it also removes the
files which were for DSN which don't exist anymore
"all": remove all the files, for a complete cleanup
For example: --data-files-purge all,list-only lists all the
files (which would be removed if the command was
--data-files-purge all).
ENVIRONMENT
gda-sql can be configured through some environment variables:
GDA_SQL_CNC
to define a connection to systematically be opened when the
program starts.
PAGER to define a text pager program to use (by default determined by
the system).
GDA_NO_PAGER
to specify that no text pager should be used.
GDA_SQL_EDITOR EDITOR VISUAL
to define a text editor to be used (variables are examined in
this order).
GDA_SQL_VIEWER_PNG
to define a PNG viewer.
GDA_SQL_VIEWER_PDF
to define a PDF viewer.
GDA_SQL_HISTFILE
to define the history file name to use (by default .gdasql_his‐
tory), set to NO_HISTORY to disable history logging.
GDA_DATA_MODEL_DUMP_ROW_NUMBERS
if set, the first column of the output will contain row numbers
GDA_DATA_MODEL_DUMP_ATTRIBUTES
if set, also dump the data model's columns' types and value's
attributes
GDA_DATA_MODEL_DUMP_TITLE
if set, also dump the data model's title
GDA_DATA_MODEL_NULL_AS_EMPTY
if set, replace the 'NULL' string with an empty string for NULL
values
GDA_DATA_MODEL_DUMP_TRUNCATE
if set to a numeric value, truncates the output to the width
specified by the value. If the value is -1 then the actual
terminal size (if it can be determined) is used
gda-sql can be compiled with support for binary relocatibility.
This will cause data, plug-ins and configuration files to be searched
relative to the location of the gda-sql executable file.
FILES
gda-sql stores data source definitions (DSN) in Libgda defined files
($HOME/.local/share/libgda and ${prefix}/etc/libgda-4.0/config where
${prefix} is typically /usr).
For each connection defined by a DSN, all the information regarding the
connection (such as the meta data) is stored in a
$HOME/.local/share/libgda/gda-sql-<DSN>.db file.
SQL commands
You can run any SQL understood by the database engine of the current
connection. Additionally SQL statement can contain variables expressed
as ##<name>::<type> where <name> is the variable's name and <type> is
its declared type (which can be "int", "string", "boolean", "time",
"date", "timestamp" (and other types defined by GLib's syntax).
Use the .set internal command to set variable's values.
Internal commands
In addition to SQL commands, gda-sql supports internal commands which
differ from SQL commands because they start with the "." or "\" charac‐
ter. These commands are:
.? Lists all internal commands
.bind Bind two or more connections into a single new one (allowing SQL
commands to be executed across multiple connections). .bind
<CNC_NAME> <CNC_NAME1> <CNC_NAME2> [<CNC_NAME> ...] creates a
new connection named <CNC_NAME> which binds the tables of the
<CNC_NAME1>, <CNC_NAME2> and any other connection specified.
.c Opens a connection or sets the current connection. Username and
password can pe specified using the <USERNAME>[:<PASS‐
WORD>]@<DSN_NAME> or <USERNAME>[:<PASSWORD>]@<CNC_DEFINITION>
syntax, and if a username or a password is required but not
specified, it will ba asked interactively.
.c <CNC_NAME> <DSN_NAME> opens a connection internally known as
<CNC_NAME>, using the specified DSN.
.c <CNC_NAME> <CNC_DEFINITION> opens a connection internally
known as <CNC_NAME>, using a connection specified by <CNC_DEFI‐
NITION> which is similar to the <DSN_DEFINITION> parameter of
the .lc command.
.c <CNC_NAME> sets the current connection to the connection
known as <CNC_NAME>.
.c ~ or .c ~<CNC_NAME> set the current connection to the meta
data corresponding to the current connection (for the first
notation) or to the meta data corresponding to the <CNC_NAME>
connection.
.close Closes a connection. Full syntax is: .close <CNC_NAME>.
.cd Changes the current working directory. Full syntax is: .cd
<DIR_NAME>.
.copyright
Displays copyright information.
.d Lists all database objects if no argument is provided. .d
<OBJ_NAME> gives details about the specified object and .d
<SCHEMA>.* lists all objects in specified schema.
.dn Lists all schemas if no argument is provided. .d <SCHEMA_NAME>
lists specified schema.
.dt Lists all tables if no argument is provided. .d <TABLE_NAME>
lists specified table.
.dv Lists all views if no argument is provided. .d <VIEW_NAME> lists
specified view.
.fkdeclare
Declares a new foreign key (no constraint is added to the data‐
base). The meta data is modified to take into account a foreign
key constraint. The foreign key specification is <fkname>
<tableA>(<colA>,...) <tableB>(<colB>,...) where <fkname> is the
name given to the foreign key constraint and <tableA> references
<tableB> using the columns mentionned between the parenthesis.
Note that the (<fkname>, <tableA>, <tableB>) triplet uniquely
identifies a declared foreign key (declaring a new foreign key
with the same triplet will remove any previously declared one).
Note: any actual foreign key constraint will always have prece‐
dence over any declared foreign key.
.fkundeclare
Un-declares a foreign key (does the opposite of .fkdeclare).
.e Edits the query buffer with external editor, if no argument is
provided. .e <FILE_NAME> edits the specified file name. The
external editor can be specified using environment variables.
.echo Sends output to stdout, full command is: .echo [<TEXT>].
.export
Exports internal parameter or table's value to the FILE file.
Internal parameters are named values used when SQL statement
containing variables are executed.
.export <NAME> <FILE_NAME> exports the contents of the <NAME>
parameter to the specified file.
.export <TABLE> <COLUMN> <ROW_CONDITION> <FILE_NAME> exports the
value of the <TABLE> table, column <COLUMN> for the row selected
by <ROW_CONDITION> to the specified file. This is most useful to
export BLOBs.
.g Executes the contents of the query buffer, if no parameter is
provided. .g <QUERY_BUFFER_NAME> Executes the contents of the
specified query buffer. A named query buffer is created using
the .qs command.
.graph Creates a graph of tables showing their relations (based on for‐
eign key constraints). If no argument is provided, the graph
lists all tables. .graph <TABLE_NAME> [<TABLE_NAME>...] creates
a graph listing the specified tables.
The generated graph is created as the "gdaph.dot" file. If the
GDA_SQL_VIEWER_PNG or GDA_SQL_VIEWER_PDF environment variables
are set and if the "dot" program (from GraphViz) is found, then
the graph is displayed (if a display is available).
.H Set output format. Full syntax is: .H [HTML|XML|CSV|DEFAULT].
.http Starts/stops the embedded HTTP server. Full syntax is .http
[<port> [<authentication_token>]], where <authentication_token>
is an optional token phrase which HTTP clients are required to
send to authenticate.
.i Executes commands from file the specified file: .i <FILE_NAME>.
.l Lists all data sources if no argument is provided. .l <DSN>
lists information about the specified DSN.
.lp Lists all available database providers if no argument is pro‐
vided. .lp <provider> lists information about the specified
provider.
.lc Declares a DSN. Full syntax is: .lc <DSN_NAME> <DSN_DEFINITION>
[<DESCRIPTION>]. The <DSN_DEFINITION> format is:
<provider>://[<username>[:<password>]@]<connection_params> where
<connection_params> is a semi-colon (";") separated list of
<key>=<value> pairs where <key> is defined when using .lp
<provider> (if <value> contains non alphanumeric characters,
they should be represented as specified by the RFC 1738).
If a DSN with a similar name already exists, it is first
removed.
For example: ".lc mydsn PostgreSQL://HOST=moon;DB_NAME=mydb".
.lr Removes a DSN declaration. Full syntax is: .lc <DSN_NAME>.
.meta Updates the current connection's meta data (use this command
after having modified the database's schema).
.o Sends output to a file or |pipe. Full syntax is: .o <FILE_NAME>
or .o |<COMMAND>.
.q Quits the application.
.qecho Sends output to the output stream (stdout). Full syntax is:
.qecho <TEXT>.
.qa Lists all saved query buffers in dictionary.
.qd Deletes a query buffer from the dictionary. Full syntax is: .qd
<QUERY_BUFFER_NAME>
.ql Loads query buffer from dictionary into the current query buf‐
fer. Full syntax is: .ql <QUERY_BUFFER_NAME>.
.qp Shows the contents of the current query buffer.
.qr Resets the query buffer to empty if no argument is provided. .qr
<FILE _NAME> loads the specified file into the query buffer.
.qs Saves query buffer to dictionary, full syntax is .qs <QUERY_BUF‐
FER_NAME>. This creates a new query buffer with the specified
name in the dictionary, containing the current query buffer.
.qw Writes the query buffer to the specified file, full syntax is
.qw <FILE_NAME>.
.s Show commands history. .s <FILE_NAME> saves command history to
specified file.
.set Sets, shows or lists internal parameters.
.set lists all the defined internal parameters.
.set <NAME> <VALUE> (re)defines the internal parameter named
<NAME> to the specified value (which can be the _null_ literal
to set it to NULL).
.set <NAME> shows the contents of the internal parameter named
<NAME>.
.setex Set internal parameter as the contents of the FILE file or from
an existing table's value.
.setex <NAME> <FILE_NAME> (re)defines the the internal parameter
named <NAME> with the contents of the specified file name.
.setex <NAME> <TABLE> <COLUMN> <ROW_CONDITION> (re)defines the
the internal parameter named <NAME> with the value of the <TA‐
BLE> table, column <COLUMN> for the row selected by <ROW_CONDI‐
TION>.This is most useful to export BLOBs.
.unset Unset (delete) internal parameter.
.unset unsets all the internal parameters.
.unset <NAME> unsets the internal parameter named <NAME>.
SUGGESTIONS AND BUG REPORTS
Any bugs found should be reported to the online bug-tracking system
available on the web at http://bugzilla.gnome.org/. Before reporting
bugs, please check to see if the bug has already been reported.
When reporting bugs, it is important to include a reliable way to
reproduce the bug, version number of gda-sql, OS name and version, and
any relevant hardware specs. If a bug is causing a crash, it is very
useful if a stack trace can be provided. And of course, patches to rec‐
tify the bug are even better.
OTHER INFO
Consult the Libgda's home page at http://www.gnome-db.org/.
AUTHORS
Vivien Malerba (for Libgda's authors, please consult the AUTORS file
within the Libgda's sources)
SEE ALSOpsql(1), mysql(1), sqlite3(1)Version 4.2.12 2016-02-17 gda-sql(1)
