Introduction We're two graduates from South Trøndelag University College (Høgskolen I Sør-Trøndelag, HiST) in Norway. We've developed an administration tool for Apache Derby as a student project and would like to open it to the community process and continue working on it.
Why we choose this project For a number of reasons actually. All of the database management systems (DBMS) out there has some sort of utility which enables you to administer the system. Apache Derby has no such thing, not officially that is. We see the demand for such a tool and we're going to try to fill that gap. We're setting it free both because we're big fans of free and open source software, and because Apache Derby is released under the Apache License we have adopted the same for our code. Finally because of the challenge. Trying to get the code accepted and to gain acceptance as developers from a large community is a great challenge. Especially when trying to make a user interface good enough and functional for everyone which is a challenge in itself. Basic functionality Application programming interface (API) -Start/Stop database (DB) -Change port and DB default directory -Run Apache Derby as network server and embedded -Create tables and retrieve data -Show server parameters and monitoring information -Logging (client and server) -Manage multiple instances of Apache Derby Graphical user interface (GUI) -Using above functionality -Easy access to SQL query tool (ij) -Tray icon (Gnome panel on *nix and task bar on Windows) Status Almost all of the functions in the API works and the GUI is coming close to something usable. Target users Everyone! But especially new Apache Derby users and those who tries Apache Derby out for the first time. To have such a tool easily available to users makes it less probable for them to run away when they read CLI only somewhere, and in the long run this may encourage more people to participate in the Community. Technologies and tools used -Apache Derby -Java Management Extension (JMX) -Swing -JDBC -NetBeans IDE We have set forth a goal to use as little outside of the JRE as possible when running the tool. No need to install additional software and thus make it easier to get started using it. The reasoning behind using JMX is to ease the sharing of information between the running instance and the client side API. A lot in Apache Derby has been instrumented as manageable beans and we would like to leverage these capabilities. We've chosen NetBeans as our IDE because we're both familiar with it, it's easy to make a good looking GUI with NetBeans, and because there is a good amount of developers out there using it. Calling out to all Derby developers We would like to know your opinions on including a graphical management tool into Apache Derby. We're aware of the project details when it comes to GUIs, but we believe there is no better place to host the code. It will ease development and the tool will in turn potentially benefit the community. Our email addresses: Øyvind Jensen - oyvindje AT tihlde.org Håvard Barkhall - haavaba AT tihlde.org Thanks, -Øyvind J.
