[ 
https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/HBASE-487?page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels:comment-tabpanel&focusedCommentId=12575067#action_12575067
 ] 

Bryan Duxbury commented on HBASE-487:
-------------------------------------

@Edward - I don't think that a custom-written parser will ever give us the 
flexibility to do crazy debugging and tinkering like a JRuby shell would. 

As far as the point that it requires some ruby/python knowledge to use, I don't 
think that's true. At least in ruby, we could make the syntax very simple, 
while still allowing access to the deeper pure-ruby stuff for those who know 
it's there.

For instance, we could make a get method like so:
{code}
> get "row name", "fam:col", "fam2:col2"
{code}

It doesn't look like SQL, but it has the same functionality, and you don't 
really have to know ruby to use it. 

> Replace hql w/ a hbase-friendly jirb or jython shell
> ----------------------------------------------------
>
>                 Key: HBASE-487
>                 URL: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/HBASE-487
>             Project: Hadoop HBase
>          Issue Type: Wish
>            Reporter: stack
>            Priority: Minor
>
> The hbase shell is a useful admin and debugging tool but it has a couple of 
> downsides.  To extend, a fragile parser definition needs tinkering-with and 
> new java classes must be added.  The current test suite for hql is lacking 
> coverage and the current code could do with a rewrite having evolved 
> piecemeal.  Another downside is that the presence of an HQL interpreter gives 
> the mis-impression that hbase is like a SQL database.
> This 'wish' issue suggests that we jettison HQL and instead offer users a 
> jirb or jython command line.  We'd ship with some scripts and jruby/jython 
> classes that we'd source on startup to do things like import base client 
> classes -- so folks wouldn't have to remember all the packages stuff sat in 
> -- and added a pretty-print for scanners and getters outputting text, xhtml 
> or binary.  They would also make it easy to do HQL-things in jruby/python 
> script.
> Advantages: Already-written parser with no need of extension probing deeper 
> into hbase: i.e. better for debugging than HQL could ever be.  Easy extension 
> adding scripts/modules rather than java code.  Less likely hbase could be 
> confused for a SQL db.
> Downsides: Probably more verbose.  Requires ruby or python knowledge 
> ("Everyone knows some sql").  Big? (jruby lib is 24M).
> I was going to write security as downside but HQL suffers this at the moment 
> too -- though it has been possible to sort the updates from the selects in 
> the UI to prevent modification of the db from the UI, something that would be 
> hard to do in a jruby/jython parser.
> What do others think?

-- 
This message is automatically generated by JIRA.
-
You can reply to this email to add a comment to the issue online.

Reply via email to