I saw this question asked today, and thought I’d write a quick post about it.
Giving passwords on the command line isn’t necessarily a fantastic idea – but you can sort of see where they’re coming from. Configuration files and environment variables are better, but just slightly. Security is a night mare!

But if you do decide to write an application which takes a password (or any other sensitive information) on the command line, you can prevent other users on the system from easily seeing it like this:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <sys/types.h>

int main(int argc, char *argv[]){

int i = 0;
pid_t mypid = getpid();
if (argc == 1)
return 1;
printf("argc = %d and arguments are:\n", argc);
for (i

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Here are some of the fake O'Reilly book covers I mentioned in a prior post.  These have been optimized for use as black & white Kindle screensaver wallpaper images.  If you haven't done so already, you can install a Kindle screensaver hack with a couple of downloads. 

Update: I've embedded a slideshow from PicasaWeb, but it requires Flash.  If you don't see it you can click on the links below to go directly to

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David Cornelson of TextFyre has embarked on an ambitious plan to create a new open source virtual machine, FyreVM.  This new VM will run Interactive Fiction games (e.g. Zork and newer works written in Inform) on a dozen different mobile platforms such as Android, WinPhone 7, Kindle, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry.  The goal of FireVM is to take advantage of specific user interface capabilities on each platform, whether it's the touch screen of Android tablets or the 5 way button on the Kindle.

To help with this project, TextFyre has started  a fundraising effort on

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I managed to get an "early upgrade" of my iPhone 3GS to the iPhone 4 despite AT&T's best efforts.  I've had a couple of days using the new iOS 4 operating system on my 3GS and a couple of hours with the iPhone 4.  So here are a few highlights of the initial hands-on experience with more updates on the weekend.

Updated with additional information, video & photos.

Low-res video (VGA resolution):

Here's a gallery of additional photos from the iPhone 4:
(Double click to see larger versions.)

Upgrade Process

Other than AT&T's longstanding inability to deal with demand, the upgrade process is pretty simple.   I chased the UPS driver home to get my iPhone today and just plugged into the USB cable to restore my

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(Click on the image to enlarge)

Dennis Wolf, former MySQL CFO (http://www.mysql.com/news-and-events/generate-article.php?id=2005_34" target="_blank), has been undergoing Plasmapheresis treatment in the last week and despite a mild setback due to an infection, he will be checking out of the hospital today to continue rehab as an outpatient.  Dennis reports that he has increased mobility in his leg and that the test for Devic's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis has come

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Dennis Wolf, former CFO of MySQL (http://www.mysql.com/news-and-events/generate-article.php?id=2005_34" target="_blank), is in the hospital undergoing treatment for neuromyelitis optica (NMO) also known as Devic's Disease.  This is a spinal cord inflammation with similarities to Multiple Sclerosis.  Dennis is a very special guy to get such a rare disease. He's also a tough son-of-a-gun, so I have no doubt that he will put this behind him with a full recovery just as he did 18 years ago.  But it will take some time, attention and

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A buddy of mine, Doug Marks, recently opened my eyes to some sites that are putting out misleading product reviews fueled by Google Ad Words.  I wrote about this on my InfoWorld blog with a story entitled "FTC and Google need to crack down on scam review

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I let a couple of these pass by but just thought I'd mention it (just in case any other ex-MySQLer is experiencing anything similar...Why does the MySQL bugs system remove former employees from the historical record?Date: Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:26:35 +0200From: Bug Database Subject: #29838 [Csd]: myisam corruption using concurrent select ... and updateIn-reply-to: X-Originating-IP: [140.98.193.23]To

InfoWorld has declined to post my review of "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" because it is unrelated to open source.  Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Having run a ten marathons, countless half-marathons and a few 100+ mile cycling days, I am sometimes asked what the appeal is of long distance running or cycling.  Despite he fact that I have been running for more than 30 years, it's not easy to explain.  Mostly I think you either get it, or you don't and no attempt to dissect the experience will make much sense.  But luckily, Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami has penned a short book of essays called "

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(Or the perils of working at home too much)

I was out of town for Marten's going away party so I decide to put together a brief video recalling what it was like to work with Marten Mickos, CEO of MySQL for the last 5+ years.  Inspired by Joaquin Phoenix, or perhaps it was the Unambomber, it came out a bit weird.  But what the heck.

Marten, it just won't be the same without you.  Thank you for your

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I encountered the following text in a man page. Please tell me that I am not alone in thinking that the "typical" solution suggested is WTF worthy...

After calling "commit" or "rollback" many drivers will not let you
fetch from a previously active "SELECT" statement handle that's a child
of the same database handle. A typical way round this is to connect the
the database twice and use one connection for "SELECT" statements.

If the programmer really wants to reuse values from a SELECT statement which occurred within a transaction after the transaction is closed, they should cache those values themselves by populating some variable within their application. IMO, they definitely should not be using multiple connections to the same database from one unit of work unless they are






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My good friend and open source-loving, running, beer-drinking community ambassador and MySQL VP Kaj Arnö (top row middle) has named me (bottom left) in the "7 useless facts" meme.  I don't mind.  I'd mentally prepared myself for this semi-fun semi-useless task when I saw Jay Pipes do this a few weeks ago.  I figured Kaj would fall soon and he would spread the virus,

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Today marks the one year anniversary of Sun acquiring MySQL, which had the codename "Heineken."  So we had a little reception over at our offices at Sun's Menlo Park campus.  We also opened up a beer called "Sandels" which was the codename for our IPO project.

 

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Here are a few key posts from my various blogs from the last year.

From my InfoWorld open sources blog:

• Open Source Trends for 2009
• John Kotter on Urgency
• MySQL 5.1 Released
• Gartner Reports 50% Growth in use of Open Source DBMS
• Being Smart in a Down

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Andrii Nikitin (http://www.mysql.com/about/help-ivan.html), one of the MySQL support engineers located in Ukraine, has asked for help from MySQLers and so I'm sharing this information to the community at large.  Andrii's son Ivan, who is 2 1/2, is in need of a bone marrow transplant operation.  This will require going to a clinic in Europe that will not be covered by regular insurance.  So Andrii has aksed to see if we could help raise funds.  The cost is expected to be $150,000 - $250,000.  A huge amount for an engineer from Ukraine to cover.   But a

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My blog been added several days ago to the Planet MySQL feed, and am now one step closer to world domination.

I'll assume that most people who see this entry at their feed readers would be unfamiliar with this blog, so I should be including an introduction here. Instead, I invite you to take a look at the home page and look at some olds posts of mine that might interest you. Not everything is about MySQL, and the Planet MySQL feed takes only the ones that I've labeled as such.

The following posts are the top search engine keywords that this blog gets, so you might want to start there:

• MySQL T-SQL CASE Statement: Bad Language Design

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I've used Safari (the O'Reilly version) for a number of years now and it is a resource I often recommend to coworkers. Basically, it's an on-line library of technical books (since expanded to include video) from a group of publishers. O'Reilly, Microsoft Press, Cisco Press, Syngress, and many others have books and resources on-line at Safari. It came into being in 2001 but I remember a predecessor version back in the late 90s from Que Publishing/Macmillan Computer Publishing called Personal Bookshelf, which I also used. Back in those days I was in the Air Force and that provided some of the technical books I couldn't afford on an Air Force salary.

Subscribing to Safari gives one the ability to put a certain number of books onto a

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I have been on vacation the last week, which meant I spent the previous three weeks at work preparing to go on that vacation. :) All in all, it was much needed. It represented the first family vacation we've taken since I was still in the Air Force (and I separated in 1999). We've taken a couple of days here or there or I've taken a week off to take care of personal things, but we finally did the week long, get away from everything vacation.

Our vacation was fairly inexpensive. We spent a week at Myrtle Beach, SC, at my mother-in-law's house. I admit this is a great convenience because Myrtle Beach is certainly a vacation location and not having to splurge on hotel and being able to minimize other expenses like food was great. But I think the most important thing was the time away and the time to destress. Given that, just about anywhere with some reasonable

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In two blogs I follow, Andy Leonard's blog on SQLBlogs.com and Sheeri Kritzer's The MySQL She-BA, the question of what is a database administrator has come back up. Andy has posted twice on the topic, first with how DBAs are an enterprise requirement and then a follow-up to that post. In Sheeri's case, she was pointing out that a system administrator friend of hers considers the use of phpMyAdmin as a determining factor on whether or not one is DBA: he's not much of a  [Read more...]

Last week I received an email indicating that MySQL had made available an entry level certification, the Certified MySQL Associate (http://www.mysql.com/certification/candguide.html#t21). The idea is to provide a certification which shows a person has some basic knowledge of MySQL, but not at the level of a developer (http://www.mysql.com/certification/candguide.html#t26) or DBA (http://www.mysql.com/certification/candguide.html#t31). That's a great idea.

Not everyone needs a developer's or DBA's knowledge of a product to make use of it. This is true whether we're talking about MySQL or SQL Server. After all, we don't expect an end user to know how to fully administer a Windows XP / Vista system, but the basics of how to use it, that's well within the bounds of expectations.

I haven't had time to pursue a MySQL certification, mainly because of work and



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I've spent my spare time the last few weekends helping a non-profit called Fast Forward here in the Columbia, SC area. I don't post this here to blow my own horn but rather to point out the need many non-profit organizations have for quality IT support. Most non-profits operate on a limited budget meaning they take help where they can get it. Often times there just isn't money left in the budget for a services contract, etc., even for an organization like Fast Forward.

This is where knowledgeable folks can really make a difference. I know the usual excuse: after spending all week looking at a computer screen, the last thing anyone wants to do is spend the weekend working on computers. I've been there, so I understand that feeling completely. However, I have to say that the time I've spent working at Fast Forward has

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One thing is always certain about information technology: there is always change. This past week I was pitching in on a Citrix upgrade for my organization and I went to tweak the web interface. Though I'm not primarily a "server guy" and directory services administrator, I do have a web developer skillset (in fact, that's how I got my start where I work now). However, it's been a few years since I've done anything but touch up work with regards to web development and initially I got that blank feeling... the one where you know how to do things but it's like your mind is cycling through the archives to pull back that information and bring it to the forefront. After a thankfully brief period of "brain thrashing," I went to it.

This experience reminded me of a .NET

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The presentation How to Be a Consultant has been posted to the Midlands PASS Chapter website. The presentation was given by Midlands PASS Vice President and Treasurer, Ben DeBow, of CounterLogic.com. There's a lot of great information on succeeding as an independent consultant from one who has been doing just that for a while now. It is not specific to any technology but rather focuses on the business side of being a consultant.


Technorati Tags: SQL Server | Microsoft SQL Server |


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As reported on www.valleyofthegeeks.com by Nate Orenstam

Sources inside Microsoft have reported the company will be expanding their commitment to open source by joining the Open Source Development Lab (OSDL) next week at LinuxWorld in Boston. 

This appears to be part of a new strategy led by Steve ?No Socks? Sinofsky, who has recently been appointed as Senior Vice President of all things Windows, taking over from long time exec Jim Alchin who was planning on retiring when Windows Vista shipped.  Or perhaps even sooner, based on the fact that his desk is now in the sub-basement of Building 10

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Admittedly, Monty doesn't really smoke.  But I thought this was a good picture nonetheless.  I wonder if readers can identify the other MySQLers who, ah, bared their souls for this. 

Ok, we didn't acquire anyone.  But I thought it was funny the way our partnerships (http://www.mysql.com/news-and-events/press-release/release_2006_16.html) with IBM and EMC were reported on Heise.de, the huge german news web site.  The text below popped up on my Google News search.  We may have big balls, but not that big.  But it makes for interesting discussion.  :-)

As reported on Google via Heise.de:

MySQL acquires IBM and EMC as partnership program members
Heise Online, Germany - 8 hours ago
IBM and EMC have joined the partnership program of MySQL AB. The Network Certified Partner Program attests the smooth interaction ...

Actual MySQL Press Release:

IBM & EMC Join the MySQL

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I thought it would be fun, and informative to conduct some interviews with web developers on my blog. I'm starting off with someone that most of my blog readers probably already know, and many have probably even had a beer with - Sean Corfield.

If you don't know Sean, he was the Director of IT Architecture at Macromedia. Sean has had a diverse career including eight years involved with the ISO C++ standardization committee.

More recently Sean has been deeply involved in the ColdFusion community as a speaker at conferences, contributor to mailing lists, and more. Sean lead the team that built macromedia.com using ColdFusion and Flash, it is one of the most trafficked web sites in the world.

You can read more about Sean on his

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Joy of Tech is one of the great online cartoons of the web.  Though it's focused primarily on the Mac world, there's often some good Linux and Windows humor like this one, also available as a poster:

 

• Joy of Tech: Latest cartoon
• Joy of Tech: Posters

A few weeks ago I posted a collection of my best blog entries in 2002, now for 2003:

• Using Custom Tags in ColdFusion - kind of a primer for coldfusion custom tags.
• Right Click - Edit with Notepad - this registry hack lets you edit any file with notepad by right clicking on it in windows explorer.
• Top 3 differences between PostgreSQL and SQL Server
• Cross Platform Tips - some tips for developing ColdFusion apps such that they work on both windows and unix.
• Searching without Verity - a standard SQL method for searching text in a database without

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Moved Hosts, working on getting my old data from my old host so hopefully we can have that all up and running soon. And also working on a redesign for my site so i'm prolly gonna keep just the blog until that happens we'll see if i get motivated to upload my site later!