The final release of python 2.5 is out! The list of what’s new is pretty impressive, but I’m especially happy to have the new “with” statement. Ruby has block methods, or closures, which can be used for doing very clean setup/cleanup. While full-blown Anonymous block statements were rejected from Python, the new “with” statement handles the part I care about: making it easier to write code that works correctly in the case of failures.

The 3 typical use cases are a file that needs to be closed, a lock that needs to be released, and and a database transaction that needs to be either committed or rolled back. The database case is the …

Will NAND Flash / Solid State Disk (SSD) will be the future for Database I/O systems? Actually SSD are still limited in size (64 GB) and expensive (EUR 30/GB) and thus cannot yet compete with SCSI or IDE disks. But they also have an advantage. They are fast! For some uses like databases the price per GB is not that relevant. Also most of the databases fit into one or two 64 GB disks (more than 90%).

When you really get an I/O bottleneck you should consider to choose SSD:

Red Hat made an announcement yesterday concerning its acquisition of JBoss. The deal closed over 90 days ago and Red Hat was ready to talk specifics about integrating JBoss’ products and services into the Red Hat portfolio. This announcement has two main components:

• JBoss subscriptions are now available through Red Hat’s global channel partners, providing a much greater reach than existed previously.
• The Red Hat Application Stack aimed at LAMP and Java deployments. The stack includes Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), JBoss Application Server, Apache Tomcat, JBoss Hibernate, and support for MySQL and PostgreSQL. Additional LAMP components, such as Apache Web Server, PHP, and Perl, are included as part of RHEL.

In addition, Red Hat remains committed to JBoss multi-platform support. Although its new stack …

I wanted to quickly mention a couple community members who have contributed to the MySQL Forge this week, in completely different ways.

That Damn Error 2003

Long-time MySQL Forum extraordinaire, Bill Karwin, has put together a wiki page in the Forge wiki on the various causes and solutions to perhaps the most common MySQL error encountered by newbies (or even veterans who haven't installed MySQL in a while... ).

So, why does this page deserve mention? A few reasons. First, the wiki page highlights both Windows and *nix solutions. Too many times, users of Windows or *nix have a tendency to forget (or ignore) the fact that the other side of the equation even exists. Bill does a great job in balancing the OS worldview and providing insight on how to diagnose and fix connection issues on both major platforms. Secondly, he has …

“MySQL is at the heart of revolutionary changes in the computer industry” - Tim O’Reilly

Hmmm, worthy of my Quote of the Day Section, but is it necessarily true. I believe MySQL is significant in the advancement of great opportunities in the computer industry particularly the Internet, but is it revolutionary?

The Oxford Dictionary states: revolutionary ? adjective ? involving or causing dramatic change or innovation.

Perhaps so. Any Comments Welcome.

Stolen shamelessly from the MySQL User Conference Web Site Banner.

Over on my MySQL Index Analyzer blog I just posted two screenshots of the first working GUI drafts. If you are interested, you will have to check this version out from the SVN repository, I will prepare a new distribution package soon.

This is a post from a few months back which somehow got stuck. I’m publishing it now as it still holds true.
I read an article today which mentioned “supernova burnout”, describing it as burnout that occurs when someone has reached the pinnacle of their career (I’m paraphrasing from memory here). The recommended solution? Find a cause that you are passionate about, and find a way to work it into your life.

Want to know what I’m passionate about? Taking care of my family. That will add purpose and meaning to any job. Something I love about working at MySQL is that I can work from home, which means I get to see my family a LOT more than I have in years past. Somehow there is just no substitute for being present.
I’m also passionate about programming, and sharing knowledge with other people. The book Code Reading: The Open Source Perspective highlights just how important it is to have access to the …

The MySQL Users Group in Brisbane (QLD, Australia) now has 100 members, after starting less than 2 years ago! We've had pretty much regular monthly meetings since the beginning, with a decent variety of speakers and topics. Brisbane also has strong PHP and Linux groups, so there's some competition and overlap...

The Call for Participation for the 2007 MySQL Conference & Expo has just opened: an invitation for database experts and enthusiasts to share their knowledge of MySQL with the global open source community. The theme for the 2007 conference is "Scale to New Heights with MySQL." This annual event brings nearly 2,000 MySQL developers, DBAs, users, and partners together in Santa Clara, California. The Call for Participation ends November 7, 2006; the conference takes place April 23-26, 2007.