General-purpose MySQL applications should read MySQL option files like /etc/my.cnf, ~/.my.cnf, ... and ~/.mylogin.cnf. But ~/.mylogin.cnf is encrypted. That's a problem for our ocelotgui GUI application, and I suppose other writers of Linux applications could face the same problem, so I'll share the code we'll use to solve it.
First some words of defence. I think that encryption (or more correctly obfuscation) is okay as an option: a customer asked for it, and it prevents the most casual snoopers -- rather like a low fence: anyone can get over it, but making it a bit troublesome will make most passersby pass by. I favoured the idea, though other MySQL employees were against it on the old "false sense of security" argument. After all, by …
[Read more]