dbi::shell(3)
NAME
DBI::Shell - Interactive command shell for the DBI
SYNOPSIS
perl -MDBI::Shell -e shell [<DBI data source> [<user> [<password>]]] or dbish [<DBI data source> [<user> [<password>]]]
DESCRIPTION
The DBI::Shell module (and dbish command, if installed)
provide a simple but effective command line interface for
the Perl DBI module.
DBI::Shell is very new, very experimental and very subject
to change. Your milage will vary. Interfaces will change
with each release.
TO DO
Proper docs - but not yet, too much is changing.
"/source file" command to read command file. Allow to
nest via stack of command file handles. Add command log
facility to create batch files.
Commands: load (query?) from file save (query?)
to file
Use Data::ShowTable if available.
Define DBI::Shell plug-in semantics. Implement
import/export as plug-in module
Clarify meaning of batch mode
Completion hooks
Set/Get DBI handle attributes
Portability
Emulate popular command shell modes (Oracle, Ingres etc)?
COMMANDS
Many commands - few documented, yet!
- help
- /help
- chistory
- /chistory (display history of all commands
- entered)
/chistory | YourPager (display history with paging) - clear
- /clear (Clears the current command
- buffer)
- commit
- /commit (commit changes to the database)
- connect
/connect (pick from available drivers and- sources)
/connect dbi:Oracle (pick source from based on driv - er)
/connect dbi:YourDriver:YourSource i.e. dbi:Ora - cle:mysid
- Use this option to change userid or password.
- current
- /current (Display current statement in
- the buffer)
- do
- /do (execute the current (non-se
- lect) statement)
dbish> create table foo ( mykey integer )
dbish> /dodbish> truncate table OldTable /do (Oracletruncate) - drivers
- /drivers (Display available DBI drivers)
- edit
- /edit (Edit current statement in an
- external editor)
- Editor is defined using the enviroment variable
$VISUAL or $EDITOR or default is vi. Use /option edi
tor=new editor to change in the current session. - To read a file from the operating system invoke the
editor (/edit) and read the file into the editor
buffer. - exit
- /exit (Exits the shell)
- get
- /get (Retrieve a previous command to
- the current buffer)
- go
- /go (Execute the current statement)
- Run (execute) the statement in the current buffer.
This is the default action if the statement ends with
/
dbish> select * from user_views/- dbish> select table_name from user_tables
dbish> where table_name like 'DSP%'
dbish> / - dbish> select table_name from all_tables/
- more
- history
- /history (Display combined command and
- result history)
/history | more - option
- /option [option1[=value]] [option2 ...]
/option (Displays the current options)
/option MyOption (Displays the value, if exists, - of MyOption)
/option MyOption=4 (defines and/or sets value for - MyOption)
- perl
- /perl (Evaluate the current statement
- as perl code)
- quit
- /quit (Leaves shell. Same as exit)
- redo
- /redo (Re-execute the previously exe
- cuted statement)
- rhistory
- /rhistory (Display result history)
- rollback
- /rollback (rollback changes to the
- database)
- For this to be useful, turn the autocommit off.
/option autocommit=0 - table_info
- /table_info (display all tables that exist
- in current database)
/table_info | more (for paging) - trace
- /trace (set DBI trace level for current
- database)
- Adjust the trace level for DBI 0 - 4. 0 off. 4 is
lots of information. Useful for determining what is
really happening in DBI. See DBI. - type_info
- /type_info (display data types supported by
- current server)
AUTHORS and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The DBI::Shell has a long lineage.
It started life around 1994-1997 as the pmsql script writ
ten by Andreas König. Jochen Wiedmann picked it up and ran
with it (adding much along the way) as dbimon, bundled
with his DBD::mSQL driver modules. In 1998, around the
time I wanted to bundle a shell with the DBI, Adam Marks
was working on a dbish modeled after the Sybase sqsh util
ity.
Wanting to start from a cleaner slate than the featurefull but complex dbimon, I worked with Adam to create a
fairly open modular and very configurable DBI::Shell mod
ule. Along the way Tom Lowery chipped in ideas and
patches. As we go further along more useful code and con
cepts from Jochen's dbimon is bound to find it's way back
in.
COPYRIGHT
The DBI::Shell module is Copyright (c) 1998 Tim Bunce.
England. All rights reserved. Portions are Copyright by
Jochen Wiedmann, Adam Marks and Tom Lowery.
- You may distribute under the terms of either the GNU Gen
eral Public License or the Artistic License, as specified
in the Perl README file.