How to install MYSQLCC in Ubuntu Hardy Heron (when you get sick of Navicat)

No offense, but I’m tired of Navicat and Emerald not playing well together. I used to be a big fan, I have a paid license, and I think the feature set is unequal, but if a tool I need every day doesn’t work every day, then I have to move on.

Why use a GUI Mysql tool?

In every other way I’m a command line junky. The idea of finding / creating / updating things in a mysql table using the mysql command line does not appeal to me AT ALL though. No way, in this scenario visibility is king.

GUI Mysql Tools like mysqlcc and navicat vs myphpadmin

Myphpadmin is a very popular tool for managing mysql settings and data. The difference between it and tools like mysqlcc and navicat are that mysqladmin is a php application that sits on the server.

The advantage of this is that by default, your mysql database will allow connections from “localhost” so you can throw mysqladmin up there and login. Locally installed tools however need an extra step, that you may or may not want to take, and that is that you have to tell mysql to ALLOW access to certain IP addresses. If you always work from the same place, and your IP address is fairly static, then that’s not a big deal. If you roam the earth though, you may have to open up ANY IP address and that’s a bad idea.

Allowing those IPs can be done through the nomal control panels like plesk or cpanel or using the mysql command line ( as root ).. Google it.

Why mysqlcc?

After giving up on Navicat, I looked around alot and eventually found mysqlcc. It’s OOOOLD but it’s great. In many ways not as good as Navicat, but in some even better - like the way a view has a mysql header at the top that you can modify to filter down results.. nice.

It’s very easy to install in Ubuntu ( tested under 32 and 64 bits from 7.04 to 8.04 ) even though it’s an old project, and not in the repositories.

The steps are basically:

1) Get the rpm install file 2) Convert it to a deb using alien 3) Install

The RPM

Download the appropriate RPM from here here. Select the 386 or amd64 version depending on your install.

Convert it to a .deb file

In a terminal,

sudo apt-get install alien

cd [directory where the rpm file is]

alien mysql*.rpm

sudo dpkg -i mysqlcc*.deb

You’re done. To launch type “mysqlcc” in a terminal or create an icon. If you think it looks old and clunky, well you’re right - but just go to Options > Themes and select “Plastik” and you have a very modern looking look and feel that will match your install very well.