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MySQL Workbench 5.2

I have been using MySQL Workbench 5.2 (64 bit Ubuntu) for a few days to build a database. MySQL Workbench is an interesting project with the potential to be a truly great piece of database software.It is designed to replace and improve on two good pieces of software, namely MySQL Query Browser and MySQL Administrator; unfortunately it is nowhere near ready. Read on to find out why.

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Firstly, a caveat; this is based purely on the Linux version running on Xubuntu 10.04 64 bit. I don't have a Windows licence so I can't comment on how it performs there.

The good

It looks good and it is light on system resources!

The bad

SQL Development

This is the replacement for Mysql Query Browser. In all honesty, I cannot call it an upgrade.

The major bug is that at random your query won't be run. There is no indication of why and when upto 40% of your queries are not executing the product becomes unusable. I'm not talking about some long, complex and hand mis-typed query either, simply right clicking on a table and choosing "Select rows - Limit 1000" will cause this bug to occur.

A minor bug is that despite having a database set in the default dropdown, you still have to right click on your database and choose "Set as default schema". This is hardly earth shattering but it doesn't bode well regarding the level of QC that has been applied to the software.

In Query browser, you could run a query such as "select * from Users where uid=1" and edit the data in the result set. A useful function that has been removed in MySQL Workbench. Instead you have to use the "Edit table data" function which automatically returns a dataset that appears to be all rows. I haven't tried this on a large table. You can, after the query has already run, add a where clause, but this doesn't always work.

I decided to move on while I still had hair.

Data Modelling

At first glance this looks really good and then I actually used it to import and work on a real model.

When you create a diagram from an existing database that a lot of tables, the diagram gets really crowded. Dragging a table to the edge of the diagram does not increase the size of the diagram. This makes the foreign keys as shown useless because they go under tables and you can't see which is which unless you click on it. So printing out and pinning to a wall so developers can pore over it isn't going to happen in any useful way.

Creating or modifying a table in the model tab does not update the diagram and visa versa. In fact this lack of integration can be found throughout the entire software package which is strange considering it is supposed to be an all-in-one replacement for diverse bits of software.

Adding columns through through the table editor is clunky and has a few annoying bugs. It is all to easy to end up with an additional field called <table-name>col in your table and the list of columns regualrly loses it's place and refuses to show the last column until you scroll it to the top and back down again.

Syncronising the model and DB takes 8 mouse clicks assuming all is well.

Oh and where the Hell does MyDB keep coming from?

I gave up at this point, didn't even try the server administration functions and went back to using Query Browser and Administrator. They may be a bit quirky but at least they mostly work.

And finally

I don't feel that I am being harsh when I say that when compared to many other pieces of open source software, this is in no way a version 1 release yet it has a version 5 label. I am however being brutally honest with what I found in my weekend of using MySQL Workbench 5.2.25 and I am doing so because I see a product that has great potential to be truly great.

It has a very long way to go.

I work as a developer in a corporate environment and do wonder if corporate pressure has forced a release before the product is ready. If this is true, it has done MySQL, MySQL Workbench and Open Source in general, no favours at all.