Free SQLite Manager for Mac OS

Sqlite-manager is a tool that originated as a Mozilla (Thunderbird, Lightening, FireFox) plug-in for managing SQLite databases. However, over at the Kiveo website blog, I found instructions for making this plug-in a stand-alone application.

I followed the directions exactly as posted (note though, that the current version of the sqlitemanager-xr packageis now 0.5.16) and it works perfectly.

Here's a running list of the current features:

I followed the directions exactly as posted (note though, that the current version of the sqlitemanager-xr packageis now 0.5.16) and it works perfectly.

Here's a running list of the current features:

• dialogs for creation, deletion of tables, indexes, views and triggers
• ability to rename, copy, reindex tables
• ability to add and drop columns
• create new db, open any existing db, copy an existing db
• supports writing your own queries (single or multiple)
• supports saving the queries with a name
• a tab for database settings (no need to write the pragma statements) where you can view and change the sqlite library settings
• export tables/views as csv, sql or xml files
• import tables from csv, sql or xml files
• a dropdown menu showing all profile db (.sqlite)
• an intuitive heirarchical tree showing all tables, indexes, views and triggers
• ability to see the master tables
• ability to see the temporary tables, indexes, views and triggers
• ability to browse data from any table/view
• dialogs to allow searching in a table/view
• allows editing and deleting selected record while browsing a table's data
• allows adding, saving and changing blob data
• an extensive menu that helps with writing sql by hand and then executing it
• remembers the last used db, table and the tab (structure, browse & search, etc.) across sessions

And here's a screenshot of it running happily on my Mac (OS 10.5.8)

Two Must-Have Mac Tools to Manage Hard Disk Space and Time Machine

So earlier today I had a bit of a freak-out! Inexplicably, the remaining 25 GB or so of free disk space on my Mac disappeared. I got a little pop-up warning telling me my disk was full, and sure enough when I checked I only had about 150 MB left. I immediately assumed the worst, that my drive was corrupted, my computer was going to die, all my work would be lost, I would subsequently fail out of my PhD, and that I would end up working at McDonald's. OK, this might be a stretch, and in any case, I have yesterday's Time Machine backup, but I was still freaked out. How do you suddenly lose 25 GB of free space? I noticed it after plugging in my Time Machine disk and letting a backup start. I checked my drive but saw nothing out of the ordinary. On my boyfriend's advice, I let Time Machine finish the backup. This way I could hopefully do a diff between two backups and find out what was eating up the hard disk space.

During the backup, I deleted some small files to help make space and emptied my trash. Then suddenly, viola! My free space came back. My trash had been emptied before, so that was not the cause. Perhaps my Entourage address book had become corrupted? This was one of the files I deleted to help create space since I do not use Entourage at all. My boyfriend thinks perhaps Time Machine itself created some weird temp file that got out of control and that it disappeared as Time Machine finished doing its thing. I do not know what happened, but in the process my boyfriend and I found two great FREE tools that we have now decided everyone should have.


1) Disk Inventory X

This awesome program will show all attached drives, the space used and available, and gives you a really nifty graphical interface so you can immediately see which files are space-hoggers. It takes a little time to get going if you decide to view your entire computer, but trust me, it is worth it!



2) TimeTracker

This utility will list all your Time Machine backups, the space they are using, and a complete breakdown of what has changed since the previous backup.

Fun with Apple Terminal

I am starting to do more and more stuff on my Mac via the Apple Terminal, so I decided to spruce mine up a bit.

Using Fink I first installed "fortune-mod" (the program that actually displays the fortunes) and then installed "fortunes" (the fortunes themselves).

Next I simply added "/sw/bin/fortune" to my .bashrc file.

Now, whenever I open a new terminal window, I am greeted with a fun fortune. Most of the time, these seem to be just silly sayings, such as this:

Old programmers never die, they just become managers.

but every now and then you get something unexpected, such as a recipe for Glogg (a traditional Scandinavian holiday drink).

Setting your Mac clock to NTP

Kurt showed me how to setup my macbook to use the Network Time Protocol for syncing the clock. By default, your clock syncs to Apple's time server, which can be off by minutes. There are also syncing issues due tons of computers trying to sync to one time server. To set your mac to use the NTP instead (where it will use a multitude of servers, not just one), do the following:

1. in terminal:

sudo mkdir /var/log/ntpstats
( you won't put anything in here, but NTP will)

2. edit your /etc/ntp.conf:

#server time.apple.com  (the original ntp.conf, I would save this)
server 0.us.pool.ntp.org minpoll 12 maxpoll 17
server 1.us.pool.ntp.org minpoll 12 maxpoll 17
server 2.us.pool.ntp.org minpoll 12 maxpoll 17
server 3.us.pool.ntp.org minpoll 12 maxpoll 17
server 0.north-america.pool.ntp.org minpoll 12 maxpoll 17
server 1.north-america.pool.ntp.org minpoll 12 maxpoll 17
server 2.north-america.pool.ntp.org minpoll 12 maxpoll 17
server 127.127.1.0 minpoll 12 maxpoll 17

driftfile /var/db/ntp.drift
statsdir /var/log/ntpstats/

statistics loopstats peerstats clockstats
filegen loopstats file loopstats type day enable
filegen peerstats file peerstats type day enable
filegen clockstats file clockstats type day enable

# The UNH time server (this was simply added because I go to UNH,
# you can omit this or add any other time servers you want)
server wilmot.unh.edu

# ... and use the local system clock as a reference if all else fails
# NOTE: in a local network, set the local stratum of *one* stable server
# to 10; otherwise your clocks will drift apart if you lose connectivity.
server 127.127.1.0
fudge 127.127.1.0 stratum 10

# By default, exchange time with everybody, but don't allow configuration.
# See /usr/share/doc/ntp-doc/html/accopt.html for details.
restrict default kod notrap nomodify nopeer noquery

# Local users may interrogate the ntp server more closely.
restrict 127.0.0.1 nomodify

3. reboot or run:
$ /sbin/SystemStarter restart "NetworkTime"


Still not working? See next post for update!