Mokka mit Schlag

The database schemas for my current project are getting hashed out, mostly in Visio. This is pretty but not very automatable. I’d like to see if we can follow a more agile, iterative approach to database development. In particular, I’d like to be able to check the database definition into source code control and build the whole thing, including database tables and sample databases for testing out of Ant. Requirements include:

1. Supports (at a minimum) MySQL and Derby
2. Can be read by Java and Python
3. Allows for inserting of data for unit testing; i.e. not just table definitions

It also wouldn’t hurt if it could reverse engineer existing SQL databases.

I’m tempted to write my own, probably using XML, but surely someone has already done this? I haven’t found a lot though. What I’ve got so far are these, none of which really meet the requirements:
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Harmonia axyridis, Ridgewood Reservoir, 2007-06-09

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So now that Hudson is up and running well, it’s time to install an issue tracker for the new internal project.

• What I really want to use but probably don’t have the budget for: Jira
• What I might get the budget for but probably not: FogBugz
• What I really, really don’t want to touch with a ten foot pole: Bugzilla
• What I’m willing to touch with a ten foot pole if I have to: Trac

Anything else I should consider? Anything that passes the no-P.O. test that’s actually pleasant to use?

Pachydiplax longipennis, Ridgewood Reservoir, 2007-06-09

Did you see the final episode of the Sopranos last night? Are you as confused and disappointed as I am? I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before: a great series waits to the very last episode, and almost to the last minute of the last episode, to conclusively, utterly, and completely jump the shark.¹.
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BBC America is broadcasting season 2 of Hex now. What a mistake. British fans already know this, but season 2 is an absolute disaster. I’ve already watched it on imported DVDs I got from Amazon UK, and that’s 12 hours of my life I’ll never get back. What was a sexy, scary, mysterious and original show in Season 1 turned into a bad Buffy knockoff in season 2.¹. You remember how bad you thought Buffy the Vampire Slayer was going to be until you actually watched the show? Well, that’s exactly how bad Hex Season 2 is.

The departure of Christina Cole and then Michael Fassbender hurt badly. Laura Pyper and Joseph Beattie just couldn’t pick up the slack. However the real fault lay in the writing. Characters didn’t so much grow as careen madly from one personality to another throughout the season. The plot was incomprehensible and seemed to shift every couple of episodes. Every time it looked like the show might be going down an interesting path, it would back off and wander off somewhere else. Unlike the clear story arc of Season 1 (pioneered by shows like Buffy and Babylon 5) Season 2 felt like a random agglomeration of ideas. It was sort of like one of those writing exercises from freshman English where everyone in the class writes a paragraph of a story and then hands it to the next student to write the next paragraph. And the final episode was the absolute worst. I watched it less than a month ago; and I now couldn’t tell you what happened, who won, or why I should care.
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