155 pointsby sqliteonline3 hours ago13 comments
  • bob10293 hours ago
    I am really struggling to figure out what this is or how it provides value.

    Edit:

    This discussion isn't exactly what I was hoping for. I was looking for ways to better highlight the features or value proposition of this site. Not defenestrate it altogether.

    E.g.: A simple modal that says "Welcome to SQLite Online! You can <core value proposition> with this tool." would have radically altered my initial perception.

    • sqliteonline4 minutes ago
      > You can <core value proposition>

      It may be difficult to briefly describe all the website’s capabilities right now, but the key features include: * Federated queries across external and internal data sources. * Using query history as a source for new requests. * Collaborative access to databases — both server and local, with structure synchronization. * Automatic chart generation based on queries. * And much more, including hidden features that are not yet easy to summarize.

      • LtdJorge2 minutes ago
        If you want your points to appear in different lines in HN, use two backspaces :)
    • zvmaz3 hours ago
      For me: Try queries without the hassle of setting up a database. Learn SQL. Experiment. Etc.
      • zvmaz2 hours ago
        I don't understand the people trying to convince others that this tool is useless by saying "just do it this way, duh!". It is useful, even from a rapid glimpse at the website.

        Be kind and sensible.

      • WesolyKubeczek2 hours ago
        > For me: Try queries without the hassle of setting up a database.

            sqlite3 some-file.db
        
        That's the whole "database setup" in case of SQLite.
        • Aeolun18 minutes ago
          Implicit assumptions: You know what a CLI is, you have one on your system, and how to install the sqlite3 binary somehow.

          When I just started out with linux I was so frustrated with people just listing reams of commands, or files I needed to edit without stating I needed to look in /etc

        • sqliteonline2 hours ago
          This method is not available on all devices and does not support sharing or collaboration.

          The website, however, works on any platform and allows working together in a single shared database.

          • avinassh2 hours ago
            how does collaboration works for SQLite, since the db is embedded?
            • sqliteonline21 minutes ago
              When you upload a database to the site, it is stored in your browser's memory or uses OpFS — a local storage within your browser.

              You can share a link to grant access to your database, with the connection handled via P2P through WebRTC.

            • kijinan hour ago
              Uhm, by allowing multiple people to connect to the same database through a webapp like this?
          • WesolyKubeczek2 hours ago
            > This method is not available on all devices and does not support sharing or collaboration.

            The parent cites "hassle of creating the database" and does not mention sharing or collaborating. I showed that it doesn't get more hassle-free than this and doesn't even require connectivity (which might be a problem "on some devices" or "in some locations").

            • rat9988an hour ago
              > doesn't even require connectivity (which might be a problem "on some devices" or "in some locations").

              You are just trying to prove a point instead of understanding it.

              > "hassle of creating the database" and does not mention sharing or collaborating.

              He might just have summarized everything as "hassle of creating the database".

              Not everything on internet is supposed to be a debate with highly and carefully developped wording.

              • jermaustin1an hour ago
                > You are just trying to prove a point instead of understanding it.

                > He might just have summarized everything as "hassle of creating the database".

                You are also making an assumption, though. That person might not have known "sqlite3 mydb.db" is all you need to create a sqlite database.

                • hombre_fatal15 minutes ago
                  It was just one item in a list and they used "etc." which prob refers to all the other obvious upsides, like why you would use pgadmin/postico to write postgres queries instead of psql cli.

                  So to double down on that one detail as if it were a load bearing remark comes off as trying to win a point.

                  If `sqlite3 test.db` launched a rich UI with tabs and such, then maybe they'd be onto something, but it does not.

          • zwnow2 hours ago
            you can just share the file, huh

            collaboration sounds nice though, it definitely has a market considering 11k daily users.

            • sqliteonline2 hours ago
              If the database is loaded from an external source (as shown in the examples), using the "Share Script" feature automatically attaches a link to the database. The link allows both the database and the script to be accessed and loaded.
        • cortesoft43 minutes ago
          Where do I type that in on my iPad?

          Some people might not have computers but still want to learn?

          • josefx7 minutes ago
            Pay for one of the many SQLite Apps on the App Store, like Jobs intended?
        • killerstorm2 hours ago

             sqlite3 :memory:
          
          if you don't want it to be persisted
        • ajmurmannan hour ago
          How do I get this sqlite3 command to work on my Chromebook? When I type this in on my Windows machine it's not working either. Are there other steps I need to take first?
          • jermaustin1an hour ago
            As a developer, on your development machine, if you use sqlite even infrequently, then no.

            Anyone else, probably, but then why would you use this tool if you have no need for sqlite?

          • encoman hour ago
            >my Chromebook

            LOL

            >my Windows

            If you're the kind of person who even knows what SQL, SQLite or hell even a database is, you already know SQLite runs on pretty much anything.

        • oblio2 hours ago
          I think someone forgot what made the web the most popular platform in the world.
    • gwbas1can hour ago
      It's clear that the tool is highly useful to the people who use it.

      That being said, I feel like I'm dumped into the playground without understanding what I am playing with. A few short paragraphs, examples, screenshots, explanations, ect, would go very far.

      • sqliteonlinean hour ago
        Yes, we plan to add starter tips with explanations of their purpose.
    • jairuhmean hour ago
      Agree with your edit saying that there should be a landing message that gives a quick overview. But with in a few moments I was able to see that you can create a database and then start inserting tables/records into it. Seems like a pretty good tool to learn how to create and manage a database without the hassle of having to download sqlite and start testing commands that might be new to you in the CLI
    • tiffanyh3 hours ago
      I would have loved this 25-years ago during university.

      Would have made homework (and just learning) significantly easier.

    • 3 hours ago
      undefined
  • FitchApps2 hours ago
    What a nice tool. Thank you for building and maintaining the product. I casually use it to validate SQL joins
    • sqliteonline2 hours ago
      Thank you! I hope it will capture your interest with new features in the future.
  • qarthandycan hour ago
    I'd highly suggest getting a designer, or somehow thinking with more of a product mindset? I fail to understand what it does quickly, which shouldn't happen to a potential customer.
    • awonghan hour ago
      11k daily users is very good even without this so-called "product mindset"!
    • alberthan hour ago
      It’s possible you’re not the target audience?
      • anamexisan hour ago
        I guess if the target audience is people who already know what it is?
        • alberthan hour ago
          Devils advocate: when Google launched it was just a blank form field.

          Similar to ChatGPT.

          But those who knew what it is, their usage is huge.

    • sqliteonlinean hour ago
      Thank you! I will strive to improve the interface and make it more intuitive.
    • maelitoan hour ago
      No, please. Don't inflate the team to something that would need investors. It's cool that an alter-Web can exist without 10 person teams.
      • sqliteonlinean hour ago
        It is quite possible that this will be the case.
    • qarthandycan hour ago
      And what currency is it in? Seems so odd to not put it in dollars or euros.

      And FURTHERMORE, the $ sign is incorrectly to the right of the numbers. It should be $10. Personally, this shows such a lack of product thinking, and simply hacking away at a tool instead of delivering a service.

      • ezfean hour ago
        I mean, it does clearly say it's 1,000₽ which is Russian rubles. Why would the price be listed in dollars if it's not being collected in dollars?
  • hu33 hours ago
    Cool project. Congrats for keeping it up for so long!

    Could you share some numbers like a ballpark of subscribers?

    • sqliteonline3 hours ago
      Thank you, unfortunately, almost zero.
      • hu33 hours ago
        Thanks for sharing. Still valuable for me in any interview if someone says they kept a service up for 11 years. Shows determination.
      • redox99an hour ago
        It's weird you show the price in some currency I don't even know what it is (even if it says 10 dollars small next to it).

        Just show and charge 10 USD. You can localize that other currency (Rubles?) if GeoIP matches.

  • Towaway6917 minutes ago
    Great job and many kudos for the determination to maintain a tool for 11 years!

    I thankfully have no use for the tool since I no longer have to code SQL - the world is a better place for it.

    It raises the question how many more "bus tools"[1] are there? Tools maintained and developed by a single developer with whom, when hit by a bus, the tool would die.

    [1] no offence meant but "bus developers" is the term I learnt, it seems a little cruel to speak of folks being hit by buses - is there something better nowadays?

  • jve2 hours ago
    The paid subscription lists this feature:

    > No auto-renewal

    That's not subscription.

    • sqliteonline2 hours ago
      I aim to make the product convenient and as straightforward as possible. It's better to extend its use when needed than to worry about when to stop.
      • ezfean hour ago
        The person is saying that the description says "subscription" which by definition automatically renews
        • dangus18 minutes ago
          Not the definition of a subscription. See: magazines, traditionally purchased with one-time annual payments.
    • encoman hour ago
      Sure it is. A subscription's defining trait is continuity of access contingent on periodic renewal, whether manual or automatic. People subscribed to things way before online payments or even credit cards were common. A modern, if niche, example is Tarsnap.com. Once in a while, I get an email from Colin telling me to pay up if I don't want my backups deleted.
  • foofoo123 hours ago
    I get this message:

    The site takes a long time to load: is your internet slow?

    If you have an old version of the browser update to the latest or use the latest version of chrome.

    Close all tabs with the site and reload the last one.

    support: z@sqliteonline.com

    • foofoo123 hours ago
      Current Firefox on Linux. This is the console message:

      downloadable font: Glyph bbox was incorrect (glyph ids 33 55 62 81 82 83 84 87 88 89 90 112 119 120 123 139 159 162 164 166 178 184 185 217 218 272 273 274 275 279 281 284 290 291 292 309 310 319 321 323 326 329 330 331 332 333 334 339 341 347 349 351 352 353 354 357 358 361 366 367 370 371 414 431 436 444 445 458 460 464 465 483 505 508 511 514 516 517 518 520 521 538 539 546 568 574 579 580 585 586 594 596 599 602 603 616 618 622 627 629 630 633 634 638 643 645 651 654 665 675 685 686 688 691) (font-family: "FontAwesome" style:normal weight:400 stretch:100 src index:1) source: https://sqliteonline.com/fonts/fontawesome-webfont.woff2?v=4...

      using deprecated parameters for the initialization function; pass a single object instead sog3.js:2251:21

      Uncaught (in promise) ReferenceError: RTCPeerConnection is not defined <anonymous> https://sqliteonline.com/f/agw31.0.26.min.js:49 async* https://sqliteonline.com/f/agw31.0.26.min.js:87 async* https://sqliteonline.com/f/agw31.0.26.min.js:89

      • sqliteonline3 hours ago
        You may be using an outdated browser version that doesn’t support some features. Please update your browser to the latest version for the website to work properly.
        • tecleandor2 hours ago
          I also get the glyph message on my Firefox 144.0b8 and it runs fast here, so I guess that shouldn't be the reason...

          RTCPeerConnection is available in Firefox and Chrome since 2017... son unless the browser is veeery old... Maybe something blocking RTC?

          • sqliteonline2 hours ago
            Yes, the issue may be caused by WebRTC being disabled in your browser settings.
  • gjvcan hour ago
    suggest adding "execute query on ctrl-return"
    • sqliteonline41 minutes ago
      Use Shift + Enter to run the script.
  • TiredOfLife2 hours ago
    Don't localise messages if you don't have anyone to proofread. Browsers have built in translation nowadays that users can activate if they need.
    • sqliteonline2 hours ago
      Could you please advise where the issue might be?
      • kijin38 minutes ago
        Not the parent, but I see that several messages related to buying a subscription are translated into the locale of my browser. In my language, it just feels a little amateurish. In other languages, perhaps it might contain something totally wrong.

        So it will be safer to just use languages you are comfortable with, like English and Russian. Especially on pages that concern money. :)

        • sqliteonline31 minutes ago
          Thank you. I used an LLM for translation, hoping to achieve a high-quality result and make the service convenient for users. It seems I was mistaken.
    • dcreateran hour ago
      Or use the latest llms for translation
  • caohongyuan2 hours ago
    [dead]
  • saltservan hour ago
    [dead]
  • stronglikedan2 hours ago
    [flagged]
    • oooyay2 hours ago
      Some things in life are just not that serious. People can have passion projects they plan on going nowhere.
  • melvinchus2 hours ago
    [flagged]
    • hung2 hours ago
      cool story, AI