About

Bear SQL is a Free, GNU General Public License, interface to MySQL written in PHP.
With it you can:

• Manage, create or delete databases,
• Create, drop or rename tables
• Alter table structure
• Add or drop keys and indexes
• Add, remove or change the properties of columns
• Add, modify or delete records
• Search tables
• Manage users and privileges
• Backup and restore databases or tables
• Write your own queries
• Save queries and results
• Optimise tables

History

Bear SQL evolved after 7 years of development from the MYSQL Table Manager. The first version of the MySQL Table Manager, then named the PHP:MySQL Record Manager was released on the 11th of December 2001. It did what it name suggested managed records in a MySQL Database. Later versions added more and more features until a name change was inevitable.

Name Changes

The name changed from the PHP:MySQL Record Manager, to the PHP MySQL Table Manager, and finally to the MYSQL Table Manager, dropping the PHP to shorten things. I was never really happy with the name, it had become restrictive, the application did much more then just manage tables.
In 2008 I thought it was time for a change I re-themed and added a hand drawn polar bear on a snow board as a logo mascot. Having freshly returned from snowboarding in Japan it somehow made sense to me at the time. Yeah I know there aren't any polar bears in Japan. So with the new mascot and the desire to rename to something completely different every couple of months I would search the web for suitable domains and application names. It took a while to finally come up with Bear SQL and now that I have, I am very happy with it.

Thanks

• Francois for permission to use the beautiful Polar Bear images, used on this site and in the Bear SQL application.
• famfamfam icons for the silk icon set used in Bear SQL
• jQuery the JavaScript library
• Drupal the site CMS and how I make my bread and butter.
• Thanks to everyone who provided feedback and suggestions