MySQL Workbench to DBeaver Transition

 First, there were the MySQL Query Browser and the MySQL Administrator, collectively known as the MySQL GUI Tool Bundle. But they were given End-of-Life status in 2009. Next was MySQL Workbench, but that tool is now EOL as well.

MySQL Workbench provides a warning if you
try to use it with later versions of MySQL.

 You could still run Workbench, but it will grumble if you try to use it with any version other than 5.6, 5.7, or 8.0. Heck, it warns you that 8.4 may be a bit sketchy. On, and you need an older version for MySQL 5.5 and earlier.

  Many people swore by Workbench as the tool for checking on system status, wiring queries, and making backups. Others swore at it.

Yes, it had quirks. But Workbench did a lot of this right. 

There is a free, open-source database tool you should consider as a replacement. DBeaver Community Edition is also a database tool, but it supports many databases, not just MySQL. It uses JDBC connectors. DBeaver is an IDE that offers smarter auto-completion, advanced sorting, cell inline-editing, and a "Copy As" configuration feature. Additionally, the community version allows developers to integrate OpenAI or Copilot to translate regular text descriptions into SQL queries. Built with superior data-handling agility. You can directly import data from CSV, XML, or Excel XLSX files. It also features robust utilities to migrate data smoothly between two different database formats with minimal manual intervention.

Multiple Databases


Some of the available database connectors 
for the DBeaver Community Edition.
Gone are the days when you had one database. In this cloudy and Kubed world, you may be lucky if you have only a dozen databases to work with. Finding a universal interface, like DBeaver, keeps you from having to try to remember that the psql equivalent of \G is in the MySQL Shell. 

A big bonus is the ability to open a CSV file, transform the data, and then load it into a table in a database. Or compare that data to decide what subset of that data to move into that table. 


First Steps

Establishing a connection from DBeaver is going to be familiar for Workbench fans. 
Copy the hostname, database name,
username and password for DBeaver CE
from Workbench.

You will need the hostname, database name,
username and password for DBeaver CE.















Your connection details are going to be the same, bout double check that you did not 'fat finger' the information


Your Database

On the right, you will see my configuration. On the bottom left is a MySQL 'Sakila' icon and the World database. Ignore the rest of the database connections, at least for now.

The World database has been around for decades. It is the standard for MySQL documentation, examples, demos, and tutorials. And it is a great place to start for the rest of this blog.

Expanding the Greater Than character to the left of that icon and name, DBeaver will reveal some details about the world database.


World Database at a
high-level view
 We see Databases, Users, Administer, and System Info.










As we expand, we see even more details about the server.  We see the World database, the various users, a session manager, and general information about the instance. 

Right about now, you probably see a lot of overlap between the two products. Both are data tools, with DBeaver having a wider scope than the MySQL-only Workbench. 










Tables


Let's look at the tables in that world database.

The world database has three tables.


















We can drill down to see the tables.  Then we can look at the columns in a specific table.
The city table has five columns







The Views

Double-click on the city table icon, and the data will appear.

The Data


















Or you can view the entity-relationship map.

ERM




















And you may want to see the table structure.

The city table
















You can edit data or structure with these views.


Queries


You need to be able to make queries.

SQL Editor -> Open SQL Console
The Query
















You get command completion, highlight coloring, and all the stuff you expect. Click the top-left orange triangle to see the query results.
The results




What if you 











This has been a quick intro to DBeaver Community Edition for those who are used to MySQL Workbench. I always found Workbench useful. Hopefully, you will be pleasantly surprised with DBeaver. 

For those looking for the handy scripts that came bundled with Workbench to tell you things like which queries are running without an index, unused indexes, and the like, you can find them at https://github.com/davestokes/HandySQL/blob/main/MySql%20Workbench%20Queries%20(1).pdf






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