Wow your friends with this command-line tomfoolery: MySQL has a zombie mode!
It's really easy. First, a little bit about what you get in zombie mode:
-B is for "batch mode"
In batch mode, MySQL uses a vertical tab to separate columns of resulting data, instead of its fancy pipes-and-plus-signs table renderings.
So, instead of this:
+----+----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| id | name | notes |
+----+----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 1 | Werewolf | Also called a lycanthrope
Not as cool since the last Twilight movie |
| 2 | Zombie | Ambling undead, of varying speeds see also: zombie process |
| 3 | Vampire | NULL |
+----+----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
you'll get this:
id name notes
1 Werewolf Also called a lycanthrope\nNot as cool since the last Twilight movie
2 Zombie Ambling undead, of varying speeds\tsee also: zombie process
3 Vampire NULL
-r is for "raw output"
Zombies don't put much stock in presentation. Neither does MySQL, in raw mode. Special characters embedded in the data (like t and n) will be rendered literally, without backslash-escaping.
So, instead of this:
id name notes
1 Werewolf Also called a lycanthrope\nNot as cool since the last Twilight movie
2 Zombie Ambling undead, of varying speeds\tsee also: zombie process
3 Vampire NULL
you'll get this:
id name notes
1 Werewolf Also called a lycanthrope
Not as cool since the last Twilight movie
2 Zombie Ambling undead, of varying speeds see also: zombie process
3 Vampire NULL
(note the literal newline in the first record; you know damn well the Zombies will).
-A disables autocomplete
Autocompletion of table and column names makes people faster. Zombies amble leisurely through undeath, and don't need to save any time.
-i ignores spaces
Keeps MySQL from being picky about where you put your whitespace in SQL queries. Zombies apparently can't type.
-N skips column names
You know what your data looks like. You don't need column names mucking up the carefully escaped (remember raw mode?) data and forcing you to strip off a line.
1 Werewolf Also called a lycanthrope
Not as cool since the last Twilight movie
2 Zombie Ambling undead, of varying speeds see also: zombie process
3 Vampire NULL
-s is for silence
Aside from the occassional gurgle, Zombies are pretty quiet dudes (and dudettes). MySQL can be just as quiet, with this flag.
And Now, for the Punchline!
Put it all together, and whaddya get?
James (@iamjameshunt) works on the Internet, spends his weekends developing new and interesting bits of software and his nights trying to make sense of research papers.
Currently exploring Kubernetes, as both a floor wax and a dessert topping.