Please give a brief introduction of yourself.

I am a FOSS enthusiast and an entrepreneur at night (yes, I do have a day job)
Google my name “Shantanu Oak” and you will know everything about me.


What are your FOSS contributions?

I have written 2 extensions for firefox. One is Marathi Dictionary and the other is the script convertor for Indian Languages.
I have also tried to push Open source in Corporate world and wherever I go. Why? because I believe and trust in the fundamental concepts of FOSS. I have submitted a few MySQL and Firefox bugs. Contributed a little bit to Wikepedia if that is considered as part of FOSS contribution.


What will your workshop be, exactly ?

MySQL replication and Shell scripting for MySQL DBA’s


Why Mysql?

MySQL is a pretty flexible database. I guess too much flexibility makes it vulnerable and unreliable. But that is how MySQL is. And I believe it is still one of the best options available.


Why MySQL replication?

Almost all the companies I have visited so far are using replication and it surprises me how dependent and easy it is to replicate data across servers, even located at different locations. Without replication, I would have spent a lot of sleepless nights :) I usually set up Master – Multiple slaves architecture and do always cron SMS alerts to know when one of the slaves is not behaving.


Why Shell scripting for MySQL and not PHP/ Perl or Python?

It’s a very good question. At the end of the day it is your choice. But do always remember that these are all tools and you need to use the best tool suitable for the job and not the tool that you already know. Let me you an example.

When I want to travel from Mumbai to Pune, the Rikshaw (Three wheeler) may not be the best vehicle. I should be travelling in a big car or may be “Shivneri” (State Transport). Right? But what if I want to travel from Sadashiv Peth to Shanivar Peth? Isn’t Rikshaw the best choice considering the narrow roads and one way traffic?

The same logic applies here. PHP is a hypertext preprocessor and it does the best job when it comes to preprocessing. But if I want to write a cron that will monitor the mysql statistics and alert me whenever there is any discrepancy, I will prefer shell script. My mantra is this… “You can, does not mean you should.”

I know PHP and I can do it in PHP does not mean I should be doing everything in PHP. I will first evaluate all tools and then decide. Sometimes I tell my close friends (if they care to listen) that one thing I don’t like about you is that you are so good at PHP that you are doing things in PHP those are not supposed to be done in PHP and can be done using a simple MySQL join query or shell scripting, in half the time and cost!!

The people who do know PHP can learn shell scripting in a few days or months. So I will suggest that if you already know one of the scripting languages like PHP or Python, learn Shell scripting instead of learning the sister scripting language.


What’s the most important piece of advice you would give to people working on their first contribution to any FOSS project ?

FOSS is not synonym to “no rules”. It is close to “write your own rules”. And yes, you still need to be committed.


Have you enjoyed previous editions of gnunify ?

Immensely. I was a speaker in 2008 and enjoyed most of the sessions of Gnunify those I attended in the last 4 years.