“A UI capable of doing everything you need in your database, without needing to write a single SQL command.”

In the nearer future, he has planned improvements to error messages, small updates to the UI, and an improved preferences dialog.

He also has another major update, version 0.5, in the works. In it, Alessandro plans to add exporting functionality, relationship visualizations, and write—not just read—functionalities like CREATE , UPDATE , and DELETE built right into the UI.

Alessandro’s approach to his roadmap and issue tracking sounds smart, too. “I have a pretty detailed roadmap of all the features, updates, UI changes, and other stuff I want to do, but I always take a user feedback or a feature request with high value,” he tells me. “If I think that a requested feature is actually a hidden ‘cry for help,’ meaning it solves an important issue caused by the current UI that I didn’t notice or it’s something really valuable that has priority in terms of usability, I update the roadmap to put it in. Otherwise, I add it to the backlog if I think it’s a good request.”

“If I think that a requested feature is actually a hidden ‘cry for help,’ I update the roadmap to put it in.”

It’s a UX-centered approach instead of merely a feature-driven one, and I respect that. Translating feature requests from proposed solutions into solvable problems is always tricky, and it’s always refreshing to see an app developer with that mindset.

Publishing on AppCenter

Initially, Alessandro wasn’t even planning to release Sequeler to the public, but that changed after his experience developing an app for AppCenter. “I had so much fun creating the UI, the icon, and following the entire process of publishing it on AppCenter that I changed my mind.”

The elementary Developer Guide was his favorite part. “The first approach was amazing. Honestly, the introduction guide you guys wrote is one of the best I’ve ever used. Building the first test app, compiling vala, setting up cmake, and wrapping everything up for AppCenter was a breeze.”

“Wrapping everything up for AppCenter was a breeze.”

Alessandro also pointed out some areas for improvement for AppCenter, and we’ll be working with him on more documentation and examples to make the experience even better for him and other AppCenter developers.

Get Sequeler

On elementary OS? Hit the button to get Sequeler.

Sequeler is available on AppCenter today for the recommended price of just $5. Its code is also openly available on GitHub if you want to check it out or contribute.

More from Alessandro

Following his experiences with Sequeler, Alessandro is planning to tackle his UX design app after all. It’s called Akira, and he plans to release it to AppCenter as soon as he has a simple, stable alpha version.

You can keep up with Alessandro at his website, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, GitHub, Instagram, and YouTube. Be sure to tell him you read Sequeler’s AppCenter Spotlight and share your thoughts!