Database Easter Eggs

Easter's here and children are clamoring over the chocolates and candies delivered by our furry friend. Did you know that database developers also have an Easter surprise for bored users?

Easter eggs are hidden features embedded in programs by software developers as a means of expressing their creativity and listing the credits for work performed on a development project. You'll find eggs present in many major software packages. For a comprehensive listing, take a look at Egg Heaven 2000. In this article, we'll take a look at a few of the Easter eggs embedded in popular database products.

Access 97/2000 Magic Eight Ball

Having trouble deciding what kind of cookies to leave out for the Easter bunny? Trying to decide if it's time to retire but you can't find the trusty old magic eight ball to help you out? Give these steps a whirl...

1. Open a database in Microsoft Access.
2. Create a new macro entitled "Magic Eight Ball" and save it without adding any instructions.
3. Drag the macro up to the toolbar. The icon should change to the picture of an eight ball.
4. Click your trusty sage for some wise advice.

SQL Server Starfighter

SQL Server 7.0 administrators will discover an interesting surprise hidden within Enterprise Manager. This Easter egg does not work on SQL Server 2000. Here's the secret list of steps:

1. Open Enterprise Manager
2. Create a new server group entitled "STARFIGHTER"
3. Register a server named "IS COOL"
4. Single click on "IS COOL" to highlight the server and select "About" from the Help menu.

Filemaker (Mac Version)

For all you Macintosh database users, Filemaker Server 5 contains a hidden picture of their development team.

1. Select "About FileMaker" from the Apple menu
2. Click on the Credits button.
3. Hold down the "Option" key and click the number 5 in the phrase "FileMaker Server 5"

Oracle Form Builder 2000

Oracle developers aren't immune from self-promotion. Developer 2000 users can discover hidden credits within Form Builder...

1. Open Form Builder.
2. Press Control-Alt-Shift and select About from the Help menu

I hope you've enjoyed your holiday special! Have a great week.