Comparison

a vs DBSentinel For Oracle Database

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

a

Run a full Unix-like terminal environment on your iOS device. Execute a wide range of commands, edit files, and even program using included interpreters and compilers. Supports multitasking and integration with Shortcuts.

Highlights
  • Local Unix terminal emulator
  • SSH client
  • File transfer (scp, curl)
  • Text editing (vim, ed)
  • Scripting languages (Python, Lua, Perl, JS)
  • C/C++ compiler
  • TeX distribution
Features
Read full description

a-Shell is a complete local terminal emulator, allowing to run most Unix commands on your iOS device. You can transfer files using scp and curl, edit them with vim and ed, process them using grep, awk and sed. You can work with git repositories using lg2.  Most commands are compiled for iOS native Arm64 format, making them fast and well integrated with the BSD Unix that powers iOS/iPadOS. a-Shell includes Python, Lua, Perl, JavaScript, C, C++ for programming and TeX (texlive 2025, with Tikz and LuaTeX) for text processing. There are also multiple network utilities: nslookup, ping, whois, ifconfig... Type help for help, help -l to get the full list of commands. a-Shell can be controlled from Shortcuts: run commands in order, process files in a-Shell, get the results as text or files, transfer files to other apps... a-shell uses iOS 13+ “multiple windows” ability, so you can run multiple shells at the same time, with different commands, in different directories. You can edit a file in one window with vim and process it in the other with python. Compile your C or C++ programs to webAssembly using clang or clang++, and execute the resulting binary. A complete webAssembly SDK is included (WASI-libc). a-Shell is the complete version. If you need a smaller app, and you don't need a C compiler, a TeX engine, or numpy and matplotlib, there is a-Shell mini.

About

DBSentinel For Oracle Database

Features
Read full description

Your Oracle just broke and you are nowhere near your computer. DB Sentinel connects straight to the database, shows you what is happening in seconds, and lets you act — from your phone. NO SERVER IN BETWEEN The app talks directly to your Oracle. There is no backend of ours, no telemetry, and no data from your database ever leaves your phone. Credentials live in the iOS Keychain, protected by Face ID or a PIN. SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING (FREE) • Overview with an incident panel: instance, uptime, sessions and whatever is out of place • Health: tablespaces, wait events, memory and processes • Sessions: filters, search, full detail and the lock chain — who is blocking whom • Invalid objects: list, count and the compilation errors for each one • Object browser: tables, views, indexes, procedures, packages, triggers and more, with columns, constraints, dependencies, grants, size and the full DDL • Scheduler jobs: schedule, state, run history, logs, arguments and the failures of the last 24 hours • Privileges: finds exactly which grants are missing and explains ORA errors • Demo mode: explore the whole app without an Oracle FIX IT (PRO) • Kill the blocking session — including on AWS RDS • SQL worksheet: run SQL and PL/SQL, with autocomplete for schemas, tables and columns and a shortcut bar above the keyboard • Recompile invalid objects, one at a time or all at once • Operate objects: gather statistics, rebuild an index, enable and disable triggers and constraints, refresh a materialized view • Operate jobs: run now, stop, enable and disable • Unlimited connections, saved columns and filters, and a full audit history BUILT SO YOU DO NOT SLIP Every action that changes the database asks for explicit confirmation, with a stronger warning when the connection is marked as Production, and re-authentication with Face ID or a PIN before destructive actions. Everything is recorded in a local audit log. DROP, TRUNCATE and structural ALTER TABLE do not exist in the app — on purpose. LANGUAGES English, Portuguese, Spanish and German. Light and dark themes. DB SENTINEL PRO SUBSCRIPTION Monthly or annual, auto-renewing. Prices are shown in your own currency inside the app. Payment is charged to your App Store account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the period. You can manage and cancel your subscription in your account settings after purchase. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy policy: https://dbsentinel.igorfsz.workers.dev/privacy

Screenshots

a4 screens
DBSentinel For Oracle Database4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: a at none against DBSentinel For Oracle Database's 3. a also leads on chart position (#21 vs unranked). DBSentinel For Oracle Database's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs monthly). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. DBSentinel For Oracle Database sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. a asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

a ships an update monthly, DBSentinel For Oracle Database every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
a versus DBSentinel For Oracle Database: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteraDBSentinel For Oracle Database
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (561 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews78.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings561 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#21 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size1.9 GB42 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperNicolas HolzschuchIgor Souza

Bugs and requests

a

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Toolbar buttons not accessible in portrait mode on some devices
  • Pasting from clipboard can insert unexpected characters
  • Sourcing certain script files causes crashes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for package managers like Homebrew or APT
  • Implement more advanced shell features like job control and better tab completion
  • Integrate Git for version control
  • Allow installing additional packages and libraries
  • Improve clipboard and file management integration

DBSentinel For Oracle Database

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

a

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

DBSentinel For Oracle Database

Subscriptions3
  • OraSentinel Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • OraSentinel Pro Annual$49.991 Year
  • OraSentinel Pro Annual$89.991 Year

Questions

Is a free?
a is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is DBSentinel For Oracle Database free?
DBSentinel For Oracle Database is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do a or DBSentinel For Oracle Database have ads?
Neither a nor DBSentinel For Oracle Database shows ads.
Which is updated more often, a or DBSentinel For Oracle Database?
a ships an update monthly, and DBSentinel For Oracle Database every 5 days. Most recently, a was updated on October 22, 2026 and DBSentinel For Oracle Database on October 14, 2026.

Other comparisons