title: DBSlayer - what does it actually do?
body: <p>I recently stumbled across DBslayer (<a href="http://code.nytimes.com/projects/dbslayer/wiki/WhyUseIt" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://code.nytimes.com/projects/dbslayer/wiki/WhyUseIt</a>) and wondered what is the actual benefit of using it as an interface to mysql. </p>
  
  <p>As far as I understand, it runs as some kind of proxy for mysql and offers a HTTP / JSON interface. So? Why should I use this setup instead of connecting directly to mysql?</p>