I was wondering if anybody had recommendations for some good datamodelling software? I've used an older version of Sybase Powerdesigner and found it a bit clunky - was hoping to get something a little easier to use...
Looks interesting, might give it a try.
Paddy
2009-08-19 08:18:08
It is pretty neat, and based on your db, download the version of Toad - so that you'll get some kind of reverse engineering feature as well.
amazedsaint
2009-08-19 15:31:47
+1
A:
I used Data Architect (part of PowerDesigner) about ten years ago, and I would hardly describe it as clunky. It had one of the smoothest ways I have ever seen for handling the difference between a conceptual data model and a physical data model.
The CDMs in DA were not tied to any particular DBMS. This made it possible to model the data once at the CDM level, then turn around and build databases in Oracle, SQL server, DB2 and what have you.
DA also had truly outstanding capabilities for the time for reverse engineering an existing database and reconstructing a CDM from it. Sometimes you had to correct the results of reverse engineering but this was not hard to do.
DA saved me a mountain of tedious, boring, and error prone work. If there are better tools out there today, I hope they haven't lost what made DA good.
Walter Mitty
2009-08-19 12:32:03
A:
If you're using Eclipse then Azzurri Clay Modeler is a great choice. Free too.
No MS SQL love though so it would depend on how standard your SQL was.
Damo
2009-08-19 12:37:13
+1
A:
wwwsqldesigner is web-based, and fairly rudimentary, but perfect for simple designs.
DBDesigner by fabForce is also a good tool, though it is intended for MySQL. But if your SQL is fairly standard, or if you just need it for a visual reference (i.e. you're not exporting SQL from the model) then it should be fine.
yalestar
2009-08-19 12:52:15