Re: From database to graphical structure schema

I've evaluated many tools to accomplish this. We were using Oracle Designer for a while, but the darn thing is just so buggy. Even though we wanted to keep our list of vendors short, we just couldn't live with the product. Oracle should stick to writing databases and leave the development tools to others. We look at a few UML modelers that reverse engineered databases. We looked at ERWin, Popkin's SA2000, and others that I forget.

Anyway, we settled on Embarcadero's ERStudio. In terms of reverse generation of the database, it was the fastest and most accurate we used. Unfortunately, they haven't quite got all brand new 8.1.5 or 8.1.6 features accounted for yet, but they do have most of them. The graphics/charts it produces, both logical and physical models, are beautiful and very easy to work with. After using it, my memories of using Designer to do server models went sour. It's got this awesome zoom feature to show you in a little magnified window various elements as you are browsing a large data model. On top of many other features I love, it generates a data dictionary (really column domain definitions) that you can use for future development and to validate that similar columns in the database have the same datatypes and length. Anyway, check it out at www.embarcadero.com. I think they have a download that you can use 10 times before it expires. It's about 2 grand if you purchase a copy. We went for a 5 user concurrent server license of it since we have several good data modelers that all wanted it after we'd all gone through Designer hell.

Well architected. Intuitive GUI. AND IT DOESN'T CRASH like some Oracle design tool we all know and hate.
- bill c.

"Tim Blommerde" <T.Blommerde_at_its.tudelft.nl> wrote in message news:88guhc$hrh$1_at_news1.xs4all.nl...
> Dear Oracle users and administrators,
>
> Since a few weeks I've been assigned as Oracle administrator at the small
> software company I work for. This because our former Oracle guru
 suddenly,
> after 10 years, decided to finally complete his computer science degree.
 I
> was assigned because I used to do all the coding that involved SQL and
 query
> writing. So now I'm faced with a rather difficult and complicated task, I
> doubt I will master in a few weeks.
>
> One of the first things I'd like to do now, besides grabbing a couple of
> good Oracle books and starting skimming through them, is making a good,
> graphical map of the currently used databases. Our former dba did not
> really like documentation and used to have everything in his head. But
> because I can't detach and use his head without killing the man, I'd like
 to
> make good, preferably graphical, documentation on the used tables, their
> primary keys, relations, constraints etc. So here comes my question. Are
> there any tools that make it easier to do such a thing, without having to
> use Star Office for creating nice boxes, arrows, information and other
> things. Is there maybe a tool which can create a database layout from
 just
> connecting the tool to the database?
>
> Hopefully you can help me, and if not, atleast thanks for reading.
>
> Yours sincerely,
> T.Blommerde
>
>
Received on Fri Feb 18 2000 - 00:00:00 CET