Greetings, Paul Smith! > Hi, I am looking for a tool to simplify design and documentation of small > Database Applications, ideally starting creation of the ER Diagram, from > which the SQL DDL is generated to create the tables in the target RDBMS.
What about MySQL Workbench? > I read Dia maybe such a tool. > I spent a while playing with Dia, first the ER Palette but had difficulty > seeing how it allows creation of traditional ER Diagrams using the simple > Chen 1:N, M:N, 1:1 Notations seen in many textbooks from decades ago, where > each Relation between a pair of tables, can be shown by 1 of the 3 simple > line types connecting a Field in 1 table with a Related Field in another. > I then tried the UML Pallete. From what I can see, UML appears overly > complex for design of small DB Apps, with many many objects to pick from; > again none matching Chen, but some appear to have a similar function, eg > 'Association' - but that states it merely 'associates 2 classes, which is > not the same as connecting a Field in 1 table with a specific Field in > another. That surely obscures the simple logic of Chen type notation ? > I created a test Dia diagram (attached) containing 2 tables named Books & > Authors, with fk AuthorID in Books hopefully linked to pk AuthorID in > Authors. I say hopeful, because the 'Dia Link' appeared to just connect > the 2 boxes, not the specific fields in each box. I need a tool to test > the validity of the DB 'model' > Are there any Tutorials showing how to use Dia for design of DB Apps., > going from classic ER Diagram to SQL to create the tables in the selected > target RDBMS ? > I read Dia has a library of 'plugins' to adapt its functionality to a range > of applications. Where can I find an index to this Dia library, and does > it have plugins to adapt it for the various dialects of SQL and > functionality particular to the different RDBMS's in use today ? > I could not find such a list, but came across what appear 12 standalone > tools (in https:/live.gnome.org/Dia/Links > 'Tools that generate something > from Dia diagrams ) that sound from their names, complement Dia by > transforming data from suitably prepared Dia Diagrams into SQL code to > build the DB App. Some say they use 'perl scripts', which I am not > familiar with. > Bearing in mind I use only Windows platform, can anyone point to a review > of these 12 tools, or recommend which, are nearest to simplify design and > documentation of small Database Applications ? As all RDBMS engines > support different subsets & supersets of SQL92, to make App design easier, > the tool should support the set of functions implemented by the target > RDBMS, i.e. not having to fight shortcomings of the tool. The target > RDBMS I want to design for is HSQLDB. If no tools exist for using Dia to > build HSQLDB tables, it may help if there is one supporting a near relation > to HSQLDB. > If Dia is not able to do the above, can anyone recommend a preferably > open-source (free) tool closer to this requirement ? > I thank the Dia community for any help on this. -- WBR, Andrey Repin (anrdae...@freemail.ru) 23.10.2012, <18:50> Sorry for my terrible english... _______________________________________________ dia-list mailing list dia-list@gnome.org https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/dia-list FAQ at http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Faq Main page at http://live.gnome.org/Dia
