is there some standard about how to graphically represent database schemas? Is UML a defacto standard for this?
Also, is there some free tool that can help me convert an sql file (basically bunch of CREATE TABLE queries) into some nice graph (UML or not UML)?
You are looking for ERD:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entity-relationship_model
As for a tool, visual Paradigm UML can help you model (with both UML and ERD). The community edition allows you to create ERD diagrams.
UML? No. Entity/relationship diagrams are de riguer for databases.
MySQL Workbench does a nice job.
Related
I am following database first approach. Please help me out how can I make models out of my database.
In sql server management studio, you can expand the database node under [server] => Databases => [database_name], and the first item should be "database diagrams". Right click, hit New Diagram, and you'll be taken to a dialog where you can import the tables you want into the diagram.
The other option is, if you're using a third party data modeling tool, go to [database_name] => Tasks => Generate Scripts, and generate a db creation script. The tools I've used, ERWin and ER Studio, can import those scripts as a model.
ErWin is a common tool, almost an industry standard. You do not HAVE to learn it but it's a nice to know.
Their community edition is free and good to learn about data modeling, both from physical to logical (what you are trying to do here, I guess) and the other way around.
http://erwin.com/downloads/
I would recommend the crow's foot notation, which is now seemingly the industry standard (better than the infinity-key notation which SSMS offers). Hate to link to Wikipedia but this below article is A-OK:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entity-relationship_diagram#Crow.27s_Foot_Notation
I'm using DBArtisan 8.5.5 and it has the ability to generate Database Diagrams using Build Query, it has a nice feature that lets it autojoin, detecting potential relationships on newly added tables to the diagram. So the diagram results into a SQL statement since its a Query Builder after all.
Is it possible to provide an SQL statement in DBArtisan and generate the Database Diagram? In other words, the reverse (give it the SQL to generate the diagram, instead of using diagrams to generate SQL)?
If no such feature, is there a product out there for Sybase DB that will provide said feature?
DbVis is an actionable choice, being open source and powerful - it's got a good amount of extra features aside from the one you need.
If you're willing to pay, Aqua Data Studio is a very complete and intuitive database IDE.
As a middle ground solution, disposing of both a - constantly updated - open source edition, the DBeaver Open Source IDE, and an Enterprise Edition. Both of these also offer what you need, the main differences as of now being interface, SSH algorithm support and SQL debugging framework offered in Enterprise. You can take a deeper look yourself, comparing the Open Source features with the Enterprise ones.
I have my database built already, but I really want to print out an erd to reference while I'm building my models. Is there a utility that can generate an erd from a SQL dump or by connecting to the database directly?
Thanks in advance,
~Brandon
The Data Modelling component of MySQL Workbench 5.2 OSS can do what you are describing, depending on the ERD notation you are seeking.
From the Home tab, select Create EER Model from Existing Database, then simply follow the wizard that displays. It will you run you through connecting to an RDBMS, choosing the objects to model, and then create the model for you.
If you're looking for traditional Chen or Crow's Foot notation, make sure you select Classic in the Model > Object Notation menu, and Crow's Foot in the Model > Relationship Notation menu.
MySQL Workbench
MySQL Workbench should be able to do this.
My team is looking into geospatial features offered by different database platforms.
Are all of the implementations database specific, or is there a ANSI SQL standard, or similar type of standard, which is being offered, or will be offered in the future?
I ask, because I would like the implemented code to be as database agnostic as possible (our project is written to be ANSI SQL standard).
Is there any known plan for standardization of this functionality in the future?
Currently, there are more than one specifications followed by popular proprietary and open source implementations of spatial databases:
The OpenGIS - Simple Features for SQL
ISO SQL Multimedia Specification for Spatial - ISO/IEC 13249-3:2006 - Information technology -- Database languages -- SQL multimedia and application packages -- Part 3: Spatial
PostGIS, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server and to some limited degree MySQL, all the databases implement the standard interfaces to manipulate spatial data. However, in spite of this fairly standardized features, all databases usually differ on simple SQL level what may make the database-agnostic implementation of your solution tricky. You likely need to survey the features you are interested and compare what various vendors provide.
For example GIS extensions for MySQL and for PostgreSQL both follow OpenGIS "Simple Features Specification for SQL" standard.
I haven't tried it, but Google tells me FDO is "an open-source API for manipulating, defining and analyzing geospatial information regardless of where it is stored". It's listed on osgeo.org - a point in its favour in my opinion.
There are providers for MySQL & Oracle. Disappointingly though SQL Server and Postgis aren't listed on the FDO providers page.
The only standard I know of is http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/sfs and I don't know how well all the spatial database extensions implement it.
there are a number of geo-databases which are accessible with hibernate spatial
Oracle10g
Postgresql
MySQL
using an abtraction layer like hibernate is a good idea anyways, if you plan to write a database agnostic application. hibernatespatial fills this gap for geo features.
Can i convert the diagram to other formats like to Visio (other than copy to clip board command in sql server 2005) or any other utilities to do so?
Apparently not, I've been searching for years for this feature.
Would be a nice feature for a future version of SQL.
dont know. but Balsamiq Mockups is a really easy tool for mocking up diagrams (SQL and ER included). check it out - http://www.balsamiq.com/