ER Diagrams and SQL Server
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Hey Lads, I know this probably sounds backwards to most of ye but when it come to databases I personally prefer to actually build the damn thing first rather than do ER Diagrams and so on.... I find that when I'm actually looking at the tables in front of me everything becomes more obvious. :) Anyway, what I'm wondering is if any CPian out there knows of a Tool that can create ER Diagrams from an actual SQL Server Database.... i.e. If I create the database in SQL Server is there a tool out there that I can run against it to give me ER diagrams???? :cool: Oh.. if there is one built in then I do apologise for my stupidity but I can't seem to see one myself. :doh: Regards, Brian Dela :-) http://www.briandela.com IE 6 required.
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MFC.NET Application Wizard Mix .NET and MFC easily. -
Hey Lads, I know this probably sounds backwards to most of ye but when it come to databases I personally prefer to actually build the damn thing first rather than do ER Diagrams and so on.... I find that when I'm actually looking at the tables in front of me everything becomes more obvious. :) Anyway, what I'm wondering is if any CPian out there knows of a Tool that can create ER Diagrams from an actual SQL Server Database.... i.e. If I create the database in SQL Server is there a tool out there that I can run against it to give me ER diagrams???? :cool: Oh.. if there is one built in then I do apologise for my stupidity but I can't seem to see one myself. :doh: Regards, Brian Dela :-) http://www.briandela.com IE 6 required.
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MFC.NET Application Wizard Mix .NET and MFC easily.I can not say for any of the ER tools (the one at work is $5K so only a few have it) but most UML tools (I use Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect) http://www.sparxsystems.com.au/ and they import DDL (yes directly form ODBC.) "For as long as I can remember, I have had memories. Colin Mochrie."
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Hey Lads, I know this probably sounds backwards to most of ye but when it come to databases I personally prefer to actually build the damn thing first rather than do ER Diagrams and so on.... I find that when I'm actually looking at the tables in front of me everything becomes more obvious. :) Anyway, what I'm wondering is if any CPian out there knows of a Tool that can create ER Diagrams from an actual SQL Server Database.... i.e. If I create the database in SQL Server is there a tool out there that I can run against it to give me ER diagrams???? :cool: Oh.. if there is one built in then I do apologise for my stupidity but I can't seem to see one myself. :doh: Regards, Brian Dela :-) http://www.briandela.com IE 6 required.
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MFC.NET Application Wizard Mix .NET and MFC easily.Just curious, what don't you like on the diagramming feature of SQL Server? Trying to make bits uncopyable is like trying to make water not wet. -- Bruce Schneier By the way, dog_spawn isn't a nickname - it is my name with an underscore instead of a space. -- dog_spawn
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Just curious, what don't you like on the diagramming feature of SQL Server? Trying to make bits uncopyable is like trying to make water not wet. -- Bruce Schneier By the way, dog_spawn isn't a nickname - it is my name with an underscore instead of a space. -- dog_spawn
Is it strict ER? I have always used it and found it useful, but aother architects have told me it is not strict UML, ER or other buzzword at all. regards, Paul Watson Bluegrass South Africa Brian Welsch wrote: "blah blah blah, maybe a potato?" while translating my Afrikaans. Crikey! ain't life grand?
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Hey Lads, I know this probably sounds backwards to most of ye but when it come to databases I personally prefer to actually build the damn thing first rather than do ER Diagrams and so on.... I find that when I'm actually looking at the tables in front of me everything becomes more obvious. :) Anyway, what I'm wondering is if any CPian out there knows of a Tool that can create ER Diagrams from an actual SQL Server Database.... i.e. If I create the database in SQL Server is there a tool out there that I can run against it to give me ER diagrams???? :cool: Oh.. if there is one built in then I do apologise for my stupidity but I can't seem to see one myself. :doh: Regards, Brian Dela :-) http://www.briandela.com IE 6 required.
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MFC.NET Application Wizard Mix .NET and MFC easily.There are a couple of solutions I can tell you about. It really depends on what your goal is Diagram the tables using SQL Server enterprise. This will provide you with an ER document based on the database. The downside of this method is its not the prettiest format. Microsoft Visio has a database stencil that will allow you to reverse engineer a database but once the database has been reverse engineered, you will have to do some work to make the diagrams readable for presentation. Computer Associates ERWIN is by far one of the leading tools on the market. You can created database schema's using the tool and you can reverse engineer SQL Server as well as many other types of databases. The advantage of this tool is it creates very nice presentation diagrams, provides a method to create and maintain a data dictionary and also provides many reports about the database that your users may find informational. The greatest feature I found is the ability to compare a model against an existing database. The tool will compare the model against an existing database and provide you scripts to either bring the model to the level of the database or update the database to the level of the model. The biggest disadvantage of this product is the cost. I believe its about 5k but to be sure check with CA. If you have no budget, the diagrammer in SQL Server is your best choice, low budget I would use Visio but if you have a big budget and can justify the purchase I would reccomend ERWIN Hope this helps Steve Martin, Symantec, Inc
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There are a couple of solutions I can tell you about. It really depends on what your goal is Diagram the tables using SQL Server enterprise. This will provide you with an ER document based on the database. The downside of this method is its not the prettiest format. Microsoft Visio has a database stencil that will allow you to reverse engineer a database but once the database has been reverse engineered, you will have to do some work to make the diagrams readable for presentation. Computer Associates ERWIN is by far one of the leading tools on the market. You can created database schema's using the tool and you can reverse engineer SQL Server as well as many other types of databases. The advantage of this tool is it creates very nice presentation diagrams, provides a method to create and maintain a data dictionary and also provides many reports about the database that your users may find informational. The greatest feature I found is the ability to compare a model against an existing database. The tool will compare the model against an existing database and provide you scripts to either bring the model to the level of the database or update the database to the level of the model. The biggest disadvantage of this product is the cost. I believe its about 5k but to be sure check with CA. If you have no budget, the diagrammer in SQL Server is your best choice, low budget I would use Visio but if you have a big budget and can justify the purchase I would reccomend ERWIN Hope this helps Steve Martin, Symantec, Inc
shm53 wrote: Microsoft Visio has a database stencil that will allow you to reverse engineer a database but once the database has been reverse engineered, you will have to do some work to make the diagrams readable for presentation Sounds like my best option... Thanks for the detailed information :-D Regards, Brian Dela :-) http://www.briandela.com IE 6 required.
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MFC.NET Application Wizard Mix .NET and MFC easily. -
Just curious, what don't you like on the diagramming feature of SQL Server? Trying to make bits uncopyable is like trying to make water not wet. -- Bruce Schneier By the way, dog_spawn isn't a nickname - it is my name with an underscore instead of a space. -- dog_spawn
Daniel Turini wrote: diagramming feature of SQL Server? Isn't that only in the Enterprise Version??? I have the SQL server running on an XP box and it wouldn't let me install the Enterprise Version so I had to use the developer version. Correct me if I'm wrong here. I'm not in front of a machine with SQL Servr at the moment so I can't check. Regards, Brian Dela :-) http://www.briandela.com IE 6 required.
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MFC.NET Application Wizard Mix .NET and MFC easily. -
There are a couple of solutions I can tell you about. It really depends on what your goal is Diagram the tables using SQL Server enterprise. This will provide you with an ER document based on the database. The downside of this method is its not the prettiest format. Microsoft Visio has a database stencil that will allow you to reverse engineer a database but once the database has been reverse engineered, you will have to do some work to make the diagrams readable for presentation. Computer Associates ERWIN is by far one of the leading tools on the market. You can created database schema's using the tool and you can reverse engineer SQL Server as well as many other types of databases. The advantage of this tool is it creates very nice presentation diagrams, provides a method to create and maintain a data dictionary and also provides many reports about the database that your users may find informational. The greatest feature I found is the ability to compare a model against an existing database. The tool will compare the model against an existing database and provide you scripts to either bring the model to the level of the database or update the database to the level of the model. The biggest disadvantage of this product is the cost. I believe its about 5k but to be sure check with CA. If you have no budget, the diagrammer in SQL Server is your best choice, low budget I would use Visio but if you have a big budget and can justify the purchase I would reccomend ERWIN Hope this helps Steve Martin, Symantec, Inc
shm53 wrote: can justify the purchase I would reccomend ERWIN I've just looked at the price. Ouch. I can get a year's MSDN Universal for less than that. It would take a bit for me to justify the cost of that to myself. Hmm. There might be a business opportunity in it though. You could buy a copy and provide documentation services to small businesses and lone developers like Brian. You'd eventually cover the costs as well as helping out those who only need to use this kind of stuff once in a while. Michael 'Logic, my dear Zoe, merely enables one to be wrong with authority.' - The Doctor: The Wheel in Space
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Daniel Turini wrote: diagramming feature of SQL Server? Isn't that only in the Enterprise Version??? I have the SQL server running on an XP box and it wouldn't let me install the Enterprise Version so I had to use the developer version. Correct me if I'm wrong here. I'm not in front of a machine with SQL Servr at the moment so I can't check. Regards, Brian Dela :-) http://www.briandela.com IE 6 required.
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MFC.NET Application Wizard Mix .NET and MFC easily.Brian Delahunty wrote: I have the SQL server running on an XP box and it wouldn't let me install the Enterprise Version so I had to use the developer version. Exactly my dev. environment, but I still have the diagramming option. Trying to make bits uncopyable is like trying to make water not wet. -- Bruce Schneier By the way, dog_spawn isn't a nickname - it is my name with an underscore instead of a space. -- dog_spawn
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Brian Delahunty wrote: I have the SQL server running on an XP box and it wouldn't let me install the Enterprise Version so I had to use the developer version. Exactly my dev. environment, but I still have the diagramming option. Trying to make bits uncopyable is like trying to make water not wet. -- Bruce Schneier By the way, dog_spawn isn't a nickname - it is my name with an underscore instead of a space. -- dog_spawn
Daniel Turini wrote: Exactly my dev. environment, but I still have the diagramming option. Thanks Daniel. I'll have a look when I'm home. Regards, Brian Dela :-) http://www.briandela.com IE 6 required.
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MFC.NET Application Wizard Mix .NET and MFC easily.