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You wouldn't build your house without a set of blueprints, so why create a vital database for your business without drawing up plans first? A data modeler is the SQL database architect's blueprint tool, providing a way to translate back-of-the-envelope sketches into clear, detailed specifications. Furthermore, it can do something no drafting pencil can match: On command, it generates a finished database schema, ready to start housing business information.
In this comparison, InfoWorld tested three data modelers: Logic Works Inc.'s Erwin/ERX 1.5c for PowerBuilder, Asymetrix Corp.'s InfoModeler 1.01, and Popkin Software & Systems Inc.'s System Architect 3.0. Two of these stick to traditional building methods, while the third takes a modern approach that might not be to everyone's taste.
Our new test plan was designed to use these products just like a client/server database developer does. We started by creating a logical model of our database--a contact-management system--that blocked out entities, attributes, primary and foreign keys, and so forth. We next sought various reports on this data. Then we evolved the logical model to a physical design that included referential-integrity constraints. We also requested reports on the physical design so that we could check it for accuracy. Finally, we generated two database schema, one for Oracle Corp.'s Oracle7 and another for Microsoft Corps SQL Server. We included two of the important tasks in our test plan: maintaining the data model as data requirements change and generating data model of an existing SQL database. (See "Creating your database blueprint: a step-by-step guide," page 94, for a more detailed explanation of the data modeling process.)
A survey of 1,000 InfoWorld readers revealed that data modeling tools are well established among today's companies, with 47 percent owning one. Of the corporations using data modelers, 85 percent use them for enterprise database engines, with Oracle and Sybase being the most popular. Seventy percent either currently use or plan to use data modelers for designing desktop databases, such as Microsoft's Access and Borland International Inc.'s Paradox.
TOOL TIME AGAIN. This interest in database design tool appears to be growing as corporations turn their attention to client/server systems. According to Tony Picard, senior analyst International Data Corp. (IDC), in Framingham, Mass., data modelers experienced a renaissance last year. Their first...