Data Modeling Tools

Data Modeling Tools

With the development of Universal Modeling Language, companies such as Microsoft and fabForce.net have created product to assist developers with designing databases. These tools are called Data Modeling Tools or DMT. Applications can vary from free to thousand of dollars depending on the amount of function ability. Today we will look at Microsoft Visio and fabForce.net DBDesigner 4.

Microsoft Visio 2003 is available in a Standard or Professional version and cost around $55 - $236 depending on the version. Visio 2003 is a diagramming program that can help you create business and technical diagrams that document and organize complex ideas, processes, and systems. Diagrams created in Visio 2003 enable you to visualize and communicate information clearly, concisely, and effectively in ways that text and numbers cannot. Visio 2003 also automates data visualization by synchronizing directly with data sources to provide

up-to-date diagrams, and it can be customized to meet the needs of your organization.

Visio 2003 provides specific solutions for Database diagrams that support the IDEF1X modeling technique, relational notations, object-relationship models, entity-level and schema-level diagrams, and product data models using EXPRESS-G notation. Diagrams can be created by dragging shapes to a drawing page or by reverse engineering an existing database structure from a variety of compatible databases, including Microsoft SQL Serverв„Ñž, Microsoft Access, Oracle, and IBM's DB2.

Visio 2003 Automatically create database diagrams from SQL Server or Access, UML software diagrams from Microsoft Visual StudioÐ'® .NET projects, Web maps from live Web sites, timelines from Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Project, calendars from Microsoft OutlookÐ'®, and organizational charts from Excel or Microsoft Exchange Server. Visio can consume XML data from Web services and that, in turn, can be used to drive diagram creation. The data in Visio diagrams can be extracted as XML and other formats, or it can be exported to Excel, Microsoft Word, SQL Server, and other types of files for integration with business