Database Modeling
After reading this week?s article, ?Modeling for the Future,? expand on the subject of Database Modeling. There are several tools listed and reviewed in the article.
Research these tools further, or identify other modeling tools, and write a 2-3 page, APA-style paper focused on one tool of your choice. You are allowed to compare
tools, but apply your findings and comparison to your research as if you were selecting the tool for use at your employer. What are the benefits and the possible
shortcomings of using the tool? How would this tool help you meet your database modeling needs? Be sure to integrate vocabulary from the text to demonstrate your
understanding of concepts.
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on re om to build a house.You
These tools help ensure the database e‘“aYY 8 8
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have a mental picture of what the house
ou re buildm is thorough et effi-
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look lJl(6 and what sorts of materials
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clent. T hey re relatlvely easy to use. you’ll use to construct it. You may even
and they can generate CO de know what shade
of gray the outside trim Wlll
be. But even with this level of detail in mind,
Bachmawssolution based on your business rules. But a
6roundWork51.2I f 1 . _ you wouldn t
think of building it without a
Reports 4.32
Terrain woam lot 0 advance P annlng 18 neCe533rY- blueprmt. Constructing a large, complicated
Ierrainldap 6.1.1
3,d….,…..f.,….,¢a.,., . , – r – a database 1S much like building a house. If you
Systems Inc. a W , TW e T e
4,? gap ,, don’t have a definite plan in place, the
project
erwsnsnx2.s [‘“. 7 «.~- , a
Logic Workslnt. ‘ 3 – we p ~~~~~~~~ *- “Q jg:.,7_>f, 3.! …_ _[ W i can fast l3CCOITlC unwieldy.
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S-Designor
;_. V p _ TT:’:_::TE::”‘ ; _ . AW Some IS shops use a data modeler to ensure
Enterprise4.2.1 s‘ * W TI W
PowersoftCorp. ‘ A . 1 t their database ends up as they pictured
it. A
Vivid Clarity 1.1 W T e ‘ W T; W e 5 l N , data modeling tool lets you graphically design a database model based
lnteklechnologieslnt. TT W Q A, W l_ i _,j‘_,
,,T_,V _’. , , W onyourbusiness rules. From there it automaticallygenerates database
W 7:f.T 1;‘ -‘ ;: “ l schema scripts, creating an actual database structure.
T f ; 1
A I”_T . x We tested fourW‘mdows-based products; threewere chosen by our
g g W W a Q ’ r p , readers (and are market leaders): Powersoft Corp.’s S-Designor Enter-
r V l
,3, , y W‘ W _ T . . prise 4.2.1, Erwin ERX 2.5 from Logic Works Inc., and Bachman Infor-
T‘ l t .. ‘ 4 mation Systems Inc.’s solution. We also looked at Intek
Technologies
3; 5 ’- T é : ~ 3 , Inc.’s Vivid Clarity 1.1, because it offered the same functionality at an
T V ~. T _, unusually low pace, suggesting it might be avery
good value. Notice-
‘T p 7 I ably absent is Asymetrix Corp.’s InfoModeler. Unfortunately, the most
T t, r r I M current version was in beta at the time of our testing.
We will review it
T’lT‘lT”T‘T T T T T A TT T TT as 50032;? isalile:s11e?T 1 d th th D el 1 ‘ al
g p Fun ent y, our too s o e same ing: ev op 21 ogic
l ‘ “ ‘ W ’ ” ,’. Q ‘
r f and physical data model, generate a schema for at least three databases,
W T ‘ and let you perform database maintenance. What differs is the meth-
A T fisg ” 1 WT ‘
TT ‘ odology; Erwin and Clarity combine the logical and physical models,
WT , ‘ all 4 , whereas Bachman’s solution and S- Designor keep them separate.
it 3 nursr TIIE
rmnurrn: mm. Successfully usingadata
L rd i ‘ W modeler requires thought and planning. Before the modeler can gen-
1; : f ;:.’.’.. . :lf T ‘ erate a schema, you must
clearly define the categories and relation-
r*’*’:1. 3 ships of data. Preparation time, if well spent, can make the program-
ming process easier. But because prep time
is considered down time
Va – e ’ { by some, it’s easy to forfeit the planning process.
‘*W*~*e*-~**W’IT”T‘°’T’*‘ T“? V3TTf:i:”Z?‘Tj‘f‘” “The roblem is,the rule in ro
armnin is that there’s alwa time
A .M_.__ a p P gr 3 vs
Wr*'”‘ ‘ ; g ._ jg Wji to do it over and not time to do it right,” says Paul Cubbage, a senior
33.2 ‘”‘”””T[ 4.’
TT TT 7” ” T YT ‘T T T aIl3lYSt at Dataquest Inc-» in 3311 1059» C355 Too Oftenr PT°81’3mme1’5
l I see data modeling tools as another thing to learn. The benefits
aren’t
tti..L*’fWf (1 Z i T‘ immediate, and impatient prograrmners may consider working with
E imp. __m 1 them to be a roadblock instead of a route to the finished
product.
3 535 *’r5’Ee35 ‘ ‘ Because interest in data modelers is only slowly translating into
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