DbSchema on Bits Du Jour - Friday June 5,2009

[Steven Avery]

Hi Folks,

DbSchema 5 - The Art Of Keeping Data Together
http://www.bitsdujour.com/software/dbschema/

A database design front-end (I think that is what it is) to work with a number of mostly SQL database products.  You design the database in DbSchema and have maybe better schema and documentation tools than you might find in the individual program. And then you can go here and there exporting.  Maybe if you change your database in midstream the horse doesn't gurgle.  (Granted this does not take into consideration all the user interface aspects specific to the tools.)

Sounds rather interesting, even if the usable databases are limited.  The lack of a user forum .. a smidgen discomfiting.

Your thoughts ?

Shalom,
Steven Avery

[wraith808]

The lack of user forums was what made me stop evaluating- I couldn't get the JDBC connection to SQL Server set up to even get past ground level.  Add to that fact that Java applications leave me cold, and I didn't try much past that.

[40hz]

If you're going the MySQL route, you might also want to try the free community edition of MySQL Workbench. There is also a commercial "standard" edition that will set you back $99 US if you need additional features. I've just gotten started learning it, and so far, it looks very promising.

About MySQL Workbench

MySQL Workbench is a cross-platform, visual database design tool developed by MySQL. It is the highly anticipated successor application of the DBDesigner4 project. MySQL Workbench will be available as a native GUI tool on Window, Linux and OS X.

...

MySQL Workbench is a ER/database modeling tool for MySQL. You can use it to design and create new database schemas, document existing databases and even perform complex migrations to MySQL.

Main features:

   * Cairo based diagramming canvas which allows output to different targets such as OpenGL, Win32, X11, Quartz, PostScript, PDF etc
   * visual representation of tables, views, stored procedure/functions and foreign keys
   * live database and SQL script file reverse-engineering
   * database/model synchronization
   * SQL script generation
   * extensible architecture
   * export as SQL CREATE script
   * import DBDesigner4 models
   * support for MySQL 5 features
   * selectable notations for diagram

Main Page: http://dev.mysql.com/workbench/

Features Matrix: http://dev.mysql.com/workbench/?page_id=11

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