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Thread: Tool for online viewing of DB relational model

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
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    Tool for online viewing of DB relational model

    Hello guys,

    Can you please advise me what tool to use for my task?
    I am working in offshore software development company (around 20 developers). We are developing online financial system working with Oracle DB. Primary development is done with Ruby/Ruby on Rails and database structure is created/updated with Ruby migrations (well, I'd say those are scripts to create/update DB structure, the scripts are implemented with Ruby). DB structure is pretty complex including around 150 tables.
    Anyway, what I need is to see overall DB structure (DB relational model) as a graph. I can use some modeling tool, like Embarcadero ER Studio or Oracle Designer, to reverse engineer database and view it as a graph. But, then, either other developers who want to see up-to-date DB graph will have to do the same or we need to share this graph somehow (which will raise a question who is in charge of regularly updating the graph). That is not convenient. So, I wonder, possibly there is a an online tool which we can install on our internal Web server showing DB structure as a graph (of course automatically updating it when DB structure changes). We also would like to have online DB related collaboration tools too, but this feature is a MUST.

    Best regards.
    Konstantin.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
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    Lake Worth, FL
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    Cool Data Modeling tool

    CA ERwin® Data Modeler

    Toad® Data Modeler

    Or check here for more data modeling tools.

    Or Google "database modeler"!
    "The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it." --Chinese Proverb

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    This is what happens when you put the carriage before the horses.

    Let me break some news, the one who designed the database is the one that would let you know how navigation works.

    Not sure how it works in an "offshore software development company" but in my book developers do not make changes to database design.
    Pablo (Paul) Berzukov

    Author of Understanding Database Administration available at amazon and other bookstores.

    Disclaimer: Advice is provided to the best of my knowledge but no implicit or explicit warranties are provided. Since the advisor explicitly encourages testing any and all suggestions on a test non-production environment advisor should not held liable or responsible for any actions taken based on the given advice.

  4. #4
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    Thumbs up Excelent point!

    Quote Originally Posted by PAVB View Post
    ...
    Not sure how it works in an "offshore software development company" but in my book developers do not make changes to database design.
    This is an excelent point by Paul!

    Changes should be made to the database model FIRST by Architect or DBA and then applied to the database after somehow testing in dev/test environment.
    "The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it." --Chinese Proverb

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
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    Quote Originally Posted by PAVB View Post
    This is what happens when you put the carriage before the horses.

    Let me break some news, the one who designed the database is the one that would let you know how navigation works.

    Not sure how it works in an "offshore software development company" but in my book developers do not make changes to database design.
    I must have not made it clear enough. I do not want developers to make changes. I want developers to SEE current database relational model online. This way we would not have to reverse engineer relational model with tools like ERWin just to see updated model.

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    I see, well... now I'm really confused.

    If you guys are doing things the right way and have tools like ERWin why don't your architect just makes available the last version of the db model for everybody to see?
    Pablo (Paul) Berzukov

    Author of Understanding Database Administration available at amazon and other bookstores.

    Disclaimer: Advice is provided to the best of my knowledge but no implicit or explicit warranties are provided. Since the advisor explicitly encourages testing any and all suggestions on a test non-production environment advisor should not held liable or responsible for any actions taken based on the given advice.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Lake Worth, FL
    Posts
    1,492

    Talking Sync db

    Quote Originally Posted by PAVB View Post
    I see, well... now I'm really confused.

    If you guys are doing things the right way and have tools like ERWin why don't your architect just makes available the last version of the db model for everybody to see?
    Yes, all the "architect" need to do is once in a while click on the "(re)sync database" option in Erwin.
    .
    "The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it." --Chinese Proverb

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