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ERD Apps a Missing OSS Niche?

Posted by Cliff on from the drawing-lines-and-boxes dept.

Pennyless Developer asks: "So the time comes when one must design a brand spankin' new database schema. You want to use an Entity-Relationship diagramming tool with hopefully some automatic schema generation tools, but do not have much money to purchase anything like Rational Rose. Like a true geek well versed in OSS, you head off to scan sourceforge, freshmeat, and google. But alas, it appears no such applications exist in the OSS world, at least none beyond the planning stage. The question I pose is this: What useful, OSS/Free/Cheap ERD applications have you found and used? Or do developers do all their ERD work under an evaluation period of commercial software?"

6 of 25 comments (clear)

  1. OSS Rational Rose equivalent by sl956 · · Score: 5, Informative
    If you want an OSS cross-platform replacement of Rational Rose, you should try argoUML :
    • 100% java
    • BSD licence
    • only a few UML v1.3 features not (yet) supported
    • import/export from/to Rational Rose using XMI are not (yet) totally working but a third party tool exists to do the translation (can't recall the name)
    • SVG output (!)
    • you can add all the plugins you want/need on top of the core app (MOF metamodel and GEF graphical framework)
    • commercial support provided by Gentleware (if you've got a PHB to convince)
    All in all a very cool app if you need something like Rational Rose.
    BUT I'm not aware of any support of Entity/Relationship diagramming or sql generation in either of those apps.
    1. Re:OSS Rational Rose equivalent by Hektor_Troy · · Score: 2

      I haven't looked into the project yet (I'm still at work, and am just inbetween recompiling).

      Can ArgoUML create code from sequence diagrams? Partial code?

      I haven't found ANY UML tool that can do that, and it's a real pain in the ass to have to reimplement everything you just did in the diagram in code ...

      --
      We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.
  2. Check out Dezign for Databases by sheraz · · Score: 3, Informative

    A year ago I hit this wall. I gave up on the OSS end and decided to (gasp) buy a package - Dezign for Databases by a company called Datanamic. $150 for the full version - you can use all kinds of DBs - Postgres,Mysql,Oracle,DB2,etc,etc. I will also do Access conversion stuff, but I have never played with that. There is talk that they will release a Linux version. As of now it is only Win32, but it is work every penny. It has saved me tons of time.

  3. dia2sql by FreakBoy · · Score: 2, Informative

    I just saw a new package in debian called dia2sql. You may want to check that out...

  4. Re:Tools? Bah.... by V.+Mole · · Score: 2

    ..write a quick program to translate the XML description into SQL.

    No, don't write one, get dia2sql

  5. Dia by autechre · · Score: 2


    http://freshmeat.net/projects/dia/

    I was taking a class where we were shown Visio, but I used Dia instead for my final project report. Not that this should influence your decision, but I did get an A in the class :)

    --
    WMBC freeform/independent online radio.