Visio® 2007 Bible

Chapter 20. Modeling and Documenting Databases

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Exploring database templates and shapes

• Creating and importing database models

• Building a model from an existing database

• Synchronizing databases and Visio models

• Using the specialized Database windows

• Creating and editing tables and columns

• Defining database views

• Editing database code

• Specifying database options and preferences

• Creating Express-G and ORM diagrams

Whether you are designing a database from scratch or trying to figure out how to modify an order database to support online sales, an accurate and up-to-date model of the database schema helps everyone see what they're working with. Most dedicated database folks use data modeling tools such as ERwin or Oracle Designer. If you don't have that luxury, you can use the Database Model Diagram template in Visio Professional to document database models for both relational and object-relational databases.

With a working knowledge of database concepts and database management practices, you can use the Database Model Diagram template to build a diagram from scratch, import a model from another application, or reverse-engineer an existing database. When you have a database model to work with, you can add to or modify objects, including tables, columns, parent-child relationships, indexes, and code.

In addition, Visio provides templates for Object Role Modeling diagrams and Express-G diagrams, two other methodologies for modeling database. However, these templates produce only diagrams, ...