ABSTRACT
Data modeling is a fundamental analytical technique used by database developers to capture information about what data are needed for a new system and how data elements are related to each other. As the data discovery progresses for a new project, the development team needs to document the detailed definition of each entity and attribute identified. Data modeling tools provide a mechanism to not only capture the detailed definitions for the entities and their attributes but show a visual representation of the relationships between entities.
erwin is an industry-leading data modeling tool that supports logical and physical data modeling. After a logical model has been developed, erwin can use that information to create a physical model to be implemented in a number of relational database management systems, including Structured Query Language Server and Oracle. It can then either dynamically connect to the relational database management system and create the database or create the Data Definition Language statements required to create it manually.
As powerful as those features are, erwin’s key strength is in reverse engineering. erwin can connect to a running database, analyze its structure, and create a physical model displaying the database tables and columns and the relationships between those tables. This is an invaluable benefit to a support team who have inherited a running system with little if any documentation.
