Getting Started for an Advanced User

[layco]

I am an Oracle DBA with several years experience. I am using PowerDesigner to develop a conceptual model for a database I've reverse engineered. I find some of the terms confusing and of course, because I'm working backwards(-:, I am stumbling around a bit. One question I've got is what tables have foreign keys referencing the table I'm looking at?

Does anyone know of a good book on database design that uses the same terms that PowerDesigner uses? I learned my licks through Oracle training and I'm having to broaden my perspective a bit!

 

[JWFox]

First of all, if you are a DBA, why do you want to use the Conceptual Data Model (*.cdm) instead of the Physical Data Model. If all you are interested in is documenting relationships with the "crows feet" notation, you can do that in the Physical Data Model by adjusting the "display preferences" for the "reference" object.

Secondly, if you decide to use the Conceptual Data Model, foreign key references are assumed within the "relation" symbol and not displayed on the diagram. In other words, there are no such thing as "foreign key attributes" and "foreign key columns" are created when the Physical Data Model is generated. (If you want to see Foreign Key Columns, use the Physical Data Model).

Finally, no reverse engineering tool can generate references/relationships unless a foreign key constraint was created on the database. If columns to support references are created but are enforced in application code instead of on the database with a constraint, you're just going to have to make your best guess as to what the relationships are. (Good luck and welcome to the club!) JWFox

 

[layco]

You're right I can get what I need from a PDM. I'll go back and work from there. I'm feeling frustrated because I want to master this tool and I keep stumbling around. I'd like to have a manual I can just sit down and read cover to cover. For instance, I spent yesterday afternoon trying to figure out how to create a report. I either get two pages with nothing on it or 1000 pages with the information I need buried. I've read the report documentation carefully but I just can't figure out how to deal with this thing. The documentation spends most of it's time/space talking about how to click and drag. I need to know what to click and drag to get the report I need.

 

[JayMarcus]

Hello.

There are two ways in which PowerDesigner will try to create references.

1) Rebuilds references when no references are reverse engineered. The rebuild references feature starts by detecting columns with identical name and data type in different tables. A reference is created between each column belonging to a primary key and a column, with identical name and data type, that does not belong to a primary or a foreign key in another table

2)Rebuilds primary keys from unique indexes when tables have no key and only one unique index.


If you want to create a report try using the default templates (e.g Full PDM). Then modify this to get what you need. It is important to remember that this is a template based reporting tool, not a wsiwyg one. Look at the column headings you need for the report and go from their.

Presuming your using PowerDesigner 9, go to Tools -> Resources -> Report templates. This has a list of pre-built reports for you.

HTH

Jay

 

[layco]

I have been struggling a bit with the reports. Our product has been developed over the last several years without a DBA to guide the database design. We have no foreign keys and very few primary keys actually designated in the database. My job is to divine and implement these relationships and to make pretty diagrams and reports to impress our increasingly demanding customers. I intend to use this opportunity to become a power PowerDesigner user but so far I've spent hours stumbling around. Do you know of a PDF version of the documentation that I can just print off and curl up with?

 

[JayMarcus]

Hi there.

Sorry for the wait. I hear you about the pretty pictures ;>
Here are some PDFs you can download for PowerDesigner 7/8/9.

Maybe the HTML reports are more your thing? They are improved in 8/9 (and being html I guess you could always re-parse them to make them more functional). Or if you know VBA (which I don't) you can use the VB API in 9 to autogenerate 'em for you.

http://sybooks.sybase.com/pdd0900e.html

Best Regards (hope you enjoy PD)

Jay