Requirements to ERD Entities, Attributes and Relationships

[Richard Freggi]

Double click on class diagram - connectors - connector notation - select Information Engineering you get a very decent crow's feet notation.

For good Crow's Feet you can also look at DB Designer Fork (sourceforge.net) or MySQL Workbench (Oracle.com).  Both open source and both very capable.  Why would anyone want to use Oracle Data Modeler out of their own free will is beyond me.

diagram properties | Connector | Connector Notation

I don't see this option in "Diagram Properties."  I am using R14.
My data modeler refuses to use Sparx due to the way relationships are represented. He wants crows feet. He downloaded Oracle data modeler and is happy.
Doesn't make me feel good about the $2K we spent on Sparx licenses.

[Geert Bellekens]

diagram properties | Connector | Connector Notation

I don't see this option in "Diagram Properties."  I am using R14.
My data modeler refuses to use Sparx due to the way relationships are represented. He wants crows feet. He downloaded Oracle data modeler and is happy.
Doesn't make me feel good about the $2K we spent on Sparx licenses.

Your data modeler deserves a kick in the butt if that is really the reason he refuses to use EA.

The main reason to use EA is because of the fact that it is like a Swiss knife. It does UML modelling, Archimate, XSD generation, data modelling, BPMN,... So it can be used by a wide range of people in the organization to model your whole enterprise, and connect the different parts together. For each of these fields (except maybe UML modeling) there might be better tools out there. But EA is the best in combining all of these (for an affordable price)
If you are only looking for a database design tool then you bought the wrong tool.

As to your question about the crow's foot, I'm guessing you are looking at the wrong properties window.
If you right click somewhere on a empty spot in the diagram, you get a context menu that contains the option "Properties".

Then a popup opens and you navigate to the Connector section on the left.
There you will find a dropdown box that currently says "UML 2.1". Change that to "Information Engineering".

Geert

[Eve]

Your data modeler deserves a kick in the butt if that is really the reason he refuses to use EA.

That was more or less what I wanted to say. I could understand someone saying they think a tool is too hard to use or doesn't do everything they think it should. But if you're told to use a particular tool anyway, you find a way to make it work. (And that applies even if you're being directed away from Enterprise Architect)

[Erlenmeyer]

EA is not a database modeling tool. It's just a "me too" functionality of an UML modeling tool. If you need a hammer don't buy a pair of pliers.

q.

Agreed. Sparx EA does everything but only does UML well.

[DanaMaxwell]

I have used EA for data modelling in the past (years ago, version 6 I think) and prefer it over using a separate data modelling tool.

I was able to generate the oracle DDL directly from EA as well as associate my database model with the class model such that I had a model of the dependencies.

This thread was started because I tried the newer ERD MDG but didn't see the benefit over my previous experience.

So, in response to the analogy, I don't think we want to use a nail, so put away the hammer and just use a wrench.

[RoyC]

You need to display the Diagram Properties DIALOG and select the Connectors page. The last item on this page is the Connector Notation field.

To display the dialog, right-click on the background of the open diagram and select the Properties option.

[Sunshine]

diagram properties | Connector | Connector Notation

I don't see this option in "Diagram Properties."  I am using R14.

Right click on diagram background
diagram properties dialog| Connector | Connector Notation> Information Engineering
Or just create a data modelling diagram in the first place and its already set.

My data modeler refuses to use Sparx due to the way relationships are represented. He wants crows feet. He downloaded Oracle data modeler and is happy.
Doesn't make me feel good about the $2K we spent on Sparx licenses.

Don't worry data modellers are like that. They like to stick to notations and tools they know.
On the plus side Sparx EA can model a whole lot more from motivation models, business architect, business processes, business rules and data models as well as UML so you can design and develop lots more that just data model.

[Erlenmeyer]

Your data modeler deserves a kick in the butt if that is really the reason he refuses to use EA.

That was more or less what I wanted to say. I could understand someone saying they think a tool is too hard to use or doesn't do everything they think it should. But if you're told to use a particular tool anyway, you find a way to make it work. (And that applies even if you're being directed away from Enterprise Architect)

He reports to me and promised to give it another try. He has a deadline to meet.

All of my architects are finding the Sparx learning curve a challenge, so I am prebuilding some models and then turning them over. I told the team I do not want to see another PowerPoint of Visio diagram -- although these are more effective in presentations to stakeholders.

There are some things I find odd about Sparx, such as the "Save" button being on the "Layout" tab. Not intuitive at all.

[Geert Bellekens]

There are some things I find odd about Sparx, such as the "Save" button being on the "Layout" tab. Not intuitive at all.

There are a lot of "odd" things in EA. We even have a nickname for that type of thing: EAUI short for Enterprise Architect Unique Interface 

Geert

PS. If you enable the "Default Tools" toolbar you have the Save Diagram button always available.

[Erlenmeyer]

You need to display the Diagram Properties DIALOG and select the Connectors page. The last item on this page is the Connector Notation field.

To display the dialog, right-click on the background of the open diagram and select the Properties option.

In the "Entity Relationship", "Simple Entity Relationship Model" the connectors properties,  is already set to "Information Engineering." Relationships are still represented with diamonds and attributes as ovals. Takes up too much room on the diagram and looks terrible.

We can make "Data Modeling" work. It is under "Business Modeling" "Modeling" "Data Modeling" exactly where I would expect it to be -- sorry for being sarcastic.

I hope BABOK is included in the Corp Edition, because I am the only one with Ultimate.

[Geert Bellekens]

I'm not sure what type of diagrams or notation is used in the Entity Relationship diagram you are mentioning.

I'm guessing most of us where thinking about simple class diagrams, showing classes or tables.

Are you trying to model the actual tables, or some kind of more abstract logical datamodel?

For the tables, look into the Database Builder tool and use the table object created by that.

For a logical data model, I would use UML Class diagrams.

Geert

[qwerty]

I hope BABOK is included in the Corp Edition, because I am the only one with Ultimate.

My Corporate does not have it.

q.

[Eve]

According to https://www.sparxsystems.com/products/ea/compare-editions.html, BABOK is included in Corporate.

(qwerty, it won't be in yours because it was added in v14 and you refuse to update)

[Glassboy]