ERD Tool: Overview of Tools for ERD Diagram

Are you looking for an ERD tool?

Visual Paradigm is a leading ERD software solution, used by leading governments, corporate, and agencies.

Unlike many ERD tools, Visual Paradigm offers a rich collection of ER Diagram tools that covers ERD editing, database generation/reversal and even object-relational mapping.

In this article, we will show you some of these tools.

Entity Relationship Diagram creator

ERD Editor

An easy-to-use ERD tool that enables you to create beautiful ERDs in no time. Here is a list of features:

• Drag-and-drop editing interface
• Inline table and column name editing
• Resource-centric interface for quick elements creation
• Automatic foreign key generation
• Customization naming for FKs and table names
• Position shapes neatly with the help of the smart alignment guide
• Icons for primary keys, foreign keys, and general columns
• Different cardinality
• Formatting support

Database table records editor

Enter sample records for entities in ERD. The sample records help readers understand the format of data that will be inserted. Besides, the records will be output in data specification. You can also insert them into the database upon database generation.

Database view editor

Construct database views in a visual editor by selecting the columns and specifying the joins for data retrieval.

Entity Relationship Diagram modeler

Trace between, conceptual, logical, and physical ER model

Here is a list of features to support the need for conceptual, logical, and physical ER modeling:

• Automatically transcribe conceptual model to logical model
• Automatically transcribe logical model to physical model
• Navigate between entities in different models
• Organize models neatly in a hierarchy structure

Re-use entities in different diagrams

Reduce model complexity by creating multiple ERDs for your system, and having your entities reused in the ERDs. Changes made to an entity will be automatically synchronized to occurrences in other diagrams.

Database engineering toolset

Generate database from ERD. Reconstruct the structure of a legacy system.

Database generation tool

Design database with ERD, and generate it. The database generation tool validates your database design and produces the database initialization scripts required for database construction.

Generate database patch scripts

Revise database design, and patch the changes to the database. The database patch tool analyzes your database and produces the update scripts required to patch changes. Sophisticated checking would be applied to ensure patching will work whilst keeping existing data intact.

ERD generation tool

Working with a legacy database becomes even more challenging when the documentation has been lost in time. Make it available again by reverse-engineering the ERDs. Visually study the table structures and their relationships.

Wide range of DBMS support

Supports database generation and reversal for all popular databases in the market, including MySQL, MS SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, PostgreSQL, HSQL, MariaDB, Derby, Informix, Firebird, SQLite, IBM DB2, FrontBase, H2, Amazon Redshift and etc.

Object Relational Mapping (ORM) tool

SQL can be difficult to code and debug, and will only become more difficult as your schema and business logic becomes more complicated. Ever thought of manipulating a database without writing a line of SQL? Our Object Relational Mapping (ORM) tool lets you achieve this.

Simply design a database with our ERD tool (or to reverse engineer an ERD from the existing database). Then, generate Hibernate ORM mapping tier from the ERD, and that’s it! The generated object library allows you to access and manipulate database records entirely with pure Java objects. Bye SQL!

What else can you do with Visual Paradigm?