Looking for a db schema read/write/synch tool

[Chad Smith]

Hello,

I'm relatively new to the database world so please forgive me in
advance for my ignorance. I have recently been tasked at my job with
finding a tool that will perform the following tasks: 1) extract
schemas from a db, 2) produce a difference report between schemas from
two databases, and 3) synchronize two schemas. The purpose is for
product upgrades during which an existing database schema will need to
be synchronized with a baseline schema.

The tool must support the following database vendors (versions given
in parenthesis): Oracle (8i/9i), Sybase (12.x), Informix (9.x), MSS
2000, and IBM DB2 (7/8).

I have spent the last several days downloading and researching a
variety of tools such as Aqua Data Studio, DbVisualizer, DBExplorer,
DBDiff, and AdeptSQL. I thought it would be a good idea to post a
message to a few database newsgroups and ask for any recommendations
database developers may have.

So if anyone has any recommendations on such a tool or software
package, I would greatly appreciate any information.

Thanks!
Chad Smith

[Gert van der Kooij]

In article <75**************************@posting.google.com >, Chad
Smith (it*****@comcast.net) says...

I have spent the last several days downloading and researching a
variety of tools such as Aqua Data Studio, DbVisualizer, DBExplorer,
DBDiff, and AdeptSQL. I thought it would be a good idea to post a
message to a few database newsgroups and ask for any recommendations
database developers may have.

Add Sybase Powerdesigner to the list. Ive done that with the
DataArchitect version but it might also work with PhysicalArchitect.

The last one is much cheaper.

[Daniel Morgan]

Chad Smith wrote:

Hello,

I'm relatively new to the database world so please forgive me in
advance for my ignorance. I have recently been tasked at my job with
finding a tool that will perform the following tasks: 1) extract
schemas from a db, 2) produce a difference report between schemas from
two databases, and 3) synchronize two schemas. The purpose is for
product upgrades during which an existing database schema will need to
be synchronized with a baseline schema.

The tool must support the following database vendors (versions given
in parenthesis): Oracle (8i/9i), Sybase (12.x), Informix (9.x), MSS
2000, and IBM DB2 (7/8).

I have spent the last several days downloading and researching a
variety of tools such as Aqua Data Studio, DbVisualizer, DBExplorer,
DBDiff, and AdeptSQL. I thought it would be a good idea to post a
message to a few database newsgroups and ask for any recommendations
database developers may have.

So if anyone has any recommendations on such a tool or software
package, I would greatly appreciate any information.

Thanks!
Chad Smith

Add Computer Associates All Fusion ERwin to the list.

--
Daniel Morgan
http://www.outreach.washington.edu/e...ad/oad_crs.asp
http://www.outreach.washington.edu/e...oa/aoa_crs.asp
da******@x.washington.edu
(replace 'x' with a 'u' to reply)

[Enor Mouspenis]

Daniel Morgan wrote:

Chad Smith wrote:

Hello,

I'm relatively new to the database world so please forgive me in
advance for my ignorance. I have recently been tasked at my job with
finding a tool that will perform the following tasks: 1) extract
schemas from a db, 2) produce a difference report between schemas from
two databases, and 3) synchronize two schemas. The purpose is for
product upgrades during which an existing database schema will need to
be synchronized with a baseline schema.

The tool must support the following database vendors (versions given
in parenthesis): Oracle (8i/9i), Sybase (12.x), Informix (9.x), MSS
2000, and IBM DB2 (7/8).

I have spent the last several days downloading and researching a
variety of tools such as Aqua Data Studio, DbVisualizer, DBExplorer,
DBDiff, and AdeptSQL. I thought it would be a good idea to post a
message to a few database newsgroups and ask for any recommendations
database developers may have.

So if anyone has any recommendations on such a tool or software
package, I would greatly appreciate any information.

Thanks!
Chad Smith

Add Computer Associates All Fusion ERwin to the list.

NO!!!!! Am finding erwin is crashing often, is not working well!!! Is
rubbish!!
--
--
Enor

[Daniel Morgan]

Enor Mouspenis wrote:

Add Computer Associates All Fusion ERwin to the list.

NO!!!!! Am finding erwin is crashing often, is not working well!!! Is
rubbish!!

And you think that that is ERwin problem? Why?

I've used the product for years ... and not once have I experienced
a stability issue with the product.

It is the standard tool at numerous Fortune 500 and government
organizations. Not once have I heard your complaint.

So if you've got a problem ... YOU'VE got a problem: Fix it!
Don't blame the product.

--
Daniel Morgan
http://www.outreach.washington.edu/e...ad/oad_crs.asp
http://www.outreach.washington.edu/e...oa/aoa_crs.asp
da******@x.washington.edu
(replace 'x' with a 'u' to reply)

[Buck Nuggets]

Daniel Morgan <da******@x.washington.edu> wrote in message news:<1084594736.618407@yasure>...

And you think that that is ERwin problem? Why?

I've used the product for years ... and not once have I experienced
a stability issue with the product.

It is the standard tool at numerous Fortune 500 and government
organizations. Not once have I heard your complaint.

I've bought the product several times over the last eight years -from
LogicWorks, then Platinum, and now CA. I've used it very successfully
on a number of projects - in which the reverse-engineering,
synchronization, and schema alteration code generation really helped
us move quickly. The fact that I was able to move easily between
informix, sql server, postgesql, oracle, and db2 is another fabulous
point. But I won't be buying it again - support from CA is *so* bad I
don't know where to begin.

First off, licensing & registration changed about a year ago or so -
and it didn't work as described in any of the documentation (spanning
a variety of separately-sent packages, readmes, electonic guides,
etc). In order to get the product started I ended up on a call with
their customer support. Which was *unbelievably* incompetent and
disinterested in helping. The entire process has completely turned me
off on the product.

I noticed at a recent DCI that the Embarcadaro team was quite happy
about CA's purchase of this product. Never liked Sybase's Power
Designer much, I guess next time I go to buy something like this I'll
be talking to the folks at Embarcadaro first and CA never.

buck

[Vince]

I agree, Erwin is not very stable and offers a poor gui.
PowerDesigner, as to me, is a good choice. I use it in a production
environnement in banking.

"Enor Mouspenis" <en***********@hotmail.com> a écrit dans le message de
news:2g************@uni-berlin.de...

Daniel Morgan wrote:

Chad Smith wrote:

Hello,

I'm relatively new to the database world so please forgive me in
advance for my ignorance. I have recently been tasked at my job with
finding a tool that will perform the following tasks: 1) extract
schemas from a db, 2) produce a difference report between schemas from
two databases, and 3) synchronize two schemas. The purpose is for
product upgrades during which an existing database schema will need to
be synchronized with a baseline schema.

The tool must support the following database vendors (versions given
in parenthesis): Oracle (8i/9i), Sybase (12.x), Informix (9.x), MSS
2000, and IBM DB2 (7/8).

I have spent the last several days downloading and researching a
variety of tools such as Aqua Data Studio, DbVisualizer, DBExplorer,
DBDiff, and AdeptSQL. I thought it would be a good idea to post a
message to a few database newsgroups and ask for any recommendations
database developers may have.

So if anyone has any recommendations on such a tool or software
package, I would greatly appreciate any information.

Thanks!
Chad Smith

Add Computer Associates All Fusion ERwin to the list.

NO!!!!! Am finding erwin is crashing often, is not working well!!! Is
rubbish!!
--
--
Enor

[yaniv cohen]

Hi,

Try dbMaestro. It's a product that allows comparison, migration and
archiving of MSS database schema and data.

You can find it here:

http://www.extreme.co.il
"Vince" <vt*******@nerim.net> wrote in message news:<c8**********@biggoron.nerim.net>...

I agree, Erwin is not very stable and offers a poor gui.
PowerDesigner, as to me, is a good choice. I use it in a production
environnement in banking.

"Enor Mouspenis" <en***********@hotmail.com> a écrit dans le message de
news:2g************@uni-berlin.de...

Daniel Morgan wrote:

Chad Smith wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I'm relatively new to the database world so please forgive me in
> advance for my ignorance. I have recently been tasked at my job with
> finding a tool that will perform the following tasks: 1) extract
> schemas from a db, 2) produce a difference report between schemas from
> two databases, and 3) synchronize two schemas. The purpose is for
> product upgrades during which an existing database schema will need to
> be synchronized with a baseline schema.
>
> The tool must support the following database vendors (versions given
> in parenthesis): Oracle (8i/9i), Sybase (12.x), Informix (9.x), MSS
> 2000, and IBM DB2 (7/8).
>
> I have spent the last several days downloading and researching a
> variety of tools such as Aqua Data Studio, DbVisualizer, DBExplorer,
> DBDiff, and AdeptSQL. I thought it would be a good idea to post a
> message to a few database newsgroups and ask for any recommendations
> database developers may have.
>
> So if anyone has any recommendations on such a tool or software
> package, I would greatly appreciate any information.
>
> Thanks!
> Chad Smith

Add Computer Associates All Fusion ERwin to the list.

NO!!!!! Am finding erwin is crashing often, is not working well!!! Is
rubbish!!
--
--
Enor

[Brian Ceccarelli]

I also use Sybase PowerDesigner. I only use to translate schema from one
database to another. I don't use it to do differences, or to write
migration scripts. I write my own migration scripts.

Even for translating one database to another, you have to be smart about
picking your starting point. For instance, I write my overall physical
model using the Oracle physical model. I do that not because Oracle is a
good database. I do that because Oracle is the lowest common
denominator--the worst database. Oracle has the least amount of basic
design features and requires physical parameters that only Oracle needs
(because of Oracle's lack of doing things right in the first place.) When
I use PowerDesigner to translate the model to Sybase, MS SQL Server or
Postgres, it drops all the dross required by Oracle. If I started with
the Sybase model, there is no room for the dross required by Oracle.
PowerDesigner cannot add dross; but it can drop dross.

I also had to change PowerDesigner's XML datatype definition files for
Oracle--so that PowerDesigner will translate Oracle's number(10) to int,
number(5) to smallint, number(2) to tinyint.. Otherwise, you get
numeric(10), numeric(5), and number(2) You don't want numeric as a rule
because it is not the native IEEE integer datatype of the computer. IEEE
good. Oracle only supports the "number" datatype for numbers. "number" is
not IEEE. This is bad, a birth defect akin to a club foot. A big
performance hit. And in Oracle, there is no remedy for it. You have to
live with it.

Also remember, tools like PowerDesigner only translate table, index and view
definitions. They don't handle translating stored procedures. As far as
I know, nothing can do that. And I do not see how a product could possibly
do that.
Brian Ceccarelli
Talus Software
http://www.talussoftware.com

"Daniel Morgan" <da******@x.washington.edu> wrote in message
news:1084503930.7535@yasure...

Chad Smith wrote:

Hello,

I'm relatively new to the database world so please forgive me in
advance for my ignorance. I have recently been tasked at my job with
finding a tool that will perform the following tasks: 1) extract
schemas from a db, 2) produce a difference report between schemas from
two databases, and 3) synchronize two schemas. The purpose is for
product upgrades during which an existing database schema will need to
be synchronized with a baseline schema.

The tool must support the following database vendors (versions given
in parenthesis): Oracle (8i/9i), Sybase (12.x), Informix (9.x), MSS
2000, and IBM DB2 (7/8).

[-P-]

"Buck Nuggets" <bu*********@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:66**************************@posting.google.c om...

Never liked Sybase's PowerDesigner much, I guess next time I go to buy something like this I'll
be talking to the folks at Embarcadaro first and CA never.

Have you seen it lately?? The 9.5.x release is pretty sweet, and 10.0 is right around the corner. They're working on
making it an Eclipse plugin as well, which should be interesting...

--
Paul Horan
Buffalo, NY