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Toad Data Modeler 7.2 - User Guide

Introduction User Interface Models and Model Objects
Physical Data Model
Entity Relationship Diagram Objects Basic Database Design Advanced Database Design
Universal Data Model Logical Data Model Working with Model Objects
Features and Tools
Application Variables Export/Import DDL Script Generation Graphics Model Actions Print Create New Project Reports Reverse Engineering Scripting and Customization About Templates Tips and Tricks Toad for Oracle Integration Toad Intelligence Central (TIC) Integration Tools Version Control
Options and Configuration Databases
Amazon Redshift 1.0 IBM DB2 LUW 9.5 IBM DB2 LUW 9.7 IBM DB2 LUW 10.1 IBM DB2 LUW 10.5 IBM DB2 LUW 11.1 IBM DB2 z/OS 10 IBM DB2 z/OS 11 Greenplum 4.1 Greenplum 4.2 Ingres 9.3 Ingres 10.0 EDB Postgres Advanced Server 10 Microsoft Access 2007/2010 Microsoft Azure SQL Database V12 Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Microsoft SQL Server 2019 MySQL 5.0 MySQL 5.1 MySQL 5.5 MySQL 5.6 MySQL 5.7 MySQL 8.0 Oracle 10g Oracle 11g Release 1 Oracle 11g Release 2 Oracle 12c Release 1 Oracle 12c Release 2 Oracle 18c Oracle 19c PostgreSQL 9.0 PostgreSQL 9.1 PostgreSQL 9.2 PostgreSQL 9.3 PostgreSQL 9.4 PostgreSQL 9.5 PostgreSQL 10 PostgreSQL 11 PostgreSQL 12 SQLite 3.7 Sybase ASE 15.5 Sybase ASE 15.7 SAP ASE 16.0 Sybase IQ 15.2 Sybase SQL Anywhere 11 SAP SQL Anywhere 17 Teradata 13 Vertica Database 8.0
Copyright Legal Notices

Create Unique Identifiers

To create a unique identifier

In the Entity Properties dialog, tab Attributes, double-click the space in the Ident. column next to the selected attribute.

To create a new key

  1. In the Entity Properties form | Unique Identifiers tab | click Add.
  2. Edit the new unique identifier and on tab Attributes, assign an attribute to it.

Important: Primary keys are graphically marked by red key.

Keys do NOT migrate in Logical models, only in Physical models. In Logical model, only logical information is available and the relationships have only a logical meaning (therefore keys do not migrate). In Physical model the information about foreign keys is necessary, that's why after converting your Logical model to Physical model, FKs will migrate properly. This process is done automatically.

Edit Unique Identifiers

To add or edit the unique identifier

  • Open the Entity Properties dialog | Unique Identifiers tab | double-click the unique identifier.

or

  • Find the unique identifier in Model Explorer | EntityName folder | Unique Identifiers | Double-click or right-click it and select Edit.

To assign unique identifier to an attribute

  1. Click the Attributes tab in the Unique Identifier Properties dialog and select an attribute (attributes).
  2. Click to shift the selected attribute(s) to the section Selected.
  3. Confirm by clicking OK.

Select Linking Method

To select a unique identifier before the LER - PER model conversion

  1. Edit the selected relationship and click the General tab.
  2. From the Foreign Unique Identifier box, select the identifier that will be used during LER to PER conversion.

Note: For inversed relationships, you can select the identifier from the Opposite Foreign Unique Identifier dropdown menu.

Relationships

Toad Data Modeler allows you to design and maintain a logical model giving a complete picture of the business area. Logical model is independent of the database platform and is much simpler than physical model. It uses objects such as inheritance, valid values or M:N relationships. From the Logical ER (LER) diagram, you can build a Physical ER (PER) diagram of the selected database platform (LER to PER conversion).

Note:

  • This topic contains information on objects and functions that are specific for logical modeling. General information and other features applicable in Logical model as well as in Physical model are contained and described in other sections of this Help file. See e.g. the "Model Objects" chapter, "Model Explorer" topic etc.
  • See the sample logical model Employee that is included in the installation package for Toad Data Modeler. Default location is: C:\Program Files\Quest Software\Toad Data Modeler\Samples.

To create a logical model

Select File | New | Model |Logical Data Model tab.

Benefits of Logical Data Model

Logical Data Model allows you to model inheritances in entity relationship diagrams. Universal Data Model and Physical Data Model do not support this feature.

Specifics of Logical Data Model

  • There are three methods how inheritance can be resolved when converting to physical model.
  • Attributes do not migrate to child entities.
  • It is not possible to define database specific items in Logical Model, for example sequences/autoincrements etc.
  • You can define Valid Values in logical model (will be converted to physical model).

Benefits of Super and Sub Types

In Logical Model you can define database structure in various ways. See the pictures below. Both of them show a structure modeled in Logical Model and both the models will result in the identical output when converted to Physical Model. The difference is that Model A uses Super and Sub Types while Model B doesn't use inheritance at all.

Model A - Utilizing Super and Sub Types

Model B - Lacking Super and Sub Types

This example shows:

  1. That you can create logical models in different ways and achieve the same result after conversion to physical model.
  2. That you can be more productive when using inheritance. For example, you only need to change the Last Name attribute once in the first model. Without using inheritance in model B, you have to change it four times.
  3. How much “readable” the first model is compared to the second one.
  4. How important is to select appropriate inheritance resolution when converting your logical model to physical.
  5. That creating logical models without inheritance has minimal benefits compared to using inheritance.

Disadvantage

The main disadvantage of logical modeling is that direct synchronization with existing database is not possible. Only physical models of specific database platforms and versions may be synchronized with an existing database. Therefore, if you want to synchronize your logical model, you need to convert it to the physical model first.

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