The introduction of object-oriented (OO) programming languages provoked an unfortunate schism in the world of software development. Relational databases dominated the database world and Entity Relationship (ER) modeling quickly dominated database design. This determined the target data structure for programmers when they wrote applications. However, OO languages embodied distinctly different views of data. This mismatch might have been brushed under the carpet if object databases had ever gaine...

I generally don't make resolutions, especially at the end of a year. I'm more of a "make small changes, every day, that will make a big difference over a year" type person.  For blogs and communities, resolution making is a tradition and we all know that the holiday season is about traditions. So, dear data modelers, here are the resolutions I'd hope we'd all make for 2016. You wouldn't need to do all of them.  Just pick the ones you need to do. Make some of your own, then a plan to ma...

I was with a client for lunch one day and we asked the server "What do you have on tap?"  She was gone quite a long time, but came back and said "Beer."  It turned out she was right.  But her answer was not that helpful. One of the odd parts of every new project I have to deal with is getting everyone to understand that the question "Can you help us with a data model" results in me asking. "What do you mean by data model?" That's right, I have to ask team members what a data...

Just in case you've been head-down into your data models for too long, in the US the Friday after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday. Traditionally this is a day for massive sales and steep discounts to ensure that Americans start their holiday shopping with gusto.  Over the years, Black Friday has been creeping earlier and earlier in the week and now starts on Thursday for some of the most desperate shoppers. These originally were brick and mortar store sales, but these days Black Friday ...

Steve Hoberman is a presenter, consultant, and the author of seven books on data modeling, including the bestseller Data Modeling Made Simple. One of Steve's frequent data modeling consulting assignments is to review data models using his Data Model Scorecard® technique. Steve has just published the Data Model Scorecard book, which helps data professionals apply a scoring standard against their data models in order to assess their quality. This scoring tool contains ten categories aimed at impr...

  Recently, the Competence Center Corporate Data Quality (CC CDQ, a European consortium research program) engaged with Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics to produce a new Market Study report called METADATA MANAGEMENT TOOLS FOR ENTERPRISE DATA MANAGEMENT. This extensive market study describes the role of data management in today’s enterprise and provides a broad overview of over 30 software solutions available, including Embarcadero’s ER/Studio XE7. Embarcadero is honore...

Database Administrators (DBAs) are given so many different tasks from creating maintenance plans, upgrading databases, fighting performance problems, and more. With so many tasks to be completed, some tasks tend to not get the attention to detail they deserve.  Commonly, I see DBAs making multiple mistakes with table design and data modeling.  Today, I am going to quickly show you an example where poor data modeling can directly impact your application’s performance. We are going to ...

  How much does your DBA really know about data modeling? Data modeling can simplify routine tasks and provide valuable context for a database implementation – every data architect knows this. However, DBAs often have some preconceived notions of what they think data modeling can (or can’t) do for them, such as generating useful DDL code. Data professionals need to work together with DBAs to improve awareness and ensure data modeling stays r...

 Yes, you read that right! Data is indeed The new Bacon!! We have been hearing about it all over the place.   So Rich in Information and still if done right cooked to Perfection! With Embarcadero's leading Data Modeling and Management tools! We know our audience! and have been doing this for decades! With the newest kid on the block of our enterprise offerings,  check out ER/Studio Enterprise Team Edition. ER/Studio Enterprise Team edition provides the fastest, easiest, and m...

ER/Studio Enterprise Team edition provides the fastest, easiest, and most collaborative way for data management professionals to build and maintain enterprise-scale data models and metadata repositories. Built-in facilities automate routine modeling tasks so users can analyze and optimize database and data warehouse designs faster than ever. Model change management provides the ability to create and track tasks associated with data models in order to enable data architects to ensure their model...