DBDesigner 4

DBDesigner 4 is a visual database design system that integrates database design, modeling, creation and maintenance into a single, seamless environment.

It combines professional features and a clear and simple user interface to offer the most efficient way to handle your databases.

DBDesigner 4 compares to products like Oracle’s Designer, IBM’s Rational Rose, Computer Associates’s ERwin and theKompany’s DataArchitect but is an Open Source Project available for Microsoft Windows 2k/XP and Linux KDE/Gnome. It is release on the GPL, so it is a free database software.

 

DBDesigner 4 – Features

DBDesigner 4 provides powerful features to create a visual model of any database.

Starting from a reverse engineering engine to automatically retrieve a model from existing databases, extensive modeling tools and editors to a syncronisation function which will apply model changes automatically to the underlying database – it is all part of DBDesigner 4.

Design Mode vs. Query Mode

DBDesigner 4 supports two switchable userinterfaces. The Design Mode is used to create and maintain the visual databases model. The Query Mode is used to work with table data and build complex SQL query statements for the use in PHP, Kylix or another programming language.

Plugins and Open Source

The models created in DBDesigner 4 are stored in XML. They can be modified by third party plugins which are direcly launched from within DBDesigner 4 and other third party products.
Because DBDesigner 4 is an Open Source project it is easy for programmes to develop new plugins or expand DBDesigner 4 to adapt specific needs.

List of features

  • Available on Linux / MS Windows
  • User Interfaced based on industry standard layouting software
    • Canvas navigation similar to Adobe Illustrator® and Photoshop®
    • Palettes (docked / floating) including “Bird Eyes view”
    • Available objects include tables, realtions, labels, regions, images
    • Extensive Drag’n'drop support
    • Extensive Popup-Menu support
    • Advanced Editors
    • UNLIMITED Undo-/Redo- functions
    • Copy-/Cut-/Paste clipboard functions (XML, DDL)
    • Align functions
  • Design Mode / Query Mode
  • Reverse engineering MySQL, Oracle, MSSQL and any ODBC databases
  • Userdefined schema-generation
  • Model-To-Database syncronisation
  • Index support
  • Automatic foreign key placement
  • Weak entity support
  • Standard Inserts storing and sync
  • Full documentation capabilities
  • Advanced model printing
  • Output as image
  • All MySQL datatypes with all options
  • User defined datatypes
  • Database storage, ability to save model within database
  • Network-/Multiuser access through database storage
  • Version control*
  • SQL Query Builder
  • SQL Command History
  • SQL Command storage within model
  • Plugin interface
DBDesigner 4 can be freely downloaded from the the fabForce.net site.
 

OpenOffice.org – Free Office Software

OpenOffice.org 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more.

It is available in many languages and works on all common computers.

It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages.

It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.

OpenOffice.org 3 is the result of over twenty years’ software engineering. Designed from the start as a single piece of software, it has a consistency other products cannot match. A completely open development process means that anyone can report bugs, request new features, or enhance the software. The result: OpenOffice.org 3 does everything you want your office software to do, the way you want it to.
 
OpenOffice.org 3 is easy to learn, and if you’re already using another office software package, you’ll take to OpenOffice.org 3 straight away. Our world-wide native-language community means that OpenOffice.org 3 is probably available and supported in your own language. And if you already have files from another office package – OpenOffice.org 3 will probably read them with no difficulty.
 
OpenOffice.org 3 can be downloaded and used entirely free of any licence fees. OpenOffice.org 3 is released under the LGPL licence. This means you may use it for any purpose – domestic, commercial, educational, public administration. You may install it on as many computers as you like. You may make copies and give them away to family, friends, students, employees – anyone you like.
 
OpenOffice.org 3 is currently comprised of the following modules:
  • Writer (Word Processing)
  • Calc (Spreadsheet)
  • Base (Database)
  • Impress (Presentation)
  • Draw (Drawing)
OpenOffice.org 3 can read documents from Microsoft Office and it can output them into Microsoft Office format.
 
OpenOffice.org 3 can be downloaded for free at the openoffice.org site.