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New Version! Version 0.2.2 now available for download.

The Problem

We needed to diagram the tables in our corporate database. There were far more tables than we could effectively display in JDeveloper, so I built this little Java application to do it for us. It only took a few evenings to get the basic application in place.

The Solution

It's a simple application with an un-cluttered interface:

Screenshot of PDM application

You start with a new diagram by supplying the connect information to an Oracle database.

New Diagram dialog box

You then add tables one at a time (tables you have already added are not listed again). Foreign key relationships are included automatically.

You can grow the diagram to the left and bottom by dragging tables in these directions. You can format the way the tables are displayed. You can only print on one page (the diagram is scaled to fit), but you can change the page layout.

You can display hundreds of tables on the same diagram (click to see a full-size image):

Screenshot of a complex diagram

As well as displaying tables, you can now include views and materialized views on the same diagram. Dependencies to the underlying tables (and views) that are used to create a view are shown with dashed lines. Lines can now have vertices added or removed by double clicking.

Version 0.2.2 of the application is now available as a .jar file here for you to download. It needs Java version 1.5. I can't offer you any formal support, but log your comments on this page and I'll do my best to help. I'd like to hear how you get on with it. I'll continue to post new versions here.

Patrick Haston
30 October 2007 (updated 12 December 2007)