Sybase PowerDesigner Gets An Upgrade
Sybase is upgrading its PowerDesigner tool, typically used for design of relational database applications, to add the ability to design systems using Java objects.
In many cases, developers use distinct tools to design and store objects - software modules that combine data and procedures - vs. handling relational data, said Bill Munroe, PowerDesigner's product marketing manager. PowerDesigner 7.0, available immediately, combines those capabilities under PowerDesigner's graphical interface.
The tandem capabilities make it easier to design and implement Java applications making use of a relational database that supports Java, including Sybase's Adaptive Server Enterprise 12.0, according to Munroe. The combined environment imposes greater consistency in data flow analysis through database design generation.
The data analyst who defines what data an application will work and the business rules involved, the developers who code the process logic that reflects the business rules, and the database designers "can all use the same tool," he said.
A trial download of PowerDesigner 7.0 is available at www.pdlaunch.com. Sybase will add an underlying repository for the tool to replace the existing MetaWorks system in the first quarter of 2000, spokesmen said.
One goal of the tool is to eliminate the barriers usually found between modeling the application's business process, modeling Java objects and modeling the physical layout of the data to be retrieved and used. A shared tool can provide one source for imposing consistency of modeling, standard naming across different models and correct data flow within the logic of the application, Munroe said.
PowerDesigner 7.0 is available in modules providing separate functional elements and priced separately. The product that combines key object and relational elements is PowerDesigner ObjectArchitect, priced at $4,995. It includes the relational database design capabilities of DataArchitect and the object modeling capabilities to design Java class libraries and JavaBeans. ObjectArchitect will generate Java source code from the object models, Munroe said. DataArchitect is also sold separately, at a price of $2,995.
The version of the tool with the most elements combined is Studio, priced at $6,495. It includes ObjectArchitect and DataArchitect, along with ProcessAnalyst, a data discovery, analysis and data flow diagramming tool.