Engineering Jobs

If you are a database designer or developer, you may be racking your brains trying to find the most suitable software to help you with your database design-related tasks. There are pretty many tools for designing and modeling database structures available in the market. However, the question is what features and facilities they offer, what the quality is, how easy-to-use (or complicated…) their interface is, how many databases they support and finally what the price and maintenance costs are.

Putting myself in your shoes, I can imagine how tired you can be of evaluating tens of database modeling tools that don’t live up to your expectations and if do, their price is not acceptable. (Believe me, I have the same experience…) Let’s face it, considering all the aspects mentioned above, the offer suddenly narrows down especially if your budget is tight…

I don’t want to make any marketing research or analyze all database modeling tools in the market. I’ve just wanted to draw your attention to one, quite inconspicuous db modeling tool - CASE Studio 2 (CS2). As a user of this software, I’d like to share my experience on this product with you.

This tool has been designed by Charonware, s.r.o., a software company established in the Czech Republic (member of European Union), and is really worth taking up.

The main CS2 features include particularly: Entity relationship diagrams (ER diagrams), automatic generating of SQL (DDL) scripts, generating of HTML and RTF reports and reverse engineering. CS2 allows users to create ER diagrams for more than thirty databases like Oracle, MySQL, MS SQL, Advantage, Interbase, Informix, Firebird and much more. Also, you can take advantage of the reverse engineering feature and load already existing db structure to CS2 very easily. After ER diagram is created, you are allowed to generate SQL scripts automatically.

Besides these main features, I’ve come across another great one - the possibility to customize the software as I need. Via the CS2 Templates Editor, you can modify system templates, import new templates that are available for free on Charonware’s website, or even create your own templates. CS2 also contains MS Scripting dialog for modifying the scripts.

This way you can customize generation of SQL scripts, modify design and content of HTML and RTF reports etc. This feature makes this product much more flexible and more responsive to each customer’s needs and requirements, which I really do appreciate.

Among other helpful features belong: export into XML format, support for text objects like triggers, procedures, views, sequences etc., Data Flow diagrams, Model conversion, Version Manager and more.

Information on CS2 can be found on Charonware’s website (http://www.casestudio.com). Except the free CS2 trial, there’s also a great range of online resources including support documentation, movie tutorials, add-ins, scripts etc.

My friend says: “When you feel like you’re working hard but not getting what you need, it’s pretty frustrating. I need a software that is stable, allows me to do just what I need, is easy to use and… that I can get at a good price!” - That’s it!

Taking into account the CS2 features, functionality and price (Apropos, Charonware provides free updates and free, time-unlimited technical support!), CASE Studio 2 comes out very well!

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Thierry Brochot is a freelance consultant of database-related issues with a focus on designing and developing database structures.

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Reverse-engineering is a term that is used for the process of taking apart something to figure out how to use it, basically. In many cases, something new and great has come about. In order to understand how it works or to recreate it, engineers will pull it apart and study it. Understanding how it works is one thing. But in order to recreate it, they will have to make it different somehow. This can be challenging but is often necessary. Reverse-engineering is quite a fantastic, but worrisome way to learn new things.

The task that is difficult in reverse-engineering is the task of making what is in such a way that it will no longer be the same. The fear that is involved has to do with the fact that patent information can be quite sensitive. Copying a product that is under a patent is highly illegal. But, if they can figure out how to use it and make it in a different method, it may fall into the gray area. What is important to remember, though, is that the patent is on the functionality of a product, not necessary on the way it is designed.

Reverse-engineering is something that has happened the most often by the military. In this case, the reverse-engineering will be used to copy other nation’s technology when it comes to military endeavors. In many cases, the information is obtained by intelligence operations. Reverse-engineering was most commonly used in the Cold War and World War II.

You will find that reverse engineering also happens as a result of curiosity; seeing if they can do it, so to speak. It is also used as a means of cracking the code of security measures and finding a way to get around the security restrictions that can be found in such things as software and electronics. It is quite possibly quite illegal to do these things though and this needs to be taken into consideration.

for more information please see http://www.reverse-engineering-shack.co.uk

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