Sybase®

PowerDesigner®
Conceptual Data Model

Getting Started

Version 9.5
38085-01-0950-01
Last modified: July 2002
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Contents

About This Book.................................................................v

1 About the CDM Tutorial .....................................................1

What you will do........................................................................ 2
How long it will take ............................................................ 2
What you will learn ............................................................. 3
Setting up.................................................................................. 4

2 Stating the Business Problem...........................................5

3 How to Begin the CDM Tutorial.........................................7

Start PowerDesigner................................................................. 8
Open a new CDM ..................................................................... 9
Use the tools in the tool palette............................................... 10
Open the tutorial CDM ............................................................ 16
Define CDM preferences and options..................................... 17
Define CDM properties ........................................................... 20
Save the tutorial CDM............................................................. 21

4 Defining Business Rules, Domains, and Data Items .....23

Create a new business rule .................................................... 25
Create a new domain.............................................................. 29
Create a new data item........................................................... 34
Attach a data item to a domain ............................................... 38

5 Defining Entities...............................................................41
Create a new entity ................................................................. 43
Create an associative entity.................................................... 46
Define entity attributes ............................................................ 47
Add data items to an entity............................................... 47
Create a new entity attribute............................................. 50

iii
 Designate an identifier ............................................................ 53
Attach a business rule to an entity.......................................... 57

6 Defining Relationships .................................................... 59

Create a relationship............................................................... 61
Define roles in an optional relationship ................................... 63

7 Using Packages and Shortcuts....................................... 67

Create a package ................................................................... 68
Open a diagram for the package ............................................ 70
Add objects to the package .................................................... 72
Accessing a target object from a shortcut .............................. 74

8 Defining Inheritance ........................................................ 75

Create an inheritance link ....................................................... 76
Define inheritance properties.................................................. 78

9 Organizing the Display .................................................... 83

Add a title box ......................................................................... 84
Change the color of the title box ............................................. 85
Change the color of the window.............................................. 86
Arrange the symbols ............................................................... 87
Center the model on the page ................................................ 89
Print the model........................................................................ 90

10 Generating the PDM from the CDM ................................ 91

Generate the PDM.................................................................. 93
Save and close the PDM ........................................................ 96
Exit PowerDesigner ................................................................ 97

Glossary ........................................................................... 99

Index ............................................................................... 101

iv
About This Book

Subject This book contains step-by-step tutorials for the PowerDesigner Conceptual
Data Model modeling environment. It shows you how to do the following:
♦ Build a Conceptual Data Model (CDM)
♦ Use business rules and other model objects
♦ Generate a Physical Data Model (PDM)

Audience This book is for anyone who will be building data models with
PowerDesigner. Some familiarity with relational databases, SQL, and design
methodology is helpful, but not required. For more information, see the
Bibliography section at the end of this chapter.

Documentation The PowerDesigner modeling environment supports several types of models:

primer
♦ Conceptual Data Model (CDM) to model the overall logical structure
of a database, independent from any software or data storage structure
considerations
♦ Physical Data Model (PDM) to model the overall physical structure of
a database, taking into account DBMS software or data storage structure
considerations
♦ Object Oriented Model (OOM) to model a software system using an
object-oriented approach for Java or other object languages
♦ Business Process Model (BPM) to model the means by which one or
more processes are accomplished in operating business practices
♦ Free Model (FEM) to create any kind of chart diagram, in a context-
free environment

v
About This Book

This book only contains the basics of the Conceptual Data Model. For
information on other models or aspects of PowerDesigner, consult the
following books:

General Features Guide To get familiar with the PowerDesigner

interface before learning how to use any of the models.

Conceptual Data Model User’s Guide To work with the CDM.

Physical Data Model Getting Started To learn the basics of the PDM.

Physical Data Model User’s Guide To work with the PDM.

Object Oriented Model Getting Started To learn the basics of the

OOM.

Object Oriented Model User's Guide To work with the OOM.

Business Process Model Getting Started To learn the basics of the

BPM.

Business Process Model User's Guide To work with the BPM.

Reports User’s Guide To create reports for any or all models.

Repository Getting Started To learn the basics of the Repository.

Repository User’s Guide To work in a multi-user environment using a

central repository.

Typographic PowerDesigner documentation uses specific typefaces to help you readily

conventions identify specific items:
♦ monospace text (normal and bold)
Used for: Code samples, commands, compiled functions and files,
references to variables.
Example: declare user_defined…, the
BeforeInsertTrigger template.
♦ UPPER CASE
Object codes, reversed objects, file names + extension.
Example: The AUTHOR table appears in the Browser. Open the file
OOMAFTER.OOM.
♦ bold text
Any new term.
Example: A shortcut has a target object.

vi
 About This Book

♦ SMALL CAPS
Any key name.
Example: Press the ENTER key.
♦ bold italic
Tabs, buttons, commands.
Example: Click the Selection tab. Select File>Open.

Bibliography Information engineering

James Martin, Prentice Hall, 1990, three volumes of 178, 497, and 625 pages
respectively; clothbound, ISBN 0-13-464462-X (vol. 1), 0-13-464885-4 (vol.
2), and 0-13-465501-X (vol. 3).

Data Modeling Essentials

Graeme Simsion, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1994, 310 pages; paperbound;
ISBN 1850328773

Celko95
Joe Celko, Joe Celko's SQL for Smarties (Morgan Kaufmann Publishers,
Inc., 1995), 467 pages; paperbound; ISBN 1-55860-323-9.

vii
About This Book

viii
C H A P T E R 1

About the CDM Tutorial

This tutorial is a series of lessons in which you learn how to use

PowerDesigner to build a Conceptual Data Model (CDM).
In this tutorial, you complete the CDM delivered in the tutorial file. This
model is based on a real-life example of an information system. It provides a
context for the exercises. As you build onto this model, you learn how to
create all the basic elements of a CDM. You can then apply your knowledge
to creating a CDM to suit your needs.
What is a CDM? A CDM represents the overall structure of an information system. It describes
the conceptual relationships of different types of information rather than their
physical structures. A CDM is independent of a particular database
management system (DBMS).
Why build a CDM? In a CDM, you can put design issues first because you do not have to worry
about the details of physical implementation. You deal principally with
entities and their relationships. These are easy to understand and to
manipulate.
Through a simple generation procedure, you can transfer the solid design
framework of the CDM to the Physical Data Model (PDM). The PDM adapts
your design to the specifics of a DBMS and puts you well on the way to
complete physical implementation.

1
What you will do

What you will do

Chapter 2 You begin by preparing a business description and stating the business
problems to solve. You will refer to this statement in order to decide what
business rules, data items, and entities you need to create.
Chapter 3 You will open the tutorial CDM. This CDM presents the conceptual structure
of a publishing enterprise.
You will specify model preferences and properties, then save the model
under a new name.
Chapter 4 You will create business rules, domains, and data items to complete the
CDM.
Chapter 5 You will add entities to the tutorial model. You will define entity attributes
and designate an identifier. You will also attach a business rule to an entity.
Chapter 6 You will create relationships between entities. You will create relationships
with different cardinalities, as well as mandatory and dependent relationships.
Chapter 7 You will create a package in which you will add a shortcut to an entity in the
global model
Chapter 8 You will create an inheritance link.
Chapter 9 You will use the display options and tools to organize the model. You will
insert a title box and change its color. You will use the alignment tools to
align symbols and straighten relationship lines.
Chapter 10 You will generate a Physical Data Model (PDM) from the CDM. You will
define the generation parameters, generate the PDM, then save and close the
PDM.

How long it will take

You can do the CDM tutorial in one sitting in about 1½ hours. You can stop
after any chapter and continue at another time.

2
 Chapter 1 About the CDM Tutorial

What you will learn

You will learn basic PowerDesigner techniques for creating a CDM,
including:
♦ How to create the basic elements of a CDM: domains, data items,
business rules, and entities
♦ How to create different types of relationships between entities
♦ How to create packages and add objects to a package
♦ How to create an inheritance
♦ How to use the display functions to arrange symbols and to center the
model on the page
♦ How to generate a Physical Data Model (PDM) from a CDM

3
Setting up

Setting up
Before you begin, make sure that the files you need for the exercises are on
your hard disk. When you install PowerDesigner, these files are installed in
the PowerDesigner 9\Examples\Tutorial directory . When you have finished
with this tutorial you can delete them if you want.
The CDM tutorial uses the following files:

File Description
CDMBEFOR.CDM Starting tutorial CDM
CDMAFTER.CDM Finished tutorial CDM

4
C H A P T E R 2

Stating the Business Problem

The first step to creating a Conceptual Data Model (CDM) is to formulate a

statement of the business problems that the CDM will address. To do this,
you draw up a description of business activities. This helps you decide:
♦ What information you need to store
♦ What entities are involved in the business
♦ How the business operates
When the way the business operates is clear, you can begin to develop the
CDM.
Business You will start this tutorial with a CDM that is the conceptual model of the
description information system for a publishing company.
A business description indicates that the entities involved in the business
include titles, authors, book stores, and discounts. It indicates the details
related to each of these entities: from international standard book numbers
(ISBN) for titles to store addresses.
Business problem In the course of the CDM tutorial, you will solve three business problems:
♦ Royalties for multiple authors Keep track of different royalty
percentages for authors of the same book
♦ Author pictures and biographies Identify and store author pictures
and biographies for use on book covers
♦ Title categories Classify each title as a periodical or a non-periodical
and save related information
On the basis of these business problems, you will extend the tutorial model to
manage additional data. For example, you will add an entity for pictures and
you will create a data item to store information about percentages of royalties
that a particular author receives.

5
Stating the Business Problem

6
C H A P T E R 3

How to Begin the CDM Tutorial

You will begin the tutorial by running PowerDesigner. You will learn how to
use the tool palette.
You will open the tutorial file and assign it preferences, options, and
properties. Next, you will save it under a different name so that you can go
back and use the original model again if you want to repeat the exercises.
What you will do In this chapter you will:
♦ Start PowerDesigner
♦ Use the tools in the tool palette
♦ Open the tutorial CDM
♦ Define CDM preferences and options
♦ Define CDM properties
♦ Save the tutorial CDM

How long will it take?

About 10 minutes.

7
Start PowerDesigner

Start PowerDesigner
♦ Click the PowerDesigner program icon.
The PowerDesigner main window appears. It contains an object browser
window docked to the left, and an output window docked to the bottom
of the main window.

The object browser window shows the contents of the workspace in a

tree view. You can use the object browser to organize the objects in each
of your models.
The workspace is the name for the current PowerDesigner session.
Workspace is the default node in the object browser tree view. The new
CDM that you will open will be created and saved in a workspace.
The output window shows the progression of any process that you run
from PowerDesigner, for example the process of generating a PDM from
a CDM is shown in this window.

Your screen looks different

All the screen captures in this book were taken with a resolution that
may be different from the one you use, as a result the appearance and
proportions of the images on your screen may be slightly different.

8
 Chapter 3 How to Begin the CDM Tutorial

Open a new CDM

1 Select File→New.
A selection window appears. It lists the types of models that you can
open in the PowerDesigner main window.
2 Select Conceptual Data Model.
3 Click OK.
A CDM model window appears. It contains a diagram window (as yet
empty), a palette, and the Browser and Output windows are docked to
the left and bottom of the screen respectively.

9
Use the tools in the tool palette

Use the tools in the tool palette

The buttons in the CDM tool palette enact all major functions needed to build
and modify a CDM.

The following table indicates the names and functions of each tool in the
palette:

Tool Name Action

Pointer Selects symbol

Lasso Selects symbols in an area

Grabber Selects, moves and resizes all symbols

Zoom In Increases view scale

Zoom Out Decreases view scale

Open Package Diagram Display diagram for selected package

Properties Display property sheet for selected symbol

Delete Delete symbol

Package Insert package symbol

Entity Insert entity symbol

Relationship Insert relationship symbol

10
 Chapter 3 How to Begin the CDM Tutorial

Tool Name Action

Inheritance Insert inheritance symbol

Association Insert association symbol

Association Link Insert association link symbol

File Insert a file symbol

Note Insert note symbol

Link/Extended Draws a graphical link between symbols in

Dependency the diagram
Draws a note link between a Note and an
object
Draws an extended dependency between two
objects that support extended dependencies
Title Insert title symbol

Text Insert text

Line Draw a line

Arc Draw an arc

Rectangle Draw a rectangle

Ellipse Draw an ellipse

Polyline Draw a jagged line

Polygon Draw a polygon

So that you know how to use these tools before you begin creating the CDM,
you will create a few objects using the tool palette.
1 Click the Entity tool in the tool palette.
The cursor takes the form of an entity when it is moved into the diagram.
2 Click anywhere in the CDM diagram.

11
Use the tools in the tool palette

An entity symbol appears at the click position. The entity has the name
Entity_n, where n is a number assigned to the entity in the order of
creation of objects.

3 The Entity tool is still active, so click again in the CDM diagram to
create another entity.
There are now two entities in the CDM diagram.

4 Click the Relationship tool in the tool palette.

The Entity tool is now released and the Relationship tool is active.
5 Click inside the first entity and while continuing to hold down the mouse
button, drag the cursor to the second entity. Release the mouse button
inside the second entity.
This creates a relationship.

6 Click the right mouse button.

You release the relationship tool.

To release a tool
A tool remains active until you release it. You can release a tool, by
selecting another tool or by clicking the right mouse button. By
default, when you click the right mouse button, the Pointer tool is
activated.

7 Click the Lasso tool in the palette.

The Lasso tool is now active.
8 Click the cursor above a corner of the first entity and while continuing to
hold down the mouse button, drag the cursor so that you draw a
rectangle around the two entities.
Release the mouse button.

12
 Chapter 3 How to Begin the CDM Tutorial

The entities and the relationship are selected. Handles appear around the
lasso selection to show that they are selected.
9 Drag the entities to a new position.
The relationship moves with the entities.
10 Click the Text tool in the palette.
The Text tool is now active.
11 Click the cursor under the relationship.
Some text appears in the area indicated by the rectangle.
12 Click the right mouse button.
You release the Text tool.
13 Double-click the text.
A text box appears.
14 Type a short text into the text box.
15 Click OK.
The text appears in the diagram. Handles appear around the text.

16 Click a handle at the right edge of the text and while continuing to hold
the mouse button, drag the cursor to the right until all the text appears.
Release the mouse button.
Click on the diagram background.
The handles around the text disappear.

17 Click the Pointer tool in the palette.

You will use this tool to select and delete one of the symbols.
18 Click on one of the entity symbols.
This selects the object you want to delete.
19 Press the DEL key.

13
Use the tools in the tool palette

The Confirm Deletion message box appears, asking you how you want to
delete the selection.

Deleting objects
If you select Delete object, you erase the graphic symbol and delete
the object from the model. If you select Delete Symbols Only, you
erase the graphic symbol, but keep the object in the model.

Confirm deletion box is not visible

If that box does not appear when you want to delete an object, select
Tools→General Options from the menu bar then select the Confirm
Object Deletion check box.

20 Click OK.
The entity and associated relationship are removed from the diagram.
The objects are also deleted from the model.
21 Click in the remaining entity.
Press SHIFT while you click the text.
The two objects are selected.
22 Press the DEL key, and click OK when the deletion message appears.
The remaining entity and text are erased.

14
 Chapter 3 How to Begin the CDM Tutorial

What you learned In this section, you learned how to use some of the tools in the tool palette.
You now know how to:
♦ Select a tool
♦ Release the active tool either by selecting another tool or by clicking the
right mouse button
♦ Select all objects of a particular type
♦ Move graphic objects
♦ Create text to document the CDM
♦ Delete objects

15
Open the tutorial CDM

Open the tutorial CDM

To perform the rest of the tutorial, you must open the tutorial file. The
tutorial file is installed in the directory PowerDesigner 9\Examples\Tutorial.
1 Select File→Open.
A file selection window appears.
2 Select or browse to the TUTORIAL directory.
Select the CDMBEFOR.CDM file.
Click OK.
PowerDesigner displays the model in the CDM diagram.
3 Press the F8 key to display the whole model in the CDM diagram, if
necessary. The model may not look exactly like the one shown below:

Adjust display scale

You can choose the display scale most comfortable for your eyes, by
selecting View→Scale and choosing a scale.

16
 Chapter 3 How to Begin the CDM Tutorial

Define CDM preferences and options

Before you begin working, you will define certain display preferences and
model options for the CDM.
 For a complete description of all CDM preferences and options, see the
appropriate PowerDesigner user's guide.
1 Select Tools→Display Preferences from the menu bar.
The Display Preferences dialog box opens to the General page.
2 Select the Entity node, under the Object View node, in the Category tree
view.
The Entity page appears.
3 Select or clear the following options:

Groupbox Selected item

Entity Attributes
All attributes
Entity attributes Identifier indicators

For each entity symbol, these preferences display all entity attributes,
and identify all attributes that are defined in entity identifiers.
4 Click the Set As Default button.

Set As Default
When you click the Set As Default button, you apply the display
preferences to the current conceptual diagram in the model, and to
any diagram of the same type you will create afterwards.

5 Select the Relationship node, under the Object View node, in the Category
tree view.
The Relationship page appears.
6 Select or clear the following options:

Groupbox Selected item

Relationship Role

17
Define CDM preferences and options

For each entity symbol, these preference displays the role of each
relationship in the diagram.
7 Click the Set As Default button.
8 Click the Format node.
The Format page appears.
9 Click the Modify button at the bottom right of the page.
The Symbol Format page appears.
10 Verify that the Auto-adjust to Text check box is selected (this is the
default selection).

11 Click OK in each of the dialog boxes.

You return to the PowerDesigner main window.
12 Select Tools→Model Options from the menu bar.
The Model Options dialog box appears. The Model node is selected by
default in the Category tree view.
13 Select or clear the following options:

Groupbox Selected item

Notation Mixed
Data Item Unique code
Allow reuse

18
 Chapter 3 How to Begin the CDM Tutorial

Groupbox Selected item

Relationship Unique code
Domain/Attribute Data type
Default data type <UNDEF>

Domain divergence
Selecting the Data type check box, without selecting the Enforce
check box, allows divergence between a domain definition and the
data items attached to it. However, when there is divergence,
PowerDesigner will propose to update the data type in all data items
using the domain

14 Select the Naming Convention node.

The Naming Convention page appears.
15 Select the Name radio button in the Display groupbox.
Object names are displayed in the object symbols in the CDM diagram.
16 Click OK.

19
Define CDM properties

Define CDM properties

1 Select Model→Model Properties from the menu bar.
The Model property sheet appears.
2 Type Tutorial in the Name box.
This is the name of the CDM. The code Tutorial appears automatically in
the Code box:

3 Click Apply.

Name to code mirroring

When you type a name in an object property sheet, you may have to
type a code also because the name to code mirroring mode may not
be selected in the General Options dialog box. To do so, select
Tools→General Options→Dialog.

4 Click OK.

20
 Chapter 3 How to Begin the CDM Tutorial

Save the tutorial CDM

You will save the tutorial CDM in another file. This leaves the original
tutorial CDM intact so you can use it again if you want to redo the exercises.
1 Select File→Save As.
The File Save As dialog box appears.
2 Type TUTORIAL.CDM in the File Name box.
This is the name of the file in which you will work and save your
modifications.
3 Click Save.
This saves your model in the TUTORIAL.CDM file.

Save your work

Save your work periodically while doing these exercises by selecting
File→Save.

21
Save the tutorial CDM

22
C H A P T E R 4

Defining Business Rules, Domains, and

Data Items

About business A business rule is a written expression of the way a business operates. When
rules you create a business rule, you refer to the ideas set out in the business
description.
There are six types of business rules: facts, definitions, formulas, validations,
requirements and constraints:

Type of
business rule Example
Fact A publisher may publish one or more titles
Definition An author is identified by a name and an address
Formula The amount of royalties is a percentage of the sales which
increases according to the amount of sales
Validation The percentage of royalties paid to all authors of a book must
add up to 100% of the royalties
Requirement The model is designed so that total amount of royalties do
not exceed 10% of total sales
Constraint The sales start date should be inferior to the end date of the
publishing process

When you use business rules to document the CDM, they are not translated
into executable code. Business rules can be implemented as constraints in the
PDM.
About data items A data item is an elementary piece of information. For example, this CDM
contains data items for author last name and for book titles.
About domains A domain defines a standard data structure that you can apply to multiple
data items. When you modify a domain you globally update the data items
associated with the domain. This makes it easier to standardize data
characteristics and modify your model consistently when you need to make
changes.

23
Create a new business rule

About check Check parameters specify more precisely what values to allow for a domain
parameters or a data item. In a CDM, check parameters define standard parameters, such
as minimum, maximum, or accepted values.
What you will do In this chapter you will:
♦ Create a new business rule
♦ Create a new domain
♦ Create a new data item
♦ Attach a data item to a domain

How long will it take?

About 20 minutes.

24
 Chapter 4 Defining Business Rules, Domains, and Data Items

Create a new business rule

You will create a business rule that states how to attribute royalties to
authors.
1 Select Model→Business Rules.
The List of Business Rules dialog box displays existing business rules.
2 Click the Add a Row tool.

An arrow appears at the start of the first blank line and a default name
and code are entered.

A default name and code appear

When you create a new list item, a default name and code
automatically appear for the new item. If the default name is selected
it disappears when you start to type the item name. If the default name
is not selected, select it and either type the new item name, or delete
the default name before typing the new item name.

3 Type Author Percent in the Name column.

This is the name of the business rule. The equivalent code is entered in
the Code column automatically.

25
Create a new business rule

4 Select Validation from the dropdown list in the Rule Type column.

Rule type column is not visible

If the rule type column is not visible, click the Customize Columns
and Filter tool from the toolbar. A selection box appears listing all the
columns displayed in the list. Select the appropriate checkbox for the
column that is not displayed, then click OK. The column appears in
the list.

This defines the business rule as a validation rule.

5 Click Apply.
The creation of the new business rule is committed.

Names sorted alphabetically

When you click Apply or OK, all names in the list are sorted
alphabetically. The order of appearance of the names in the list will
therefore change with either of these operations.

6 Click the new business rule line.

An arrow appears at the beginning of the line.
7 Click the Properties tool.

or
Double click the arrow at the beginning of the line.

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 Chapter 4 Defining Business Rules, Domains, and Data Items

The property sheet for the new business rule appears.

8 Click the Notes tab.

The Notes page appears opened to the Description box.
9 In the Description box, type The percentage of royalties paid to all
authors of a book adds up to 100% of the total royalties.
This text explains the meaning of the business rule.

27
Create a new business rule

10 Click OK in each of the dialog boxes.

This validates the creation of the business rule.

What you learned In this section, you learned how to:

♦ Use the statement of the business problem to create the description of the
business rule
♦ Create a business rule
♦ Identify a business rule by a name, a code, and a type

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 Chapter 4 Defining Business Rules, Domains, and Data Items

Create a new domain

You will create two domains that will define a standardized data type for
money amounts and for percentages in the model.
1 Select Model→Domains from the menu bar.
The List of Domains dialog box displays the existing domains.
2 Click the Add a Row tool.

An arrow appears at the start of the first blank line and a default name
and code are entered.

3 Type Amount in the Name column.

This is the name of the domain. The equivalent code is entered in the
Code column automatically.
4 Click Apply.
The creation of the new domain is committed.

Names sorted alphabetically

When you click Apply or OK, all names in the list are sorted
alphabetically. The order of appearance of the names in the list will
therefore change with either of these operations.

5 Click the new domain line.

29
Create a new domain

An arrow appears at the beginning of the line.

6 Click the Properties tool.

or
Double click the arrow at the beginning of the line.
The property sheet for the new domain appears.

7 Click the Question Mark button next to the Data Type dropdown listbox.
The Standard Data Types dialog box appears. You use this dialog box to
specify the form of the data affected by the domain.
8 Click the Money radio button.
The domain now has a money data type. A money data type stores
numbers with a fixed decimal point. Later, when you apply this domain
to the data items that are used to store amounts of money, you will see
that they inherit this data type.

Data type codes

All data types have a one, two, or three letter code. When you select
the Money radio button, MN appears in the Code box. This is the
code for a money data type.

9 Type 8 in the Length box.

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 Chapter 4 Defining Business Rules, Domains, and Data Items

The maximum number of figures in a data item attached to this domain

will be 8.
10 Type 2 in the Precision box.
A data item attached to this domain can take two positions after the
decimal point.

11 Click OK.

31
Create a new domain

You return to the domain property sheet. The value MN8,2 appears in the
Data Type dropdown listbox. MN is the code for a money data type.
Eight indicates that an amount of money can have 8 figures. Two
indicates that the amount has a decimal precision of 2.

12 Click OK.
You return to the List of Domains.
13 Click the Add a Row tool.

An arrow appears at the start of the first blank line and a default name
and code are entered.
14 Type Percent in the Name column.
This is the name of the domain. The equivalent code is entered in the
Code column automatically.
15 Click Apply.
The creation of the new domain is committed.
16 Click the new domain line.
An arrow appears at the beginning of the line.

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 Chapter 4 Defining Business Rules, Domains, and Data Items

17 Click the Properties tool.

or
Double click the arrow at the beginning of the line.
The property sheet for the new domain appears.
18 Click the Question Mark button next to the Data Type dropdown listbox.
The Standard Data Types dialog box appears. You use this dialog box to
specify the form of the data affected by the domain.
19 Click the Short integer radio button.
The code SI indicates that the Percent domain has a short integer data
type. The Length and Precision boxes are not available because you do
not need to specify a length and precision for the short integer data type.
20 Click OK in each of the dialog boxes.

Default data type

When you do not define a data type for a domain, it receives the
default data type. You can designate a default data type by selecting
Tools→Model Options.

What you learned In this section, you learned how to:

♦ Look for data items storing similar types of data, and create a domain to
standardize the data characteristics of these data items
♦ Identify a domain by a name and a code
♦ Specify the data type, length, and precision of the domain

33
Create a new data item

Create a new data item

To manage books with multiple authors, you will create data items for the
percentage of royalties for each author and for the order of an author's name
in the list of authors.
1 Select Model→Data Items from the menu bar.
The List of Data Items displays existing data items.
2 Click the Add a Row tool.

An arrow appears at the start of the first blank line and a default name
and code are entered.

3 Type TitleAuthor Percent in the Name column.

This is the name of the data item. The equivalent code is entered in the
Code column automatically.
4 Click Apply.
The creation of the new data item is committed.

Names sorted alphabetically

When you click Apply or OK, all names in the list are sorted
alphabetically. The order of appearance of the names in the list will
therefore change with either of these operations.

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 Chapter 4 Defining Business Rules, Domains, and Data Items

5 Click the new data item line.

An arrow appears at the beginning of the line.
6 Click the Properties tool.

or
Double click the arrow at the beginning of the line.
The property sheet for the new data item appears.

7 Select Percent from the Domain dropdown listbox in the bottom part of
the dialog box.
This applies the data type of the Percent domain to the new data item. In
the Data Type column, SI indicates a short integer.
8 Click OK.
You return to the List of Data Items.
9 Click the Add a Row tool.

An arrow appears at the start of the first blank line and a default name
and code are entered.
10 Type TitleAuthor Order in the Name column.

35
Create a new data item

This is the name of the data item. The equivalent code is entered in the
Code column automatically.
11 Click Apply.
The creation of the new data item is committed.
12 Click the new data item line.
An arrow appears at the beginning of the line.
13 Click the Properties tool.

or
Double click the arrow at the beginning of the line.
The property sheet for the new data item appears.

14 Click the Question Mark button next to the Data Type dropdown listbox.
The Standard Data Types dialog box appears.
15 Click the Integer radio button.

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 Chapter 4 Defining Business Rules, Domains, and Data Items

This gives the TitleAuthor Order data item an Integer data type.

16 Click OK in each of the dialog boxes.

You return to the model window.
What you learned In this section, you learned how to:
♦ Refer to the statement of the business problem to decide what additional
information you need to be able to manage
♦ Create data items to reflect these needs
♦ Identify a data item by a name, a code, and a data type
♦ Select a data type by attaching a data item to a domain
♦ Select a data type for a specific data item

37
Attach a data item to a domain

Attach a data item to a domain

You will attach the AMOUNT domain to all data items that store amounts of
money and the PERCENT domain to all data items that store percentages.

1 Select Model→Data Items from the menu bar.

The List of Data Items dialog box appears.
2 Click the number of the data item Author Advance.
Press CTRL while you click the number of the data item Royalty Amount.
Press CTRL while you click the number of the data item Sale Amount.
Press CTRL while you click the number of the data item Title Price.
These data items are selected.

3 Scroll to the right until the Domain column appears.

List column is not visible

If a list column is not visible, click the Customize Columns and Filter
tool from the toolbar. A selection box appears listing all the columns
displayed in the list. Select the appropriate checkbox for the column
that is not displayed, then click OK. The column appears in the list.

4 Click in the Domain column for the line Author Advance.

A down arrowhead appears at the end of the line. This indicates that a
dropdown list is available for the Domain column. The list contains all
the domains available in the model.

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 Chapter 4 Defining Business Rules, Domains, and Data Items

5 Click the down arrowhead and select Amount.

Amount automatically appears in the Domain column for each of the

other selected data items. When you assign a property to a selected item
in a list, all other selected list items are automatically assigned the same
property.
The data items inherit the data type of the domain. MN8,2 appears in the
Data Type column. This code indicates a money data type with a length
of 8 and a precision of 2.

39
Attach a data item to a domain

The data items Author Advance, Royalty Amount, Sales Amount, and
Title Price which before had different data types, now inherit a
standardized data type from the Amount domain.

6 Click the number of the data item Discount Percent and select PERCENT
from the dropdown listbox in the Domain column.
7 Click OK.

What you learned In this section, you learned how to ensure data consistency by attaching data
items to domains.
It is good practice to attach data items to domains. By doing so, when you
modify a domain you can globally update the characteristics of the attached
data items.

40
C H A P T E R 5

Defining Entities

About entities An entity is an object about which you want to store information. For
example, in the tutorial model the AUTHOR entity groups information like
author name and address.
Why create an The business problem indicates which entities you need to create. For
entity example, to identify and store pictures of authors, you will create a
PICTURE entity that contains all information related to pictures.
Why create an To respond to another business problem, you need to keep track of the
associative entity percentage of royalties received by each author of each title.
One title may be written by many authors, and one author may have many
titles to his or her credit. This is called a many-to-many relationship.
Because each author must be unique in the Author entity, and each Title must
be unique in the Title entity, you will create an associative entity that has a
unique occurrence for each title-author combination. You will then be able to
attach a percentage to each unique case.
About entity An entity attribute is an elementary piece of information (data item) which
attributes you attach to an entity. For example, Last Name is an attribute of the
AUTHOR entity because it provides information about an author. You will
add a biography attribute to the AUTHOR entity.
About entity An entity identifier is made up of one or more attributes unique to the entity,
identifiers such that each value of the identifier corresponds to one, and only one,
occurrence of the entity. For example, ISBN is the identifier of the TITLE
entity because an ISBN uniquely identifies a title. You will assign a picture
identification number as the identifier of the PICTURE entity.
Attaching business You attach a business rule to an entity as a reminder of the conditions
rules to entities attached to the entity. You will attach the business rule you created in the
preceding lesson to one of the entities.

41
Create a new entity

What you will do In this chapter you will:

♦ Create an entity
♦ Create an associative entity
♦ Define entity attributes
♦ Designate an identifier
♦ Attach a business rule to an entity

How long will it take?

About 15 minutes

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 Chapter 5 Defining Entities

Create a new entity

You will create an entity that contains information related to pictures, an
entity that associates titles to authors, and two entities that differentiate title
categories: periodicals and non-periodicals.
1 Click the Entity tool in the tool palette.
2 Click an empty space in the diagram.
An entity symbol appears at the click position.

At creation, an entity has a default name including a number, this number

is assigned to the entity in the order of creation.
3 Click the Pointer tool in the tool palette.
4 Double-click the symbol of the entity you just created.
The entity property sheet appears.
5 Type Picture in the Name box.
This is the name of the entity. The equivalent code is entered in the Code
column automatically.

43
Create a new entity

6 Click OK.
The new entity displays the name Picture.

You created this entity by first creating its symbol, then identifying it
from a property sheet. You can also create entities from the list of
entities.
7 Select Model→Entities.
The List of Entities dialog box displays existing entities.
8 Click the Add a Row tool.

An arrow appears at the start of the first blank line and a default name
and code are entered.
9 Type Periodical in the Name column.
The code is automatically set equal to the name.
10 Click Apply.
The creation of the new entity is committed.

Names sorted alphabetically

When you click Apply or OK, all names in the list are sorted
alphabetically. The order of appearance of the names in the list will
therefore change with either of these operations.

11 Click the Add a Row tool.

An arrow appears at the start of the first blank line and a default name
and code are entered.
12 Type Nonperiodical in the Name column.
13 Click Apply.
The creation of the new entity is committed.

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 Chapter 5 Defining Entities

The new entities appear on the list.

14 Click OK.
The new entities appear in the CDM.

Moving entity symbols

When you create entities from the list, they will not be arranged as
shown above. You do not control the insert position of the symbols.
You can move an entity symbol by selecting it and dragging it to a
new position.

What you learned In this section, you learned how to:

♦ Use the statement of the business problem to decide what entities you
need to create
♦ Create an entity by inserting an entity symbol and assigning a name and
code from its property sheet
♦ Create an entity on the list of entities

45
Create an associative entity

Create an associative entity

You will replace the existing relationship between AUTHOR and TITLE
with an associative entity. This associative entity will have a unique
occurrence for each title-author combination so that you can attach a royalty
percentage to each unique case.
1 Right-click the relationship that links Author and Title entities.
A relationship contextual menu appears.
2 Select Change to Entity→Standard from the contextual menu.
A new entity is inserted between Author and Title entities.

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 Chapter 5 Defining Entities

Define entity attributes

You will define entity attributes for the entities TITLEAUTHOR, PICTURE,
PERIODICAL, and NONPERIODICAL by attaching one or more data items
to each entity.
You will create entity attributes by:
♦ Adding data items to an entity
♦ Creating a new entity attribute

Add data items to an entity

You will attach existing data items to the entities TITLEAUTHOR,
PICTURE, PERIODICAL, and NONPERIODICAL.
1 Double-click the TitleAuthor entity.
The Entity property sheet appears.

2 Click the Attributes tab.

47
Define entity attributes

The Attributes page appears. It lists the attributes associated with the
entity. The list is empty because the entity does not have any associated
attributes.

Click the Add Data Item tool.

A selection box appears. It lists all the data items available in the model.
3 Click the Code column heading.
This sorts the list of code items alphabetically.

48
 Chapter 5 Defining Entities

4 Select the TitleAuthor Order checkbox.

Select the TitleAuthor Percent checkbox

5 Click OK.
The data items appear in the list of attributes for the TitleAuthor entity.

6 Click OK.

49
Define entity attributes

In the CDM diagram, the TITLEAUTHOR entity displays its attributes.

7 Repeat steps 1-6 for entities PICTURE (Picture and Picture ID data
items), PERIODICAL (Periodical Format and Periodical Pub Frequency
data items), and NONPERIODICAL (Book Collection data item).
The CDM displays these entities with their attributes.

Create a new entity attribute

You will create a new Biography attribute for the text of the author's
biography.
1 Double-click the AUTHOR entity symbol.
The Entity property sheet appears.
2 Click the Attributes tab.
The Attributes page appears. It lists the attributes belonging to the
Author entity.
3 Select the Author Advance attribute.
4 Click the Insert a Row tool.

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 Chapter 5 Defining Entities

A blank line is inserted above the Author Advance line. A default name
is entered.

5 Type Author Biography in the Name column.

This is the name of the attribute. The equivalent code appears in the
Code column automatically.
6 Scroll to the right and click the Domain column.
Select LONG_NOTES from the Domain dropdown list.

51
Define entity attributes

The text data type (TXT) appears in the Data Type column.

7 Click OK.
The Author entity displays its new attribute.

What you learned In this section, you learned how to:

♦ Add existing data items to an entity to create entity attributes
♦ Create a new entity attribute
♦ Identify an entity attribute by a name, a code, and a data type

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 Chapter 5 Defining Entities

Designate an identifier
An identifier is an entity attribute that uniquely identifies each occurrence of
the entity.
You will designate Picture ID as the identifier of the PICTURE entity.
1 Double-click the PICTURE entity symbol.
The Entity property sheet appears.
2 Click the Attributes tab.
The Attributes page appears.

3 Click the Picture ID attribute.

An arrow appears at the beginning of the line.
4 Click the Properties tool.

or
Double click the arrow at the beginning of the line.
The Picture ID property sheet appears.

53
Designate an identifier

5 Select the Primary Identifier checkbox in the bottom part of the dialog
box.

6 Click OK.
You return to the Attributes page.
7 Scroll to the right until the M (mandatory) and P (primary identifier)
columns are visible.

List column is not visible

If a list column is not visible, click the Customize Columns and Filter
tool from the toolbar. A selection box appears listing the all the
columns that be displayed in the list. Select the appropriate checkbox
for the column that is not displayed, then click OK. The column
appears in the list.

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 Chapter 5 Defining Entities

In the Picture ID line, checks in the P column and the M column indicate
that this attribute is a primary identifier and a mandatory attribute,
respectively.

8 Scroll back to the Name column.

9 Click the Picture attribute.
An arrow appears at the beginning of the line.
10 Click the Properties tool.

or
Double click the arrow at the beginning of the line.
The Picture property sheet appears.
11 Select the Mandatory checkbox in the bottom part of the dialog box.
12 Click OK.
You return to the Attributes page.
13 Scroll to the right until the M column is visible.
A check appears in the M column of the Picture attribute. This means the
attribute is mandatory. In other words, each occurrence of the Picture
entity must include a picture.
14 Click OK.

55
Designate an identifier

The Picture ID attribute is underlined in the PICTURE entity symbol to

indicate that it is the identifier.

What you learned In this section, you learned how to:

♦ Designate an entity attribute as an identifier
♦ Make an entity attribute mandatory

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 Chapter 5 Defining Entities

Attach a business rule to an entity

You will attach the Author Percent business rule to the TITLEAUTHOR
entity to remind you of the role of this entity in the calculation of author
royalties.
1 Click the Properties tool in the tool palette.
Click the TitleAuthor entity symbol.
The Entity property sheet appears.
2 Click the Rules tab.
The Rules page appears. It lists the business rules associated with the
entity. The list is empty.
3 Click the Add Rules tool.

A selection box appears. This lists all the available business rules.
4 Select the Author Percent checkbox.

5 Click OK.

57
Attach a business rule to an entity

You return to the Rules page. Author Percent appears in the list.

6 Click OK.
The business rule is attached to the entity. You return to the model
window.
What you learned In this section, you learned how to:
♦ Attach a business rule to a particular entity in the CDM
♦ Use a business rule as a reminder of the role of an object in solving a
business problem

58
C H A P T E R 6

Defining Relationships

About relationships A relationship is a named association between entities. It expresses the fact
that two entities are somehow related. For example, in the tutorial model, a
relationship links the entities PUBLISHER and TITLE because publishers
publish books. An entity can have a relationship with itself, called a reflexive
relationship.
About cardinality Cardinality indicates the maximum number of instances (one or many) of
one entity in relation to another. To determine the cardinality of a
relationship, ask the following question about each entity in the relationship,
"Can more than one occurrence of this entity exist for one occurrence of the
other entity?"
For example, in a relationship of author-to-picture, the cardinality can be set
to many because one author can be shown in several pictures. In the
direction picture-to-author, the cardinality can be set to one because a picture
can only show one author. This type of relationship is called a one-to-many
relationship. The steps to establishing these relationships are in the Create a
relationship section of this chapter.
About mandatory You can define a relationship as mandatory from the point of view of one or
relationships both of its entities. To determine if a relationship is mandatory, ask the
following question about each entity in the relationship, "Does an occurrence
of this entity require an occurrence of the other entity?"
For example, the relationship for DISCOUNT to STORE is mandatory
because all discounts must be associated with a specific store. On the other
hand, the relationship from AUTHOR to PICTURE will be optional because
an author may not have any pictures on file.
About dependent In a dependent relationship one entity depends on another to uniquely
relationships identify it. For example, there are dependent relationships from
TITLEAUTHOR to TITLE and to AUTHOR because a unique occurrence of
TITLEAUTHOR is formed by the combination of one author and one title.

59
Create a relationship

What you will do In this chapter you will:

♦ Create a one-to-many relationship
♦ Define roles in an optional relationship

How long will it take?

About 10 minutes.

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 Chapter 6 Defining Relationships

Create a relationship
You will create a relationship between AUTHOR and PICTURE entities.
1 Click the Pointer tool in the tool palette.
2 Drag the Picture entity symbol below the AUTHOR entity symbol.

3 Click the Relationship tool in the tool palette.

4 Click inside the AUTHOR entity and while continuing to hold down the
mouse button, drag the cursor to the PICTURE entity. Release the mouse
button inside the PICTURE entity.
This creates a relationship between the two entities.

The contact points of the relationship indicate that the cardinality of the
relationship from AUTHOR to PICTURE is one-to-many, as follows:
♦ A single contact point on AUTHOR indicates that there is only one
author for each picture

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Create a relationship

♦ Three contact points (a crow's foot) on PICTURE indicates that the

same author can have more than one picture
The circles before both termination points indicate that both sides of the
relationship are optional.

Relationship properties
Relationships that you create using the relationship tool are one-to-
many and optional. You can change these and other properties from
the relationship property sheet.

What you learned In this section, you learned how to:

♦ Translate the links between objects in the information system into
relationships between entities
♦ Ask appropriate questions to help you decide the cardinality of a
relationship

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 Chapter 6 Defining Relationships

Define roles in an optional relationship

You will define an optional relationship between AUTHOR to PICTURE. An
author does not have to have a picture. A picture does not have to be of an
author.
1 Click the Pointer tool in the tool palette.
2 Double-click the relationship line between AUTHOR and PICTURE.
The relationship property sheet appears:

3 Type Author Picture in the Name box.

This is the name of the relationship. The code is automatically set equal
to the name.
4 Click the Detail tab.

63
Define roles in an optional relationship

The Detail page appears.

5 Type is shown in in the Role box in the "Author" to "Picture" groupbox.

This label indicates that an author is shown in a picture.
6 Type shows in the Role box in the "Picture" to "Author" groupbox.

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 Chapter 6 Defining Relationships

This label indicates that a picture shows an author.

7 Click OK.
The relationship appears in the model.

65
Define roles in an optional relationship

Display relationship roles

You can display roles by selecting Tools→Display Preferences and
selecting the Role checkbox in the Relationship category.

What you learned In this chapter you learned how to:

♦ Create a one-to-many relationship
♦ Define roles in an optional relationship

66
C H A P T E R 7

Using Packages and Shortcuts

A package is a defined section of a model. A package can contain the same

types of objects that are available in a model. Using packages can help you
manage large models. For example, portions of a model representing
different tasks and subject areas, can be divided up into packages which can
be used by different development teams working on the same project.
You can create new objects in a package or use objects that exist in the
global model. When you use existing objects, you create a shortcut in the
package which references the actual object in the global model. A shortcut is
a symbol that represents and references an object in another model or
package. The referenced object is called the target object.
You can access the properties of a target object from its shortcut. This allows
you to modify the target object in the same way that you would in the global
model.
 For more information on packages and shortcuts, see chapters
Managing Models and Managing Shortcuts in the General Features Guide.
You will create a package containing shortcuts to the entities TITLE,
PERIODICAL, and NONPERIODICAL.
What you will do In this chapter you will:
♦ Create a package
♦ Add objects to the package

How long will it take?

About 5 minutes.

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Create a package

Create a package
You will start by creating a package.
1 Click the Package symbol in the Palette.

2 Click an empty space in the diagram.

The Package symbol appears in the diagram.

3 Right-click the mouse button to release the Package tool.

4 Double-click the new package symbol.
The package property sheet appears. A default name and code are
entered.

A default name and code appear

When you create a new object, a default name and code are
automatically entered in the property sheet . If the default name is
selected it disappears when you start to type the object name. If the
default name is not selected, select it and either type the new object
name, or delete the default name before typing the new object name.

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 Chapter 7 Using Packages and Shortcuts

5 Type Title Categories in the Name box.

6 Click OK.
You return to the diagram. The new name for the package appears in the
symbol.

69
Open a diagram for the package

Open a diagram for the package

At creation a package is simply a named object in the model. To be useful
you need to open a diagram in the package. In the diagram you can create and
use existing objects in the same way that they are used in the global diagram.
You will open a new diagram for the package and arrange the two diagram
windows horizontally in the main window.
1 Right-click the Package symbol.
A contextual menu appears.
2 Select Open Diagram from the contextual menu.
A new diagram appears in the Main window.
3 Select Window→Tile Horizontally from the menu bar.
The diagram for the Tutorial diagram (global model diagram) and the
new empty package diagram are arranged horizontally. Everything that is
created or added to the Tutorial Package diagram is contained within the
package represented by the package symbol in the Tutorial Diagram.

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 Chapter 7 Using Packages and Shortcuts

Using the object browser

All the objects that are contained in the current workspace are
represented in the Browser tree view. For this tutorial you are
working with the graphical tools and the diagram windows. However,
you can also use the Browser to create, delete, and manipulate model
objects. For more information on using the Browser, see chapter
Using the Browser in the General Features guide.

What you learned In this section, you learned how to:

♦ Create a package starting with one of the objects in the global model
♦ Identify a package by a name and a code
♦ Open a new diagram for the package
♦ Arrange the global model diagram and the package diagram windows
horizontally to make it easier to work with the two diagrams

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Add objects to the package

Add objects to the package

You will add shortcuts for the TITLE, PERIODICAL and
NONPERIODICAL entities to the package.
1 Click in the Tutorial diagram (the global model diagram).
This makes the Tutorial diagram active.
2 Use the scroll bars to position the Tutorial diagram so that the TITLE,
PERIODICAL and NONPERIODICAL entities are visible.

3 Click the TITLE, PERIODICAL and NONPERIODICAL entities while

holding down the SHIFT key.
Handles appear around the three entities.
4 Select Edit→Copy from the menu bar.
5 Click in the Title Categories diagram.
This makes the package diagram the active diagram.
6 Select Edit→Paste as Shortcut from the menu bar.

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 Chapter 7 Using Packages and Shortcuts

The TITLE, PERIODICAL and NONPERIODICAL shortcut symbols

appear in the Title Categories diagram.

7 Arrange the shortcut symbols. The arrow at the bottom left corner
indicates that the symbol is a shortcut.

What you learned In this section, you learned how to:

♦ Select the objects you want to include in a package
♦ Add the objects to the package

73
Accessing a target object from a shortcut

Accessing a target object from a shortcut

You can access the property sheet of a target object from its shortcut. This
allows you to modify the target object from within a package.
1 Double-click the shortcut symbol for the TITLE table.
The shortcut property sheet appears.

2 Click the Property button next to the Name box.

The property sheet for the TITLE table appears.

3 Click Cancel.
You return to the shortcut property sheet.
4 Click Close.
You return to the package diagram.
Select Window→CDM TUTORIAL DIAGRAM 1 to return to the Tutorial
diagram.
or
Minimize the package diagram window
Select the tutorial diagram window to make it the active window.
Maximize the tutorial diagram window.

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C H A P T E R 8

Defining Inheritance

Inheritance allows you to define an entity as a special case of a more general

entity. For example, you will define periodicals and non-periodicals as
special cases of titles.
About parent The general entity is known as the parent (or supertype) entity, and contains
entities all of the common characteristics. In this tutorial, you will use TITLE as the
parent entity.
About child entities The special case entity is known as the child (or subtype) entity, and contains
all of the particular characteristics. In this tutorial, you will create two child
entities, PERIODICAL and NONPERIODICAL, because they are special
cases of titles with specific attributes.
Making children You can make an inheritance mutually exclusive. When an inheritance is
mutually exclusive mutually exclusive it means that there cannot be an occurrence of both child
entities at the same time.
For example, a title can be a periodical or a non-periodical. Because it cannot
be both, it is a mutually exclusive inheritance.
What you will do In this chapter you will:
♦ Create an inheritance link
♦ Define inheritance properties

How long will it take?

About 10 minutes.

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Create an inheritance link

Create an inheritance link

You create an inheritance link from the child entity to the parent entity. You
will define an inheritance from the PERIODICAL and NONPERIODICAL
entities to the TITLE entity.
1 Select the Inheritance tool in the tool palette.
2 Click inside the NONPERIODICAL entity and while continuing to hold
down the mouse button, drag the cursor to the TITLE entity. Release the
mouse button inside the TITLE entity.
An inheritance link appears between these entities. The link has a
semicircle in the middle, and an arrow that points to TITLE, which is the
parent entity. NONPERIODICAL is the child entity. The child entity
inherits from its parent.

3 Click the semicircle and while continuing to hold down the mouse
button, drag the cursor to the PERIODICAL entity. Release the mouse
button inside the PERIODICAL entity.
The inheritance symbol changes accordingly.

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 Chapter 8 Defining Inheritance

Position inheritance symbol

To arrange the position of the inheritance symbol, select the
semicircle then select Symbol→Disposition→Arrange Symbols. The
inheritance symbol moves to the center of gravity of the symbols it
connects.

What you learned In this section, you learned how to:

♦ Identify entities which are special cases of other entities
♦ Create an inheritance link between entities

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Define inheritance properties

Define inheritance properties

You will assign a name to the inheritance, make it mutually exclusive, and
define its generation mode.
1 Click the Pointer tool in the tool palette.
2 Double-click the semicircle in the middle of the inheritance link.
The Inheritance property sheet appears.
3 Type Title inheritance in the Name box.
This is the name of the inheritance.
4 Select the Mutually Exclusive Children checkbox.
This indicates that the inheritance is mutually exclusive because a title is
either a periodical or a non-periodical, never both.

5 Click the Generation tab.

The Generation page appears.
6 Make sure the Generate Children checkbox is deselected in the
Generation Mode groupbox.
The choices you make in the Generation Mode groupbox indicate how
the inheritance will be generated in the Physical Data Model (PDM).

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 Chapter 8 Defining Inheritance

Selecting only Generate Parent means only one table will be generated
for all titles. In this case, you will need a specifying attribute to
differentiate occurrences of each child.
7 Type Periodical in the Name column in the Specifying Attributes
groupbox.
Periodical is the name of the specifying attribute. This specifying
attribute will generate a column named Periodical in the TITLE table
that will result from generation. This column will indicate whether a title
is a periodical or not.

8 Click in the Data Type column.

A dropdown list arrow appears.
9 Click the dropdown list arrow.
A dropdown listbox appears.

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Define inheritance properties

10 Select BL from the dropdown listbox.

You define a Boolean (BL) data type for the specifying attribute because
there are only two possible choices: periodical or not.
11 Scroll to the right until the M checkbox appears.
This is the Mandatory checkbox. When selected it indicates that when
the column Periodical is generated it can not contain NULL values.
12 Select the M checkbox.
13 Click OK.
A cross appears in the semicircle to indicate that the inheritance is
mutually exclusive.

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 Chapter 8 Defining Inheritance

What you learned In this section, you learned how to:

♦ Identify an inheritance by a name
♦ Express the fact that only one child entity can exist at a time by making
the inheritance mutually exclusive
♦ Select a generation mode to indicate what tables to generate for the
inheritance
♦ Define a specifying attribute to identify subtypes in the same table

81
Define inheritance properties

82
C H A P T E R 9

Organizing the Display

When you finish creating the CDM, you can organize the model using the
graphic display options.
What you will do In this chapter you will:
♦ Add a title box
♦ Change the color of the title box
♦ Change the color of the window
♦ Arrange the symbols
♦ Center the model on the page
♦ Print the model

How long will it take?

About 15 minutes.

83
Add a title box

Add a title box

You will add a title box to the model. The title box contains the essential
information about the model.
1 Click the Title tool from the Palette.

2 Click an empty space in the diagram.

A title box appears in the diagram.

3 Drag the title box to the top of the model.

4 Right-click the title box.
5 Select Shadow from the contextual menu.
A shadow appears behind the title box. You can apply shadow to any
symbol in the model.

What you learned In this section, you learned how to:

♦ Display the model properties in a title box
♦ Apply shadow to a title box

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 Chapter 9 Organizing the Display

Change the color of the title box

1 Right-click the title box.
2 Select Format from the contextual menu.
The Symbol Format dialog box appears.
3 Click the Fill tab.
The Fill page appears.
4 Select a color in the palette.
5 Click OK.
The title box background changes to the selected color.
 For information on setting default colors for symbols in the diagram,
see the General Features Guide.

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Change the color of the window

Change the color of the window

By changing the window color, you can change the background color of the
model.
1 Select Tools→Display Preferences.
The Display Preferences dialog box opens to the General page.

2 Click the down arrowhead at the end of the Window Color dropdown
listbox.
A dropdown color palette appears.
3 Select a color from the palette.
4 Click OK.
The model background changes to the selected color.

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 Chapter 9 Organizing the Display

Arrange the symbols

You will align the entity symbols on the left of the model.
1 Using the Pointer tool, draw a rectangle encompassing the
TITLEAUTHOR, AUTHOR and PICTURE entity symbols.

Selecting several symbols at once

You can also select more than one symbol at a time by pressing the
SHIFT key while you click each symbol in turn.

2 Select Symbol→Align→Center on Vertical Axis from the menu bar.

This aligns the selected symbols along a central vertical axis.

3 Use the Align menu to align the other symbols.

87
Arrange the symbols

You can align your model as follows:

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 Chapter 9 Organizing the Display

Center the model on the page

1 Select View→Page View→Current Page.
This displays the entire current page in the work area. Your model may
be spread over two pages, or may be off-center.

2 Click the Grabber tool in the tool palette.

3 Click the diagram.
This selects the whole model.
4 Drag the model to the center of the page.

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Print the model

Print the model

You can now print the finished model.
1 Select File→Print.
The Print Graphics dialog box appears. One page is selected for printing.

2 Click OK.

Select pages to print

When a model is spread over several pages you can select and
deselect pages for printing by clicking them. Selected pages display a
turned down corner.

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C H A P T E R 1 0

Generating the PDM from the CDM

In this lesson you will generate a Physical Data Model (PDM) from a
Conceptual Data Model (CDM).
What happens You generate a PDM for a particular Database Management System
when you generate (DBMS). Before you generate the PDM, you must select the DBMS referred
a PDM to as the target database. PowerDesigner translates the data types specified in
the CDM into the physical data types which the target database supports.
The correspondence between conceptual and physical data types is defined in
a DBMS definition file. There is a DBMS definition file for each type of
target database.
Shared DBMS You will use a DBMS definition file that is shared with a master DBMS file
in .XML format stored in the DBMS library. This file can be used by any
number of models. Any modifications to the master DBMS definition file are
available to all models using the DBMS in share mode.
Copy DBMS A copy of the master DBMS definition file is saved with the model. Any
definition modifications made to the DBMS are only available to the current model.
PDM translation When you generate a PDM, PowerDesigner also translates the following
conceptual objects into the following physical objects:

Conceptual object Physical object

Entity Table
Entity attribute Table column
Primary Identifier Primary key
Relationship Reference
Identifier Alternate key

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Generate the PDM

What you will do In this lesson you will:

♦ Generate the PDM
♦ Save and close the PDM
♦ Save CDM and exit PowerDesigner

How long will it take?

About 5 minutes.

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 Chapter 10 Generating the PDM from the CDM

Generate the PDM

1 Select Tools→Generate Physical Data Model.
The PDM Generation Options dialog box appears.
2 Select Sybase AS Anywhere 8 from the DBMS dropdown listbox.
The dialog box proposes TUTORIAL as the default name for the PDM
file. It is the same as the CDM file name but with the extension .PDM.
3 Select the Share radio button.
You indicate to use the DBMS definition file stored in the DBMS
library.

4 Click the Detail tab.

The Detail page appears.
5 Select or clear the following options:

Group box Selected Item

Options Check model
Save generation dependencies

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Generate the PDM

The model will be verified by the Check Model before generation. The
Save Generation Dependencies option determines that PowerDesigner
saves the object identification tag for each object in the model. This
option is mainly useful when merging two PDM generated from the same
CDM.
6 Select the Selection tab.
The Selection page appears. It lists all the objects in the CDM. By
default, all object checkboxes are selected.

7 If all the object checkboxes are not selected, click the Select All tool.

8 Click OK.
A Result List window displays warning messages indicating that the
CDM reuses certain data items for more than one entity. These warnings
are informational and do not prevent PowerDesigner from generating the
PDM.
9 Close the Result window when the generation process has finished.

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 Chapter 10 Generating the PDM from the CDM

The PDM appears in the model window.

Crowded PDM
If your PDM is difficult to read because tables display too much
information, you can reduce the amount of information displayed by
selecting Tools→Display Preferences and clearing checkboxes for the
appropriate object.

Three inheritance entities resulted in one table

In the CDM, you defined the inheritance Title Inherit to generate the
parent only. In the PDM, the resulting table, Title, includes a column,
Periodical, that indicates if a title is a periodical or not. It also
includes columns related to periodicals or non periodicals.

What you learned In this section, you learned how to:

♦ Define generation parameters according to how you want to generate
objects in the PDM
♦ Generate a PDM from a CDM

95
Save and close the PDM

Save and close the PDM

You will save the generated PDM.
1 Select File→Save As from the menu bar.
The File Save As dialog box appears.
2 Type GENTUTOR.PDM in the File Name box.
This is the new name for the generated PDM file.
3 Click OK.
This saves your model in the GENTUTOR.PDM file.
4 Select File→Close from the menu bar.
This closes the PDM window and returns you to the CDM window.

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 Chapter 10 Generating the PDM from the CDM

Exit PowerDesigner
You will save and close the CDM, then exit PowerDesigner.
1 Select File→Save.
This saves the CDM.
2 Select File →Close.
This closes the model.
3 Select File→Exit.
A confirmation box asks you if you want to save the Workspace.
4 Click the No button.
You exit the PowerDesigner application. You have now completed the
CDM tutorial.

97
Exit PowerDesigner

98
Glossary

association In the Merise modeling methodology an association is a connection between

entities

business rule Written statement specifying what the information system must do or how it
must be structured to support business needs

column Data structure that contains an individual data item within a row in a PDM
Entity-relationship diagram that models the information system without
Conceptual Data considering the details of physical implementation
Model (CDM)
Named check that enforces data requirements, default values, or referential
constraint integrity on an entity or a entity attribute
Elementary piece of information
data item
Set of values for which a data item is valid
domain
Person, place, thing, or concept that has characteristics of interest to the
entity enterprise and about which you want to store information
Elementary piece of information attached to an entity
entity attribute
Column or columns in a PDM whose values depend on and migrate from a
foreign key primary key, or an alternate key, in another table
Entity attribute, or a combination of entity attributes, whose values uniquely
Identifier identify each occurrence of the entity
Special relationship that defines an entity as a special case of a more general
Inheritance entity
Table-reference diagram that models the information system including the
Physical Data details of physical implementation
Model (PDM)
Column or columns whose values uniquely identify a row in a table in PDM
primary key
Window that displays the properties of an object
property sheet
Link between a parent table and a child table in a PDM. A reference can link
reference tables by shared keys or by specified columns
99
Glossary

Rules governing data consistency, specifically the relationships among

referential integrity primary keys and foreign keys of different tables in a PDM
Named connection or association between entities
relationship
Collection of rows (records) in a PDM that have associated columns (fields)
table

100
Index

CDM (continued)
display 83
install 4
A open 16
add option 17
data item to entity 47 preferences 17
object to package 72 properties 20
title box 84 save 21, 97
adjust center
display 16 model 89
align symbol 77
symbol 87 check parameter 24
arrange close
symbol 87 CDM 97
attach PDM 96
business rule to entity 41, 57 code
data item to domain 38 data type 30
attribute color
create 50 title box 85
define 47 window 86
entity 41 create
business rule 25
data item 34
domain 29
B entity 43, 46
business rule 23 entity attribute 50
attach to entity 41, 57 inheritance 76
create 25 package 68
define 23 relationship 61
fact 23
formula 23
sort 26
validate 23 D
data item 23
add to entity 47
attach to domain 38
C create 34
cardinality 59 define 23
one to many 59 diverge 19
relationship 59 sort 35
CDM data type
check parameter 24 code 30
close 97 default 33
define 1, 17

101
DEF file 91 global model 67
default graphic
data type 33 print 90
define
entity 41
inheritance 75, 78
relationship 59, 63 I
delete identifier
object 14 designate 53
symbol 14 inheritance
designate child 76
identifier 53 create 76
detach define 75, 78
symbol 14 mutually exclusive 75
diagram parent 76
package 70 property 78
display install
adjust 16 CDM 4
CDM 83
organize 83
preferences 17
relationship 66 M
diverge model
domain 19 center 89
domain 23 print 90
create 29 move
data item 38 symbol 45
define 23
diverge 19
enforce 19
N
name
identifier 53
E relationship 63
enforce new diagram
domain 19 open 70
entity
add 47
child 75
create 43, 46
O
object
define 41
add to package 72
identifier 41
delete 14
parent 75
open
sort 44
CDM 16
option
CDM 17
G define 17
generate relationship 63
PDM 93 organize
display 83

102
 sort
P business rule 26
package 67
data item 35
add object 72
entity 44
create 68
symbol
open diagram 70
align 87
palette
arrange 87
tool 10
center 77
PDM 1
delete 14
close 96
detach 14
generate 93
move 45
generate from CDM 91
save 96
PowerDesigner
open 8 T
preference title box
CDM 17 add 84
define 17 color 85
display 17 tool
print palette 10
graphic 90 release 12
model 90 select 12
property
CDM 20
define 20
relationship 62 W
window
color 86
R
relationship
cardinality 59
create 61
define 59, 63
dependent 59
display 66
name 63
one-to-many 61
optional 62, 63
property 62

S
save
CDM 21, 97
PDM 96
select
tool 12

103
104