Found a simple tool for database modeling: dbdiagram.io • Hacker News Board

Re: Found a simple tool for database modeling: dbdiagram.io

#11

Post by zelphirkalt » Sun, Apr 27, 2025, 6:27 AM UTC

Is there a way to switch to numerical multiplicities/cardinalities? I always find the circle and feet notation not very readable and also less precise in some cases.

My personal go-to tool for this kind of diagram may remain yEd graph editor for now.

Re: Found a simple tool for database modeling: dbdiagram.io

#12

Post by dammaj » Sun, Apr 27, 2025, 6:41 AM UTC

zelphirkalt wrote: post #10

jesperwe wrote: post #7

The FLOSS tool https://drawdb.vercel.app/editor has been here on HN several times. IMHO also does a somewhat better job.

Doesn't seem to work on mobile at all. Tables that I add are not shown in the diagram. The diagram area is not visible unless I scroll sideways.I cannot scroll sideways, unless I request desktop site and scroll there. But I still don't see any entities in the diagram. When I use the buttons to add tables in the diagram, they also do not show up in the grid, but only on the left in the textual list of tables. Seems li…

It works on mine.

Re: Found a simple tool for database modeling: dbdiagram.io

#13

Post by vfclists » Sun, Apr 27, 2025, 6:51 AM UTC

can it export to other graph drawing languages like graphviz or mermaid?

Re: Found a simple tool for database modeling: dbdiagram.io

#14

Post by quentincaffeino » Sun, Apr 27, 2025, 7:00 AM UTC

have a look at plantuml

Re: Found a simple tool for database modeling: dbdiagram.io

#15

Post by solids » Sun, Apr 27, 2025, 7:05 AM UTC

Mermaid is also great

https://docs.mermaidchart.com/blog/posts/7-er-diagram-exampl...

Re: Found a simple tool for database modeling: dbdiagram.io

#16

Post by alwinaugustin » Sun, Apr 27, 2025, 7:17 AM UTC

This has been there forever.

Re: Found a simple tool for database modeling: dbdiagram.io

#17

Post by blitztime » Sun, Apr 27, 2025, 7:19 AM UTC

solids wrote: post #15

Mermaid is also great https://docs.mermaidchart.com/blog/posts/7-er-diagram-exampl...

I found out about mermaid recently and have been using it to make diagrams. How do you use it for data modeling though?

Re: Found a simple tool for database modeling: dbdiagram.io

#18

Post by ozim » Sun, Apr 27, 2025, 7:23 AM UTC

Maybe it is me but I never find those relationships diagrams that useful.

When structure is obvious then it is obvious and I don’t need a diagram - when structure is convoluted diagram is such a mess anyway that it is not helping at all.

Re: Found a simple tool for database modeling: dbdiagram.io

#19

Post by ramon156 » Sun, Apr 27, 2025, 7:30 AM UTC

_ZeD_ wrote: post #4

What's wrong with dbeaver?

Honestly, i love dbeaver but the fact it doesn't respect GTK nicely and the UI hasn't gotten much love makes me want to switch to something else. I know most people don't really get bothered by it, so I'd say it's not that big of a deal. It is for me though

Re: Found a simple tool for database modeling: dbdiagram.io

#20

Post by lucb1e » Sun, Apr 27, 2025, 7:53 AM UTC

Language in that gif reminds me of DOT, from apt install graphviz which is pretty widely used I think. Various tools I use (including some I wrote or worked on) output to DOT format because it's so simple, and from there you tell the tool to make it into the appropriate format for your pdf report or webpage or so: `cat diagram.dot | dot -T png > diagram.png`. The DOT format is not as simple as dbdiagram though! But it's also not limited to database diagrams: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOT_(graph_description_languag...

In case someone wished this exists but for something other, or more versatile, than database diagrams, although dbdiagram as a product looks way more polished and integrated