[CLUE-Tech] OT: SQL Server dump-to-text

[Tom Poindexter]

On Fri, Dec 28, 2001 at 08:21:38AM -0700, Chris K. Chew wrote:

> Designer 1:  "What is essential to a stable, fast SQL-based data server?"
> Designer 2:  "Who cares?  How can we use buzz-words like xml, replication
> and clustering?"
> Designer 1:  "Oh yeah, I see your point.  I was out of line, sorry."

Yeah, nothing like building buzz-word compliant systems.  I've seen way too
much of this.


> Anyways, please let me know if anyone finds an easy way of transferring data
> and structure from ms sql server to mysql.

Ok, I can recommend one tool, with the caveat that it's a Windows-based
tool, and from Microsoft to boot.  The pluses are that it does a good
job of reverse engineering a database, it does both Object Role Modeling (ORM)
and IDEFX1 (conventional Entity/Relationship [ER]) models, and it's *free*.  

It's Visio Modeler, which was formerly InfoModeler.  InfoModeler was developed 
by Asymetrix (Paul Allen's company) as a Object Role Modeling database design 
tool.  Later, it was spun off into it's own company and added IDEFX1 
modeling; then acquired by Visio; then by MS when MS acquired Visio.

I really like ORM, I think it's superior to ER for database design.  You can
design with either ORM or ER, then save as the other format to display for
folks who prefer certains display formats.

I'm currently using VisioModeler on a PostgreSQL project.  I connect to
PostgreSQL via the ODBC drivers for Windows.  I don't see why it wouldn't
work for MySQL.  You should be able to reverse engineer your SQL Server
database either through the ODBC or native SQL Server drivers.  Of course
Visio Modeler doesn't know about PostgreSQL features, but the using then 
generic ODBC driver can get you fairly common table/index definitions.

Visio Modeler won't help you in actually transferring your data from
SQL Server to MySQL.  

I haven't tried running it under Wine, and I have neither Win4Lin or VMware.

Grab it at:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/visio2000enterprise/ORMtool/3.1/WIN98/EN-US/msvm31.exe

If you want to learn more about ORM, try searching microsoft.com for
'Visio Modeler' or 'Object Role Modeling', or try the Journal of Conceptual
Modeling at: http://www.inconcept.com/JCM/

Terry Halpin, who developed ORM, is now at MS, and has a nice paper about ORM:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnvs700/html/vsea_ormoverview.asp
-- 
Tom Poindexter
tpoindex at nyx.net
http://www.nyx.net/~tpoindex/