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- Module Logic Navigator
- Data Diagrammer
- Module Data Diagrammer
- Generators
The Designer/2000 components are shown in Figure 15.1.
FIG. 15.1
The Designer/2000
components.

The heart of Designer/2000 is the repository that records all the information entered
into Designer/2000. It is the basis for generation in the build stage of the SDLC. Features include:
- Repository Object
Navigator (RON). A part of the repository services that allows a
highly intuitive method of viewing and manipulating repository
objects.
- Repository-based. This allows multiuser concurrent access, check-in and
check-out facilities available, and data access from other products such as SQL*PLUS.
- Version control. This allows the development to proceed with the current state of
the application frozen. It allows the maintaining of a history of system development over
time and also parallel development of the application using one or more versions.
For example, an inventory system can be developed for use in both the United States and
the UKone version containing UK-specific details, and the other containing
U.S.-specific information.
- Quality checks. It provides a variety of quality checks during the initial stages by
cross-referencing and checking consistency rules that allow the fixing of errors during
the early stages.
- Documentation. It offers an extensive set of reporting options to generate
systems documentation. All the information is entered into property sheets and diagrammers
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as the project progresses; the reports are available easily. There are over 100
standard reports that can be run.
- National Language support. It allows Designer/2000 to be run against an Oracle
database built in any character set, including multibyte character sets.
Several reports can be obtained from the repository, as shown in Figure 15.2.
FIG. 15.2
The reports available
from the repository.

Features common to all diagrammers of the Designer/2000 toolset are as follows:
- Graphical user interface
- Point and click
- Pull-down menus
- Context-sensitive help
- Multiple windows
- Integration with the repository
- OLE 2.0 integration
- Hierarchical views
All diagrammers and utilities provided with DES2K have certain common aspects, and you
can use similar steps to interface with them. After Designer/2000 has been installed, you will
see an Oracle Designer/2000 icon in the Designer/2000 group. Double-click this icon and log on
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to the Oracle database where the repository resides. If you are opening an existing
application system, choose it at this point. Otherwise, you can create a new application system at
this point.
NOTE
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The Designer/2000 window can be started from the command line using the
following syntax:
DES2KXX username/password@database /A:apps_system,version /S
where username/password@database is the connect string;
/A specifies the application system and the version; and
/S is used to suppress the splash screen.
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To create a new application system, complete the following steps:
- Select RON and choose File, New.
- Create a name for the application system.
You can continue working with this application system or change it by choosing a different
one from the File menu.
The main DES2K window has buttons to start all diagrammers and utilities as well as
context-sensitive links to the help system. The status line of the different tools and utilities
contains valuable information about the current session, such as the application system, version,
and logged-on user. All the diagrammers have a similar look and feel. They have a Multiple
Document Interface (MDI) and enable the user to look at the same object from different views
and through different diagrams at the same time.
The diagrammers make extensive use of the mouse to manipulate objects and also respond
to dialog boxes. All the standard Windows mouse actions such as drag-and-drop,
selecting, double-clicking to change the properties, moving, resizing, and so on are supported. A
full-featured menu system allows easy manipulation of the objects and the application systems.
A toolbar is also provided as an extension of the menu system and makes the most
frequently used functions easily accessible to the developers. The DES2K utilities also have a
common look and feel. Two types of utilities are used:
- Full-window utilities such as Repository Object Navigator, Repository
Administration, Repository Reports, Preferences Navigator, and Matrix Diagrammer provide an
MDI interface similar to the diagrammers. These utilities provide an object navigator
and properties window to easily manipulate the objects.
- Pop-up window utilities such as the generators and reverse engineering utilities
are generally started from another diagrammer or utility.
During the logical and physical design of a system, diagrams help us accurately document
the proposed system and communicate with the users and other team members. The
following Designer/2000 diagrammers are commonly used during the logical and physical design of
the database:
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- Entity relationship diagrammer. An ERD models the information needs of an
organization. It should involve communication and consensus between the project team and
the end users. Entity relationship modeling involves identifying the things of importance
in an organization (entities), the properties of those things (attributes), and how they
relate to each other (relationships). A simple two-entity ERD is shown in Figure 15.3.
FIG. 15.3
An example of a two-
entity relationship
diagram.

- Function hierarchy diagram. This identifies everything the company needs to do
and shows functions that the company performs and those that it wants to implement in
the future. The function hierarchy begins with an overall mission description and breaks
it down into major functions that are further decomposed until it is not possible to break
it further.
- Dataflow diagram. The DFD depicts how information flows in the business and how
it flows between the outside environment and the system interfaces.
- Matrix diagrams. The repository services of Designer/2000 allow the generation of
a variety of matrix diagrams for the system. The purpose of the matrix is to identify
areas that might have been overlooked during the logical design stage.
- Process flow diagram. The process modeler component of Designer/2000
supports process modeling techniques that can be used to support Business Process Re-
- engineering (BPR) or prototyping. It can also act as a means of visual feedback to
the users about the analyst's understanding of the system requirements.
- Data schema diagrams. Graphical representations of the interrelated tables and
constraints in the database. Primary and foreign keys are shown in the diagram,
which
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