Data Modeling Product Reviews

Since 1994 AIS has periodically posted reviews of several commercial design and data modeling products. Each such review has required at least two solid weeks for familiarization and testing, not to mention years of intermittent use, in order to develop a well formed opinion (and if you've read any of the reviews you know I have opinions).

Between the rapid rate of vendors' releases and my growing dissatisfaction with available tools, I just don't have the heart any longer to spend two weeks at a crack updating these reviews so I offer a quick outline below, with links to existing (albeit out of date) reviews.

Of course I may still get the urge to write about some new or newly interesting product - but you are more likely to see my new work in a book or two than as more reviews here. My efforts are now focused on developing the next generation of tools to design and construct information systems. If you need help in that arena, please drop me a line.

My personal ranking	Vendor & Product	Essential characteristics
1	Embarcadero Technologies *ER/Studio*	modern; simple; sensible; industrial strength
2	Microsoft *Visio*	surprisingly good; more MS compatible than MS Office
3	Sybase *PowerDesigner*	over-hyped; glamorous; easy at first but harder later; somewhat unreliable
4	Silverrun Technologies *Silverrun*	academic; elegant; obscure; logical
5	Computer Associates *ERwin*	dull; familiar; solid; confusing
6	Popkin *System Architect*	clever; omni- competent; hacker- friendly
9	Oracle *Designer/2000*	huge; complex; obscure; old fashioned
*(deceased)*	Microsoft InfoModeler / VisioModeler	insanely great; way out front; totally different; died young
...	and many others	too numerous and insignificant to mention

Remember, we do not sell any products nor do we represent any vendors. You can contact them all directly from the links above.