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David,
I
agree with Jack.
I have
not used Designer for generating applications (have tried, but not been
successfull - clearly because I did not have the time).
But I
use it exclusively for database design and object creation (TbSpaces, tables,
indexes, PK's, FK's, CK's, Seq's, Trigs & Views). It is great for
buidling all of the relatioinships and then generating the DDL scripts.
Once you learn how it works, it is *much* faster than maintaining sql scripts
for all of your database objects.
I
agree, that there is a learning curve. But, you can "reverse engineer" a
small database, and see how everything is stored to learn what needs to be done
where.
I do
not keep PL/SQL (except for triggers) in the repos, mostly because I don't see
the benefit. The tool does not help you develop the scripts (we use Toad),
so storing them in the repos makes no sense to me (our developers use SourceSafe
for code managment).
Hope
this helps.
Tom Mercadante
Oracle Certified Professional
David,
I've
used Designer (and Oracle*CASE before it) for about 10 years now. I've
always used it for logical data modelling and physical database
implementation. In my Developer past, I've done a ton of Oracle Forms
and Reports generation from Designer, as well as Web Server Generator
apps. All my PL/SQL stored packages have always (and still do) live in
Designer.
Now
that I'm focussed on Development DBA work, I user Designer for physical
database design and implementation and PL/SQL package development. It is
wonderful for specifying tables, along with their constraints, indexes,
triggers, etc., etc. then generating the DDL scripts to create the
objects. Designer even lets you deploy the same object, such as a table,
with different storage parameters to different databases - say, development,
test, and production.
The
reverse engineering functionality (called "Design Capture" in the tool) of
Designer is extremely useful. You don't have to create all the objects
of a database by hand, just point Designer at a schema and let it suck up all
the details into the Designer Repository - a real time
saver.
There is definitely a *steep* learning curve
associated with Designer and the benefits of the tool are more along the lines
of quality, consistency, impact analysis, etc. rather than more rapid
development and/or deployment. Get some (or lots) of training
and hire a Designer "Guru" to spend some time with you showing you some
good techniques for doing what you want to do. Don't get an expert in
Oracle Forms generation to help you with Designer's DBA functionaliy,
however. Get the "Guru" that has the specific expertise you need.
Check out the Oracle Development Tools User Group (ODTUG) at www.odtug.com for info on how to
subscribe to the Designer (and other) lists, which are hosted along with this
list right here at FatCity.
Designer is HUGE, but you can successfully and
profitably use just the pieces you want.
Jack
--------------------------------
Jack C.
Applewhite
Database Administrator/Developer
OCP Oracle8
DBA
iNetProfit, Inc.
Austin,
Texas
www.iNetProfit.com
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(512)327-9068
Is
anyone out there deriving much benefit from Oracle Designer 2000? My company has the product and I set
it up but it looks like the initial investment in learning the product and
creating everything in the repository will be extremely time-consuming. So, please tell me your favorite
uses for Designer.
Thanks,
David
David B.
Wagoner
Database
Administrator
Arsenal
Digital Solutions Worldwide Inc.
4815
Emperor Blvd., Suite 110
Durham,
NC 27703
Tel.
(919) 941-4645
Fax
(919) 474-0695
Email
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Web
http://www.arsenaldigital.com/
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