Apparently MySQL AB turned out a new tool, or at least new to me, which lets you design data structure in a visual manner, called MySQL Workbench. I was pointed to it yesterday by a friend and never had seen it on mysql.com before. This is a tool similar to software like DBDesigner 4, SQL Editor for OS X, and EOModeler from WebObjects. You create tables and you can link them together via relations using a relation ship line tool, basically creating an ERD that you can output to an SQL file or possibly a database. Now this is kinda cool except that this particular piece of software is beta, and I think when it comes to the MySQL AB tools, this means almost unusable. I must say I’ve liked most of the actual UI design in their tools, and Workbench seems pretty decent too, just falls short at this moment with the beta due to bugs that halt the successful usage of this tool.
MySQL Workbench is available for linux, Windows and Mac OS X and I have only tried the Mac OS X version which very likely might be the only one with the crippling bugs I ran across. I basically couldn’t use the relationship features for generating foreign keys due to some bugs that didn’t let me set foreign keys, let alone remove the lines they generate.
It definitely is a promising tool that could prove to be useful once it’s smoothed out and the bugs that limit it at least on OS X are gone. I’ll be watching it, but I also haven’t had too much use for a tool like this yet, just more want to find a use for one, and maybe once this works better I might find it beneficial.
I’ll provide an update of how it is if the linux version is more usable.
Here’s a simple shot of it: