Visio 2002 Technical Articles
Visio-Based Software and Database Modeling Solutions
 

Microsoft Corporation

March 2002

Applies to:
   Microsoft Visio Professional 2002
   Microsoft Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect

Summary: This article provides a feature-by-feature comparison of the database and software modeling solutions in Visio Professional 2002 and Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect.

Contents
Introduction
Compare Database Modeling Features
Compare Software Modeling Features
Additional Resources

Introduction

Microsoft offers you two database and software modeling solutions based on Microsoft® Visio® technology. These solutions enable you to document existing systems, prototype new systems, and provide sound architectural guidance to development teams. The following descriptions and feature-by-feature comparison of the two products should help you decide which product best suits your needs.

  • Visio Professional
    Visio Professional 2002 is a stand-alone diagramming product that includes a full range of technical diagramming capabilities for IT specialists, developers, and engineers. These include solutions for diagramming software and database systems, along with the ability to reverse engineer database schema and Visual Studio .NET projects.
  • Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect
    Microsoft® Visual Studio® .NET Enterprise Architect includes advanced Visio-based modeling solutions for developers. Based on tools previously found in Microsoft Visio 2000 Enterprise Edition, Visio for Enterprise Architects includes all of the solutions in Visio Professional 2002 plus full-featured database and software modeling solutions.

    Visio for Enterprise Architects is available only as part of Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect. Visio 2000 Enterprise Edition customers are eligible for upgrade pricing for Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect.

Compare Database Modeling Features

The following table shows a comparison of the database modeling features in Visio Professional 2002 and Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect.

Table 1. Compare database modeling features

FeatureVisio Professional 2002Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect
Create logical (ER, IDEF1X) and physical database modelsXX
Reverse engineer database schema to logical and physical modelsXX
Import ERwin ERX filesXX
Publish diagrams to the WebXX
Reverse engineer database schema to conceptual (Object Role Modeling) models X
Export ERwin ERX files X
Database schema and DDL script generation from conceptual and physical models X
Model error checking X
Model-database synchronization X
Customizable database report generation X
Create conceptual (Object Role Modeling) database modelsCreate diagrams onlyX

Compare Software Modeling Features

The following table shows a comparison of the software modeling features in Visio Professional 2002 and Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect.

Table 2. Compare software modeling features

FeatureVisio Professional 2002Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect
Create UML modeling diagrams (supports the nine diagram types defined in UML 1.2)XX
Reverse engineer Visual Studio projects into UML class diagrams

Supports:

  • Microsoft® Visual Basic® .NET
  • Microsoft® Visual C++® .NET
  • Microsoft® Visual C#™ .NET
  • Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0
X *X
Web publishing of UML diagramsXX
Generate code skeletons for Visual Basic .NET, C++, and C# X
Model error checking X
Customizable UML report generation X

*Requires Visio 2002 SR1 in order to reverse engineer Visual Studio .NET projects.

Additional Resources

For more information:

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