Object-Role Modeling Software — Boston
In 2015 Viev Pty Ltd (now www.FactEngine.ai) launched Boston, conceptual modelling software dedicated to Object-Role Modeling (ORM) and implementing v2 of the methodology.
To the best of our knowledge Boston is the only stand-alone Windows software to implement ORM.
Object-Role Modeling is a conceptual modelling methodology used for the analysis and design of databases as well as ontology engineering. The benefits of ORM include natural language extrapolation of relationships (semantic modelling) and easy transformation from ORM models to Entity Relationship Diagrams for relational databases and Property Graph Schemas for graph databases.
The barrier to entry for ORM modelling software is high, with the level of detail required to implement Object-Role Modeling necessitating an order of magnitude more programming than to realise Entity Relationship Diagrams or Property Graph Schemas. Largely this is due to the semantic qualities of ORM and the number of data and cardinality constraints supported by ORM.
Viev began development of Boston in 2007 and Boston has been in continuous development ever since.
In 2018 Boston v4.0 was released with the ability to convert ORM diagrams to Entity Relationship Diagrams (ERD) and Property Graph Schemas (PGS) in order to capture the burgeoning market of conceptual modelling software for databases, such as SQL Server 2017, supporting both relational and graph models within the one database. Boston allows the analyst to do their conceptual modelling in ORM, and then transform models to the required ERD or PGS model.
Catering for Students and Professionals
Boston comes in Student and Professional versions. Catering for the student market is a passion of mine, as the managing director of Viev. As a student of Object-Role Modeling in the early 1990s, I developed the predecessor of Boston, Niam+, as a tool during my second year at the Queensland University of Technology. It was the lack of Object-Role Modeling software for students that inspired Niam+’s creation.
To that aim, Boston Student is a fully featured version of Boston that is limited only by the number of models that can be stored in the database at any one time. This allows students of Object-Role Modeling to get a taste of professional class conceptual modeling software, and the ability to upgrade to Boston Professional when their modelling needs expand over time.
YouTube Tutorials
Supporting Boston is a range of video tutorials on YouTube which detail how to use the software and extol the virtues of Object-Role Modeling.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHybHukPEsivzh-JMe-oJXA/videos
Why Object-Role Modeling?
In earlier work I outlined some of the reasons to use Object-Role Modeling as an analysis tool. There are three main reasons why Object-Role Modeling shines as an analysis tool in my view:
1. ORM is Database Implementation Agnostic — Regardless of whether your target database is relational or graph based (or both), ORM allows you to analyse the universe of discourse and the convert the model to your desired database model;
2. The sheer range of constraints — Database Management Systems are relatively primitive when it comes to managing constraints on data (cardinality, value and logical constraints), requiring the implementation of triggers and such-like to implement many constraints. While this is true, existing methodologies such as Entity-Relationship Diagrams and Property Graph Schemas have far less capacity to express constraints than their target database. Boston and ORM overcome this by having a wide range of constraints which can be expressed within the ORM Diagrams themselves, making it easier for the analyst to express and share the constraints pertinent to the model; and
3. The natural language expression of relationships and constraints within ORM make it easier for the analyst to express and share knowledge about the underlying model in such a way that it is easier for others to glean the intent of the model construction. While those uninitiated to Object-Role Modeling may find it challenging to read ORM diagrams, each ORM model can be expressed in natural language printouts (electronic or on paper), making it easier to share the knowledge captured in the model including the structure and constraints of the model.
The Benefits of Boston
Boston was designed to be easy to use. Large models are divided into Pages, with each Page focusing on a key aspect of the model. The Virtual Analyst in Boston allows the user to type in relationships and simple cardinality constraints in natural language. This vastly increases the speed at which models can be developed.
A unique feature of Boston is the ability to morph between Pages of the model, morphing from one Page to the next so as to access more information about the model element of interest. The morphing facility extends to morphing between ORM diagrams, ER diagrams and Property Graph Schemas, and vice versa, making it easy to envisage where aspects of ORM models relate to the target Entities and Nodes within the respective relational and graph schemas.
A Glossary view allows models expressed in Boston to act as data dictionaries, providing concise information on each element of the model, and in natural language.
Because ORM supports natural language expression of models, Boston allows users with Microsoft Word installed on their machines to generate documentation of the database in natural language, incorporating the diagrams of the model as well if required.
For more information, visit us at www.factengine.ai
[20220311-Update Viev is now FactEngine at www.FactEngine.ai ]
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