ERD Symbols and Meanings

Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) is a popular software engineering tool for database modeling and illustration the logical structure of databases, which uses one of two notations - Chen's or Crow’s Foot. Crow's foot notation is effective when used in software engineering, information engineering, structured systems analysis and design. Each of these notations applies its own set of ERD symbols. Crow's foot diagrams use boxes to represent entities and lines between these boxes to show relationships. Varied shapes at the ends of lines depict the cardinality of a given relationship. Chen's ERD notation is more detailed way to represent entities and relationships. ConceptDraw DIAGRAM application enhanced with all-inclusive Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD) solution allows design professional ER diagrams with Chen's or Crow’s Foot notation on your choice. It contains the full set of ready-to-use standardized ERD symbols and meanings helpful for quickly drawing, collection of predesigned ERD samples, examples and templates. ConceptDraw Pro is a great alternative to Visio for Mac users as it offers more features and can easily handle the most demanding professional needs.

Entity Relationship Diagram Symbols

The semantic modeling method nowadays is successfully applied in database structure design. It is effective method of modeling the data structures, which is based on the meaning of these data. As a tool of semantic modeling, there are used different types of Entity-Relationship Diagrams. Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) is applied to visually and clearly represent a structure of a business database. The main components of ERDs are: entity, relation and attributes. An entity is a class of similar objects in the model, each entity is depicted in the form of rectangle and has the name expressed by a noun. Relation is shown in the form of non-directional line that connects two entities. There are several notation styles used for ERDs: information engineering style, Chen style, Bachman style, Martin Style. The Entity Relationship Diagram symbols used for professional ERD drawing are predesigned by professionals and collected in the libraries of the Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD) solution for ConceptDraw DIAGRAM software.

Components of ER Diagram

Entity-Relationship model gives the possibility to visually describe a database using the components of ER Diagram, entity relationship stencils, relationship symbols, work flow shapes. ER-diagram lets represent the data or entities, attributes of these entities and relationships between them, using standardized Crow’s Foot notation icons or Chen’s notation icons. An entity is an object of the real world, it can exist independently and has the instances which differ in attribute values (properties). The attributes give an unambiguous (uniquely) identification for the instance and are called the primary key, this key can be composite and combine several attributes. ConceptDraw DIAGRAM is a professional software available with Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD) solution from Software Development area that lets create ERDs for various database systems, using Crow’s Foot and Chen’s notations. It is invaluable tool for software engineers and developers, it supports ODBC-compatible databases (Oracle, MySQL, MS Access, MS SQL, InterBase, Firebird and others).

Data structure diagram with ConceptDraw DIAGRAM

Data structure diagram (DSD) is intended for description of conceptual models of data (concepts and connections between them) in the graphic format for more obviousness. Data structure diagram includes entities description, connections between them and obligatory conditions and requirements which connect them. Create Data structure diagram with ConceptDraw DIAGRAM.

Entity Relationship Software

Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) is a leading data modeling tool that is used to illustrate the logical structure of database, helps to organize and represent your project's data in terms of entities, attributes and relationships. To describe the database structure usually is used the ERD Chen's or Crow's Foot notation. Chen's notation supposes the representation of entities by rectangles with the entities names inside, relationships by diamonds and attributes by ovals connected with a line to exactly one entity. In Crow's Foot notation the boxes are used to depict the entities and their attributes, the lines between them - to depict relationships. ConceptDraw DIAGRAM software extended with Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD) Solution is convenient and useful for designing the ER Diagrams, and supports the use of Chen's or Crow’s Foot notation according to your needs and desires. The ERD diagrams produced with ConceptDraw DIAGRAM Entity Relationship Diagram software can be successfully used in whitepapers, presentations, posters, datasheets, technical materials, etc.

Martin ERD Diagram

The vector stencils library Crow's Foot Notation from the solution Entity-Relationship Diagrams (ERD) contains specific symbols of the Crow's foot notation such as relationship symbols and entity symbols for ConceptDraw DIAGRAM diagramming and vector drawing software. The Entity-Relationship Diagrams (ERD) solution is contained in the Software Development area of ConceptDraw Solution Park.

ConceptDraw DIAGRAM Database Modeling Software

ConceptDraw DIAGRAM is a very easy-to-use and intuitive database design tool which can save you hundreds of work hours. See database diagram samples created with ConceptDraw DIAGRAM database modeling database diagram software.

Software and Database Design with ConceptDraw DIAGRAM

Unified Modeling Language (abbr. UML) is a modeling language used by software developers and software engineers for developing diagrams, expressive modeling, visualization, construction, specification, and documentation an information about software-intensive systems. There are used many types of UML diagrams, joined in main groups, each of them has its own functional abilities and applications: Behaviour diagrams illustrate the functionality of software systems, Structuring diagrams depict a structure of objects at the systems, Interaction diagrams show the flow of control and data among the things in a modeling system. UML has a lot of practical applications in varied areas, among them software development, hardware design, banking and financial services, telecommunication, science, research, enterprise information system, distributed Web-based services, user interfaces for web applications, medical electronics, patient healthcare systems, etc. ConceptDraw DIAGRAM extended with Rapid UML solution is a perfect tool for UML diagramming.

Flowchart Components

The ConceptDraw Flowchart component includes a set of samples and templates. This geathered as flowchart maker toolbox which focused on drawing flowcharts of any industry standards.

Block Diagram Software

The popularity of Block Diagrams grows day by day. The existence of powerful software for their design is an excellent news! ConceptDraw DIAGRAM Block Diagram Software offers the Block Diagrams Solution from the "Diagrams" Area.

Database Design

ConceptDraw DIAGRAM extended with IDEF Business Process Diagrams solution from the Business Processes area of ConceptDraw Solution Park is an ideal software for effective database design and drawing IDEF diagrams visually representing all steps of database design process.

UML Use Case Diagram Example. Registration System

This sample was created in ConceptDraw DIAGRAM diagramming and vector drawing software using the UML Use Case Diagram library of the Rapid UML Solution from the Software Development area of ConceptDraw Solution Park. This sample shows the types of user’s interactions with the system and is used at the registration and working with the database system.

UML Object Diagram. Design Elements

UML Object Diagram shows the structure of a modeled system at a specific time. ConceptDraw has 393 vector stencils in the 13 libraries that helps you to start using software for designing your own UML Diagrams. You can use the appropriate stencils of UML notation from UML Object library.

Financial Trade UML Use Case Diagram Example

This sample represents the actors, use cases and dependencies between them, and also the relationships between use cases. There are used dependency and use case generalization associations on this UML diagram. Use case generalization is used when you have two similar use cases, but one of them does more than another. This sample shows the work of the Financial Trade sphere and can be used by trading companies, commercial organizations, traders, different exchanges.

Data Flow Diagram Process

Data Flow Diagram (DFD) is a hierarchy of functional processes, connected by data flows. The purpose of this presentation is to show how each process converts its inputs into outputs and to identify relationships between these processes. DFD is convenient way of modeling and construction the information processes, it step-by-step illustrates the flow of information in a process. For construction a DFD traditionally are used two different notations, which appropriate to the methods of Yourdon-Coad and Gane-Sarson. These notations slightly different from each other by graphical representation of symbols for processes, data stores, data flow, external entities. When designing a DFD it is required to decompose the system into the components (sub-systems), for explaining a complex system you may need represent numerous levels. The Data Flow Diagrams solution from ConceptDraw Solution Park contains numerous predesigned DFD symbols for both notations, which help easy and effectively design professional-looking Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs) and DFD Process Diagrams.

Wireframe Tools

A wireframe is a scheme of a future web page. Wireframe illustrates the web page structure, location and size of the main elements, as well as their interaction with the user. With such scheme designer defines the functionality of the page, not its appearance.

Flowchart Process Example

ConceptDraw DIAGRAM is a professional software for creating great looking flowcharts. The samples included in this set of software allows users to draw any type of flowchart.

UML Class Diagram Generalization Example UML Diagrams

This sample was created in ConceptDraw DIAGRAM diagramming and vector drawing software using the UML Class Diagram library of the Rapid UML Solution from the Software Development area of ConceptDraw Solution Park. This sample describes the use of the classes, the generalization associations between them, the multiplicity of associations and constraints. Provided UML diagram is one of the examples set that are part of Rapid UML solution.

Database Flowchart Symbols

Data base diagrams describes inter-related data and tables. It describes roles and relationships, internal and external dependencies, data exchange conventions and structures of knowledge domain. ConceptDraw Software provides number of data-base chart libraries including major 49 vector symbols. Use these DFD flowchart symbol libraries to design data-base structure and models, use it to design data base process-oriented models, or simple data-oriented models. The are special drawing tools for making data flowcharts, data process diagrams, structured analysis diagrams, and information flow diagrams.