A brief guide to Luna Modeler for creating a conceptual data model.
1. Creating a new Conceptual Data Model
To create a new project, click New on the main toolbar and select the Conceptual project type.
2. Entities
An entity can be anything that exists in the real world such as a person, a book, a product, a company, an event, etc. and in the conceptual data model they are represented by basic rectangles. Entities can be added to your project/diagram by clicking the appropriate icon on the main toolbar.
Then click the diagram area. A new graphical object will appear on the diagram.
You can edit properties in the Right Side panel:
Alternatively, you can double click the graphics or right-click the item and choose Edit to open a larger modal form.
3. Attributes
In the real world, almost everything has certain characteristics. In databases, the characteristics are represented by attributes. For example, a person entity may have attributes such as name, surname, age, contact information, address and others.
Attributes can be added to a diagram in a similar way.
Click the Attribute icon on the main toolbar and then click the diagram area. Then click the Line icon on the main toolbar and click the entity and the newly added attribute to add a line between the two items.
After adding the object to the diagram you can double click it and edit properties or use the right side panel for making modifications.
4. Relationships
A database entity can also have relationships with other entities. A relationship is a connection between two or more entities. For example, a person entity may have a relationship with a company entity, indicating that the person works for the company.
To add a new relationship to the diagram, click the Relationship icon, then click diagram area.
In next steps, click the Line icon and add lines pointing from entities to the relationship graphics.
You can edit properties in the right side panel, or double click the relationship graphics to open a form where you can specify type of relationship, colors etc.
5. Inheritance
In Luna Modeler you can also add the inheritance graphical representative to you conceptual data model. This can be used for visualization of generalizations, specializations, inheritance, super types and sub-types etc. Additional information can be added to the diagram in form of line captions, descriptions or text notes.
To add the inheritance symbol to the diagram, click the Inheritance button on the main toolbar and then click the diagram area.
Draw lines pointing to the symbol or connect the symbol with other entities (e.g. sub-types). To edit the properties, either use the right side panel or double click the item to open a new form.
Enjoy!
#
