Exercise 4: Transforming the logical data model to a physical data model

Before you begin, you must complete Exercise 3: Viewing the domain model reference in the Design project properties.

You can use the workbench to transform a logical data model to a physical data model. There are several ways to specify transformation options:

In this exercise you will simply transform the sample HR.ldm logical data model to a physical data model without changing any transformation settings in the Preferences window or the Properties view. In a later exercise, you will change the transformation properties of some of the objects in the logical data model, then transform again to see how these properties affect the transformation.

To transform the logical data model to a physical data model:

  1. In the Data Project Explorer, select the HR.ldm logical data model.
  2. Click Data > Transform > Physical Data Model from the main menu. You can also use the Transform To Physical Data Model Transform To Physical Data Model toolbar button icon toolbar button.

    The Transform to Physical Data Model wizard opens.

  3. On the Target Physical Data Model page, keep the Create new model check box checked.

    In this case, you do not have an existing physical data model. However, if you were working in a team environment where you wanted to partition a large logical data model, you could use the Update existing model option to transform multiple logical data models into one physical data model. You can also use this feature to modify a logical data model and propagate the changes to an existing physical data model.

  4. Click Next.
  5. On the Physical Data Model File page, type HR_physical in the File name field, and keep the default settings in the other fields.

    Screen capture showing the Transform to Physical Data Model wizard, as described.

  6. Click Next.
  7. On the Options page, type HR_schema in the Schema name field. This will create a schema named HR_schema in your physical data model after the transformation. Keep the defaults for the other fields on this page, and click Next.

    On the Output page, you will see a message indicating that the transformation to physical model is complete.

  8. Click Finish to save the physical data model.

    The HR_physical.dbm physical data model file is created and displayed in the Data Models folder under the Design Project in the Data Project Explorer. The physical data model file opens in the physical data model editor.

    Screen capture showing the new physical data model displayed in the Data Project Explorer, as described.

  9. Expand the HR_physical.dbm node, the Database node, and the HR_schema node.
  10. Right-click the Diagrams folder, and select New Overview Diagram.
  11. In the window that opens, click the check box next to HR_schema in the Include selected elements list.

    This highlights the HR_schema object and all objects that are contained in the schema.

  12. Keep all other defaults and click OK.

    The new HR_schema diagram is displayed in the Data Project Explorer and opens in the diagram editor.

  13. Click the HR_schema tab in the editor area to see the diagram.
  14. Click in a blank area of the diagram.
  15. In the Properties view, change diagram properties so that column objects are displayed in the editor:
  16. Double-click the HR_schema tab to maximize the diagram editor view.

    Notice that the transformation created four tables, mapping closely to the four entities in the HR.ldm logical data model.

    Screen capture showing the HR_schema diagram, as described.

  17. Save and close the HR_schema diagram and the HR_physical physical data model.

Now you are ready to begin Exercise 5: Modifying transformation properties to roll up