DBMS Definition Files

A DBMS definition file is a PowerDesigner resource file that provides PowerDesigner with the information necessary to model, reverse-engineer, and generate for a particular DBMS. It includes a number of categories, containing entries with SQL statements or other parameters to define how to model, generate and reverse engineer for the DBMS.

PowerDesigner provides definition files for most popular DBMSs. The DBMS definition files are located in install_dir/Resource Files/DBMS, and have an .xdb extension.

You can consult or modify the DBMS definition file attached to your PDM in the Resource Editor by selecting Database > Edit current DBMS. When you select a category or an item in the left-hand pane, the name, value, and related comment appear in the right side of the dialog box.

Warning! We strongly recommend that you make a back up of the resource files delivered with PowerDesigner before editing them.

Each DBMS file has the following structure:

General - contains general information about the database, without any categories (see General Category). All items defined in the General category apply to all database objects.
Script - used for generation and reverse engineering. Contains the following sub-categories:
- SQL - contains the following sub-categories, each of which contains items whose values define general syntax for the database:
  - Syntax - general parameters for SQL syntax (see Syntax Category)
  - Format - parameters for allowed characters (see Format Category)
  - File - header, footer and usage text items used during generation (see File Category)
  - Keywords - the list of SQL reserved words and functions (see Keywords Category)
- Objects - contains commands to create, delete or modify all the objects in the database. Also includes commands that define object behavior, defaults, necessary SQL queries, reverse engineering options, and so on (see Script/Objects Category).
- Data Type - contains the list of valid data types for the specified DBMS and the corresponding types in PowerDesigner (see Script/Data Type Category).
- Customize - Retrieves information from PowerDesigner Version 6 DBMS definition files. It is not used in later versions.
ODBC - present only if the DBMS does not support standard statements for generation. In this case the ODBC category contains additional items necessary for live database connection generation .
Transformation Profiles – contains group of transformations used during model generation when you need to apply changes to objects in the source or target models. For more information, see Transformations and Transformation Profiles (Profile) and Core Features Guide > Linking and Synchronizing Models > Generating Models and Model Objects > Generating Models > Model Generation Options Window > Applying Model Transformations.
Profile - allows you to define extended attribute types and extended attributes for database objects. For more information, see Profile Category (DBMS).

DBMS Property Page
A DBMS has a property page available when you click the root node in the tree view. The following properties are defined:
Triggers Templates, Trigger Template Items, and Procedure Templates
The DBMS Trigger templates, Trigger template items, and Procedure templates are accessible via the tabs in the Resource Editor window. In addition, for Oracle, there is a tab for database package templates.
Controlling Database Generation and Reverse Engineering
PowerDesigner supports generation and reverse engineering of databases through scripts and live connections via SQL statements and queries stored in the Script/Objects category. Generation and reverse-engineering of scripts and generation to a live connection all use the same statements, while reverse-engineering from a live connection uses separate queries.
General Category
The General category is located directly beneath root, and contains the following items:
Script/Sql Category
The SQL category is located in the Root > Script category. Its sub-categories define the SQL syntax for the DBMS
Script/Objects Category
The Objects category is located in the Root > Script > SQL category (and, possibly within Root > ODBC > SQL), and contains the following items that define the database objects that will be available in your model.
Script/Data Type Category
The Data Type category provides mappings to allow PowerDesigner to handle DBMS-specific data types correctly.
Profile Category (DBMS)
The Profile category is used to extend standard PowerDesigner objects. You can refine the definition, behavior, and display of existing objects by creating extended attributes, stereotypes, criteria, forms, symbols, generated files, etc, and add new objects by creating and stereotyping extended objects and sub-objects.
ODBC Category
The ODBC category contains items for live database generation when the DBMS does not support the generation statements defined in the Script category.
Physical Options
In some DBMSs, physical options are used to specify how an object is optimized or stored in a database. You define physical options in object property sheets on the following tabs:
PDM Variables and Macros
The SQL queries recorded in the DBMS definition file items make use of various PDM variables. These variables are replaced with values from your model when the scripts are generated, and are evaluated to create PowerDesigner objects during reverse engineering.