How to decide whether to use ER or UML for modelling?

stallion picture stallion · Nov 7, 2012 · Viewed 23.2k times · Source

A UML diagram can be used both to model database designs and class designs, but an ER diagram should be used exclusively in database problems. How do you pick one graphical representation over the other?

Answer

ilansch picture ilansch · Nov 7, 2012

ERD - Entity Relation Diagram - giving you image of how the tables should connect, what fields are going to be on each table, the tables connection, if many-to-many, one-to-many.

UML can be used for many diagrams other then ERD. sequence diagram, state diagram, more for the funcionality of the application (what user can do, who does it, when he does it, before what step, what table he use to do it) other then the tables description.

I Would use ERD to describe database relation and UML to describe operations, time, actions, etc..

Refer wiki : Entity-relationship_diagram & Unified_Modeling_Language