The erwin Data Modeler Metamodel › Introduction

Introduction

Metadata is data about data. Data Architects use model metadata to describe the business information and database structures depicted by the diagrams developed and maintained using erwin® Data Modeler. Model metadata typically includes objects such as ENTITY, TABLE, ATTRIBUTE, COLUMN, KEY GROUP, and INDEX. Model metadata also includes properties such as Entity Name, Attribute Definition, Column Data Type, Key Group Type, and Index Owner.

Metadata information has been available in erwin® Data Modeler for years using XML export/import and the SCAPI API. An additional mechanism was added to facilitate access to underlying model metadata further, and to assist Data Architects to use this information effectively.