ChartDB

Data

database schema visualization

SHOW HN2024

227points
64comments
#333of 3,515 in 2024
Top 10%of 2024 by points

How HN took it

MixedNo clear lean

5 positive, 17 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 17 critical, out of 40 comments about the project. Thread score -0.23.

Idea: 2 for, 6 againstExecution: 0 for, 7 againstDesign: 2 for, 1 againstPrivacy: 1 for, 1 againstDocs: 0 for, 1 against

The thread, comment by comment

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

What HN said

What people liked

  • Interactive diagram with zoom and reorganising tables

    From 1 comment
    • A big one for me is that it generates a nice interactive UI with the ability to zoom and reorganise tables rather than a static image. I find with sufficiently complex projects…
      callumgare on HN
  • No database credentials needed to import schema

    From 1 comment
    • Not requiring db credentials is a huge plus! Thanks for the explanation.
      andrelaszlo on HN
  • Sleek interface

    From 1 comment
    • Hey this is really cool! I love how sleek the interface is. We're doing something similar at WhoDB (https://github.com/clidey/whodb) and love seeing all the work happening in…
      clidey on HN

Objections

  • AI-powered migration is unnecessary; deterministic transpilation is preferred

    From 2 comments
    • The different dialects have complexities, but they are they are known and explicitly defined. This task is natural to solve deterministically, and I'd say it's also important to…
      RadiozRadioz on HN
    • I rather think using AI to generate scripts for other DBs is a disadvantage. Scripting is a deterministic process, surely? Can you create a common internal representation and…
      djray on HN
  • Script failures on MSSQL and with special object names

    From 2 comments
    • > STRING_AGG aggregation result exceeded the limit of 8000 bytes. Use LOB types to avoid result truncation. Looks like not all databases (mssql in this case) like the generated…
      salzig on HN
    • Ah sorry my bad, I should have read the full script. The script fails though if object names contain double quotes e.g. https://dbfiddle.uk/y-C6Da07
      qwertydog on HN
  • Misspelled database names and UI typos

    From 2 comments
    • "PostgresSQL"? "SQL Lite"? Not even getting the names of the supported databases right doesn’t create trust…
      rustman123 on HN
    • There's a typo on your "Quick Start" button. ("Quck Start")
      idorube on HN

Requests

  • Layout option so relations are easier to see

    From 1 comment
    • Not bad! Could do with a layout option so the relations are easier to see. The OG of DB table designers is the SQL Server database diagrams feature, and before that MS Access,…
      webprofusion on HN
  • Support for saving schema changes back to the database and migration scripts

    From 1 comment
    • Not bad! Could do with a layout option so the relations are easier to see. The OG of DB table designers is the SQL Server database diagrams feature, and before that MS Access,…
      webprofusion on HN
  • Multiple views including an index visualization

    From 1 comment
    • I think having multiple "views" of these diagrams would be nifty. In addition to the standard visualization, you could have an "index" visualization that also captures foreign…
      yetanotherdood on HN

Questions

  • How is this different from SchemaSpy and other visualizers

    From 2 comments
    • How is this different from Schema Spy (https://schemaspy.org)?
      ok123456 on HN
    • This is cool, but there are a lot of visualizer, what's the difference?
      gitroom on HN
  • How the AI part works

    From 1 comment
    • nice work on chartdb, guys! can you elaborate on how the ai part works? im a bit confused how that fits in because there are many SQL diagram tools without AI as well
      namanyayg on HN
  • Why emphasise a single query

    From 1 comment
    • > visualize database schemas by generating ER diagrams with just one query > visualize and design your DB with a single query > Instantly visualize your database schema with a…
      andrelaszlo on HN

Alternatives named

  • SchemaSpy

    From 1 comment
    • How is this different from Schema Spy (https://schemaspy.org)?
      ok123456 on HN
  • drawDB

    From 1 comment
    • Reminds me a lot of my drawDB: https://www.drawdb.app/. *Not a shameless plug, actually*
      1ilit on HN
  • VisualDB

    From 1 comment
    • Or use a tool that already does the rendering, with zoom and pan: https://visualdb.com
      breadwinner on HN
  • WhoDB

    From 1 comment
    • Hey this is really cool! I love how sleek the interface is. We're doing something similar at WhoDB (https://github.com/clidey/whodb) and love seeing all the work happening in…
      clidey on HN

Category, keywords, summaries and labels on this page were made by AI (Thread Reader v2) and not checked by hand. Each point links to the comments it came from.

Add a badge to your READMEShown on HackerShow
[![Shown on HackerShow](https://hackershow.org/badge.svg)](https://hackershow.org/show/41339308)