When comparing Model Xtractor vs SchemaSpy, the Slant community recommends SchemaSpy for most people. In the question“What are the best database design programs?” SchemaSpy is ranked 7th while Model Xtractor is ranked 14th. The most important reason people chose SchemaSpy is:
SchemaSpy can analyze database metadata in order to reverse engineer ER (Entity Relationship) diagrams for any JDBC-compliant database which includes Oracle, MySQL, Sql-Server and Postgres among others.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Complete diagrams
Generates complete diagrams of a database with one click.
Pro Lightweight
Only a 5 Mb download.
Pro Multiple databases
Supports multiple databases: Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Azure, Amazon Redshift, SQLite and Firebird.
Pro Easy
Very user friendly.
Pro Entity Relationship Digramming for nearly any JDBC-compliant database
SchemaSpy can analyze database metadata in order to reverse engineer ER (Entity Relationship) diagrams for any JDBC-compliant database which includes Oracle, MySQL, Sql-Server and Postgres among others.
Pro Has a GUI option available
SchemaSpy is a CLI tool. For people who prefer GUI-based tools there's one available from a different maintainer which stands on top of the CLI version.
Cons
Con Driver download
Some database drivers need to be installed manually, e.g. for PostgreSQL the Npgsql MSI installer.
Con Does not work with schema dumpfiles
SchemaSpy has no methods for dealing with when you only have a schema generated via something like (mysqldump --no-data [options] >schema-only_dump.sql
) , and do not currently have access to a live database to connect with.
Con GUI option is a separate download by a different maintainer
Since the GUI version is from a different maintainer, it may be abandoned and eventually break if SchemaSpy development continues beyond that. Or it may implement new features much later than the CLI version.
Con Project may be dead or dying
The codebase on sourceforge hasn't seen an update since 2010.