Abstract: Entity-Relationship (ER) diagrams are frequently used for data modeling and database design. The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is dominant in the programming area but has not been widely adopted in the database area. I describe the history of UML as inspired by ER diagrams and argue that the use of a suitable variant of UML incorporates the benefits of ER diagrams as well as the advantages of a modeling language used by the programming community.

Keywords: UML, ER diagram, Data modeling

Download this article: JISE - Volume 17 Number 1, Page 21.pdf

Recommended Citation: Rumbaugh, J. (2006). ER is UML. Journal of Information Systems Education, 17(1), 21-26.