Creating Type Information Using Modeling Tools
Using a third-party tool to create an information model in a visual modeling environment is strongly recommended. Information models are complex to design and difficult to get right the first time. Unless you are creating the simplest of models, or making small changes to an existing model, you should invest in a tool to develop your design.
In addition to providing a visual modeling environment, modeling tools provide support for multiple users, version control, report generation, and integration with application programming environments.
The Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 Meta Data Services Software Development Kit (SDK) includes utilities for creating and extending an information model. You can access these utilities from within third-party modeling tools by way of extensions.