DrawSQL, a SaaS platform for visualizing databases schemas, has made over a hundred database diagram templates available for free. The high quality collection comprises schemas by real world applications and open source packages like Django, Laravel or Wordpress.

We all know that great application infrastructure stands on the shoulders of a great Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD). And we also know that designing a good ERD is a fragile and tough process, hence many developers look for inspiration. or even basing theirs upon predefined examples of solid examples found in real world applications and scenarios.

Like not rolling your own authentication flow. but instead using a well-tested framework that sets the standards, the same goes for designing the database part of it. There are tried-and -tested schemas out there already. Don't break into a sweat, just go get one, use it as a basis to build on and benefit from industrial strength experience.

Certainly there are battle-tested sample databases like Sakila for MySQL or Microsoft's NorthWind and AdventureWorks, but those are limited in scope and are static.

DrawSQL goes two steps beyond - releasing specialized schemas in a varying range of applications, and presenting them beautifully and interactively since you can doodle with them, clone them or modify them for your own purposes.

There are a wide range of schemas on offer:

• for Voyager, a Laravel admin panel
• for WordPress, a PHP content managment system
• for Django Push Notifications
• for Koel, an open source music streaming server
• for Ticketit,a simple helpdesk tickets system
• for BookStack, simple Wiki Software

The diagrams range from those focused on a single part of the database such as the schema for Django's Push Notifications, to fully blown schemas that encompass the whole spectrum of the application such as BookStack's or this one for Airbnb.

While DrawSQL allows browsing the schemas for free, in order to clone them you must register for an account. Its free Hobbyist tier allows public diagrams, 15 tables per diagram and 1 user.

In conclusion, DrawSQL's Database schema templates
are very useful indeed, whether you are a pro looking for inspiration in starting your own applications or a student looking to understand how designing for a database goes.

More Information

DrawSQL Database schema templates

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