SQL Server Schema Visualizer (MSAGL demo)

A small C# Windows Forms application (project name Glee) that draws the schema of a SQL Server database as an interactive graph, using Microsoft's MSAGL (Microsoft Automatic Graph Layout) library. It was written in 2017 against the AdventureWorks2014 sample database.

What it does

• Connects to a SQL Server instance and reads key/constraint metadata from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.KEY_COLUMN_USAGE (see SQL_Server/SQL_Manager.cs).
• Builds one node per table (labelled with the table's primary-key columns), grouped into a sub-graph per table, all nested under an "Adventure 2014" root sub-graph.
• Adds a directed edge from each table to every table whose primary-key column matches one of its foreign-key column names, so the drawing approximates the FK → PK relationships of the database.
• Renders the result in MSAGL's GViewer control: automatic layout, mouse-wheel zoom, node dragging, and hover highlighting/tooltips for nodes and edges (Form1.cs).

Key classification is heuristic: a column is treated as a primary key when its constraint name starts with PK, otherwise as a foreign key.

Requirements

• Windows with .NET Framework 4.5.2 (the project is a classic WinForms/.NET Framework project — it does not build or run on macOS/Linux or on modern .NET without porting).
• Visual Studio (or MSBuild) to build Glee.csproj.
• A reachable SQL Server instance with the AdventureWorks2014 sample database (any database works, but the FK → PK matching assumes the PK/FK constraint-naming convention).

Running

1. Edit CONNECTION_STRING in SQL_Server/SQL_Manager.cs so that Data Source points to your SQL Server instance.
2. Open Glee.csproj in Visual Studio, build, and run. The graph is created on startup.

Project layout

Path	Description
Form1.cs, Form1.Designer.cs	Main form; graph construction and viewer interaction. Based on MSAGL's WindowsApplicationSample.
SQL_Server/	Database access: SQL_Manager (connection + metadata query), ObjectTable / CSTable (table/key models).
lib/	Microsoft MSAGL 3.0 assemblies referenced by the project (Microsoft.Msagl, Microsoft.Msagl.Drawing, Microsoft.Msagl.GraphViewerGdi).

Attribution

Graph layout and rendering are provided by Microsoft Automatic Graph Layout (MSAGL), Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation, released under the MIT License. The binaries in lib/ are redistributed from that project under that license — the full license text is included in lib/MSAGL-LICENSE.txt. The UI code in Form1.cs started from MSAGL's WindowsApplicationSample demo. This repository is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.