Reverse engineering a database
You now have a small database complete with tables, indexes, and foreign keys. Let's imagine that you have a database with over a hundred tables. You will have to try and comprehend the data present if you do not have a database model to hand.
You can reverse engineer a database using MySQL Workbench so that you can create both the database model and the EER diagram, which, in return, will assist you greatly in coming to terms with the database.
An ER diagram is a snapshot of the database. It is an image of the tables in the database with lines connecting the tables to show the relationships as set by the foreign keys. There are a number of open source and proprietary software options that allow you to generate ER diagrams. Depending on the software used to create the diagram, you might be able to display information regarding indexes and foreign key columns. The lines connecting the tables might start and end at the actual connecting columns...
