Design and Manage Pervasive PSQL Databases Visually with DbSchema

DbSchema lets you design, manage, and document Pervasive PSQL databases. Create ER diagrams, define tables and columns, and generate SQL scripts - with or without a live database connection.

Use Git to share the design, compare it with the Pervasive PSQL database, and deploy changes. DbSchema also includes a data editor, query builder, and HTML5 documentation - everything you need in one tool.

DbSchema Database Designer

Download DbSchema Download Pervasive PSQL JDBC Driver

Schema Visualization for Point-of-Sale and Manufacturing Databases

Pervasive PSQL — now marketed as Actian PSQL — is a transactional database engine used widely in point-of-sale, retail management, and manufacturing software. Its Btrieve-derived storage engine operates as a local workgroup store or as a client-server installation accessible over the network. Many vertical-market applications have run on PSQL for decades with minimal schema documentation. DbSchema connects via JDBC, renders the SQL schema visually, and helps development teams understand the structure of long-running PSQL applications.

Connect to Pervasive PSQL and Load the Schema

DbSchema connects to a Pervasive PSQL server using the PSQL JDBC driver and reads the database catalog. Tables, columns, data types, and indexes are displayed in the diagram canvas, providing a visual map of a database that often has no existing schema diagram.

Connecting to a Pervasive PSQL server and loading the schema in DbSchema

Write and Run SQL Queries

DbSchema's SQL editor supports the PSQL SQL dialect — including its handling of Btrieve- originated column types and its transaction model. Run queries to validate data, audit records, or investigate application behavior without requiring access to the PSQL Control Center or the host application itself.

SQL editor running a query against a Pervasive PSQL database in DbSchema

Generate Schema Documentation

DbSchema's documentation generator exports the Pervasive PSQL schema as a navigable HTML report with table listings, column definitions, and relationship diagrams — a practical starting point for migration planning or compliance documentation in industries with long PSQL application lifecycles.

HTML documentation generated from a Pervasive PSQL schema in DbSchema

Connecting DbSchema to Pervasive PSQL

The JDBC URL format is jdbc:pervasive://host:1583/dbname, where 1583 is the default PSQL server port. Download the Pervasive JDBC driver from the Actian developer portal and register the JAR in DbSchema's driver manager. The driver supports both local connections to a PSQL workgroup engine and remote connections to a PSQL server engine. On Windows, PSQL also supports an ODBC connection, but the JDBC driver provides direct access without requiring an ODBC data source name to be configured on the client machine.

Why DbSchema for Pervasive PSQL

  • Visualize PSQL schemas for applications with no prior ER diagram documentation.
  • Run SQL queries against PSQL databases without the PSQL Control Center utility.
  • Export schema documentation for legacy system audits and compliance reviews.
  • Plan migration from PSQL to a modern database by comparing source and target schemas.
  • Inspect Btrieve-originated column types and constraints in a structured visual editor.