From: Gavin Sinclair <gsinclair@...>
Date: 2002-12-18T19:08:48+09:00
Subject: Re: Data Modeling/Object Modeling (was Re: [OT] RE: help -- persuade my boss to adopt ruby)

Relevant to this thread, but not in reply to anything in particular:

Since relational DBs have advantages over OODBs in your opinion, Austin, what
kind of strategy do you have for accessing them from an OO application?

I ask because, although I also very much like relational DBs, there is
obviously a bridge to be crossed between the DB and the app.  I've never seen
this problem solved once and for all.  In my experience:
 - one company wrote a layer for internal use that abstracted queries
   and updates quite nicely - but I never hear of these used wisely
 - I dislike having SQL code or even relational logic sprayed throughout
   my code, yet writing a DB-access class for each data class is
   cumbersome, uninteresting, error-prone, um .... ?

The DB stuff in my current project is very nicely abstracted because the
application affords it (i.e. it's not mundane "update customer" kind of stuff,
but more abstract), but I don't like beginning new projects and coming up with
DB access strategies all over again.

Any thoughts?

Gavin