mdipierro wrote: > This brings up a question I have and I have not had a decent answer > to. Other than for accessing legacy databases why would one need > SQLAlchemy over the web2py DAL? What functionality is missing in th > web2py DAL that is in SQLAlchemy? Please understand I am not trying to > be polemic, far from it, I am trying to learn from you so that we can > improve. >
It's not just "legacy" databases. Calling them legacy makes it sound like only old databases are designed against the wishes of ORMs like web2py. I know quite a few developers who simply won't tolerate poor table structure, and too often these ORM's dictate a pattern that is less than ideal (as I have defined it ;-) ). Disallowing/discouraging compound primary keys, for example, sacrifices traditional design to make it easier on ORM developers, or in the case of web2py, to allow it to be abstracted to even allow non-relational databases. Anyway, I consider traditional design to be important. I prefer my model to be proscriptive as well as descriptive. The more I can get my data model working to define structure, the less pain later. There's a large class of developers who don't really care. That's fine, and maybe they won't ever need to use a fuller extent of the database's power anyway, but I have yet to see this as the "future" of web apps that throws most databases I've seen into the "legacy" category. Plus it assumes that I have full control over the database, and that the database is used for no other purpose or at least mainly used by that DAL. Does the web2py DAL allow batch updates etc. to occur without recourse to actual SQL statements? i.e., updating all columns in the database without making a call per record? If not, functionality like this gives SQLAlchemy perhaps another benefit. I'm interested to hear what others think of this. Is the database structure less important than I'm making it out to be? --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TurboGears" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/turbogears?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
