Jimi,

Its all a matter of preference and familiarity I think.. Hibernate, the original foundation of nhibernate on the java side, is widely adopted, and so my interest in using it, is in a way to follow what may be becoming the industry standard. I like TBH a lot, this is why I am hesitant to stray away from its DAL. However, the prospect of not writing and maitaining any sql code is enticing, so I would like to try it out to see how useful it really is. Although I am fully aware that there is no silver bullet! :)

Alex

- TheBeerHouse Mods Repository
http://www.sashka.com/TheBeerHouse/thebeerhouse.html

alex,

as an aside, how would the nH stuff work (given the lack of sql) in genrating paged resultsets. i'm thinking in particular of the type of thing that i use a lot where you use ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY {0}) as well as ordering by columns (as generated by the gridview.

it's the flexibility of being able to use these 'tricks' that makes the DAL (especially if templated) a pretty comfotable zone for me. i've pasted my amended version of the sqlclient articles List, just to give an idea of what i'm struggling to imagine being replaced with just the table definitions in nH:

        public override List<ArticlesEntity> GetArticles(string sortExpression, int startRowIndex, int maximumRows)
        {
            using (SqlConnection cn = new SqlConnection(this.ConnectionString))
            {
                string SQLString = "SELECT TOP(@End) * FROM ("
                    + string.Format("SELECT *, ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY {0}) AS RowNum FROM tbh_Articles",
                    sortExpression != "" ? sortExpression : "ArticleID ASC")
                    + ") AS Alltbh_Articles WHERE RowNum BETWEEN @Start AND @End ORDER BY RowNum ASC";

                SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand(SQLString, cn);
                cmd.Parameters.Add("@Start", SqlDbType.Int).Value = startRowIndex + 1;
                cmd.Parameters.Add("@End", SqlDbType.Int).Value = startRowIndex + maximumRows;

                cn.Open();
                return this.GetArticlesCollectionFromReader(ExecuteReader (cmd));
            }
        }

anyway, good to think about this stuff.

jimi

http://www.originaltalent.com

just wondering if anyone using the linq to sql has got an answer to the question above (re ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY {0})) as i've been looking at the linq stuff and was wondering how to 'bend' around it in situations such as that.

hope i'm making sense here.

[edit] did find something here, will update on whether it works well:
http://blogs.msdn.com/wriju/archive/2007/10/04/linq-to-sql-paging-data.aspx

[edit 2] can confirm that the method contained in that link above does indeed generate the ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY {0}) sql, which is great news.

jimi

http://www.originaltalent.com

From some of the experimenting I've been doing, LINQ to Sql seems very cool -- but as someone pointed out earlier, it may be well worth waiting for the Entity Framework (LINQ to Entities) to arrive, which I predict will be totally revolutionary.

nHibernate is a neat concept, but has never achieved wide acceptance as any kind of "standard" in the .NET world. I can tell you right now, L2E is the standard of the future. Paging, caching, concurrency control, exception handling, and clean, fast, super-efficient queries all built in. And stored procedures will still be supported for you "tweakers". :D

If you are curious, the CTP is available now.

lee - yes, i've 'read up on the L2E stuff, but haven't experimented yet (that unfortunately is a bit of a luxury these days, giving way to pragamatic industry standards - grrr :D) but once the supported version is out, i'll be onto it.

from what i've seen and played with in L2SQL, that actually can cover most things in TBH and would be fairly easy to port over, however, i agree that it may well be worth waiting out for L2E and use the experience as a 'primer' for it's release. i also keep reminding myself of how many websites there are out there still working beautifully on asp classic - lol.

it's a fast road but actually, if you pause (or stop) and look back, you sometimes see only a blur behind in the distance of the stuff that's really 'happening' in the true sense of the word.

jimi

http://www.originaltalent.com

Same here, unfortunately. There is only one old, slow PC they will let us install CTPs and Betas on, and using it is an exercise in frustration all its own.

L2Sql actually does generate very efficient SQL, supports SPs, and does efficient paging and concurrency behind the scenes. Those are all big advantages. However, it's still not a replacement for a true BLL IMHO. L2E should allow a complete workover of TBH and will make implementing a lot of things that were left out of the original TBH a whole lot easier.

Good point! But I'm sure glad I don't have to write stuff that will run on a 486 with dBase any more.

yes, and as for working with the compiled version 'clipper summer '87' :D

ahh -memories...

jimi

http://www.originaltalent.com