Learning curve for new database program with Python?

Simon Brunning simon at brunningonline.net
Tue Apr 8 06:29:41 EDT 2008


On Mon, Apr 7, 2008 at 7:19 PM, Gary Duzan <mgi820 at motorola.com> wrote:
>    It seems to me that ORM can work if your database isn't too
>  complex and it is the only way your database is going to be accessed.

I'm working on a big, complex system using an ORM at the moment -
http://gu.com. It's a Java/Hibernate/Spring system rather than
anything Python based, but the principle is the same. We find that the
ORM works great for 99% of our DB interaction, and saves a lot of
tedious fiddling around.

*But*, the 1% is crucial. Using an ORM doesn't mean you don't have to
understand what's going on underneath. When you need to hand craft a
performance critical query, or when you are chasing down a bug, you
need to know SQL, and know it well. C.F. The Law of Leaky Abstractions
- http://tinyurl.com/bmvn.

It's not either SQL or ORM. It's both. But SQL should come first.

-- 
Cheers,
Simon B.
simon at brunningonline.net
http://www.brunningonline.net/simon/blog/
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