FAQ: Convincing your Manager

	Less implementation efforts (lines of code) The benefits of object-oriented over procedural code are broadly recognised in the modern software development industry (just look at .NET and Java whose base class libraries are implemented in a fully object-oriented way). However, mapping an object-oriented domain model to a relational database model (to create, read, update and delete data) involves significant implementation efforts. Even worse, this mapping always follows the same set of patterns, which means a lot of repetitive work and code duplications when done manually. This task can be much better addressed by Genome, which fully automates the mapping implementation based on a schema declared between the object model and the database. Genome does not generate code that needs to be maintained later and does not get bored or make mistakes because of repetitive work. Think about how much of your code currently deals with data access. When using Genome, all this code does not need to be written nor maintained anymore. To give you an example, we have re-implemented the Microsoft PetShop V3.0 implementation with Genome, leading to a more than 50% reduction of statements in the Genome based implementation: Less complexity increases flexibility and maintainability: Changes can be implemented more quickly with less unwanted side effects Additional code for mapping also adds subsequent additional efforts for maintenance and extensions. Manually coding a data access layers involves a lot of duplications as the mapping has to be reflected in every single SQL statement or stored procedure used. When changing the database structure or the business logic model, all duplications in the manually written data access layer have to be refactored, which can easily lead to errors or inconsistencies. This often leads to inflexibility in adapting the business model or changing the database model for larger application developments as changes become impossible to manage in the manually implemented data access layer. Genome allows you to refactor your database structure and business model easily because it encapsulates both the entity-relational mapping as well as query logic. Increased stability: No hard-to-detect runtime errors when executing SQL from .NET. Dynamic queries are easier to manage. Another typical weak point in .NET database-driven application development is the programming interface between database and business layer: to a .NET compiler (e.g. C#), a SQL command or stored procedure is just a string sent to the database which cannot be verified during compilation. This leads to hard-to-detect runtime errors when executing SQL from .NET, as the database will not parse the SQL command or stored procedure name until runtime and returns an error if there is a problem with it. This gets even worse when the business layer needs to compose dynamic queries. A very typical use case scenario for this is a search form where the user can fill in an arbitrary list of search criteria and the filter of the final query is dynamically composed from the given user input. In such cases, all possible flows of the dynamic query logic need to be tested (in the example: all possible user input combinations) to verify a correct query generation in all cases. In more complex scenarios this is usually impossible. As a result a lot of efforts are running into ad-hoc developed frameworks that provide a more secure usable and manageable infrastructure for dynamic query generation than StringBuilder and String.Format(). Genome allows you to map and verify static queries during compile time. Result sets can be dynamically composed using set operations that provide a strongly typed and compile-time checked interface for dynamic query building. Genome’s current infrastructure already anticipates today what will become more broadly available with Microsoft’s LINQ extensions for C# and VB.NET. Genome already supports (but does not depend on) LINQ today. Real database independency: Support for Microsoft SQL, Oracle and IBM DB2 If you have tried to support multiple database platforms in your applications already, then you know that ADO.NET does not perform enough abstraction for the database to become transparently exchangeable. The main reason for this is that ADO.NET only abstracts HOW to communicate with the database but does not abstract the communication with the database itself (i.e. the SQL commands you send). This is also partly related to the problem described before that the .NET compilers cannot “understand” queries formulated in SQL as each database platform implements its own specialised SQL dialect (T-SQL, PL/SQL, etc.). Please also see our section on Microsoft's Entity Framework, which will address this issue. Genome allows the database to be fully abstracted as it introduces its own database-independent object query language (OQL) that is translated automatically to the underlying database platform-specific SQL dialect. Alternatively, Genome can also translate queries formulated in LINQ into SQL. As Genome supports different database platforms, this enables true database platform portability for your solutions. Support can be extended to database platforms that are currently not supported by Genome at fixed prices, also addressing future portability demands of development investments. Rapid prototyping without violating principles of layered architectures: Clean data access layer separation with no extra efforts Prototypes and very small projects are typically implemented in a "dirty" manner, i.e. without layer separation and business layers. Prototypes usually have to be easy to change in order to try out new concepts and may reach an unexpected size quite easily, sometimes even up to the stage of having to go into production. Very small projects go into production and are often unexpectedly developed further. If basic principles of modern software architecture are disregarded due to time constraints, the prototype’s flexibility suffers, especially in its later evolution. Similarly it can happen that a prototype has to go into production, meaning that maintenance is a nightmare later on. Genome enables clean, efficient implementing in small projects and prototypes. Its support for .NET data binding for ASP.NET and WinForms as well as the Database Reverse Engineering wizard it offers allow mapped business layers to be created quickly and without incurring additional costs for implementing data access layers. Naturally, starting off with Genome entails a fairly steep learning curve, but this of course does not affect later projects. An experienced Genome user will work faster even in small projects by using Genome, while producing cleaner architecture. Data access abstraction is a key concept for large scale projects: Don’t start implementing your custom O/RM just for a single project The points above about prototypes and small projects are of course even more important in large-scale projects. From a certain size onward, projects cannot make do without abstracting database mappings. Failing to select an O/RM product usually leads to having to develop an own database access library for the project. Apart from the implementation effort, which stands in no relation to Genome’s price tag, the quality and flexibility of Genome are substantially greater than those of individually developed data access layers. Genome has been continuously improved since 2001 and is currently used by customers around the world. Other significant difficulties encountered with individual database abstractions concern documentation, knowledge transfer and maintenance. Usually a small team (sometimes even just a single person) implements the database abstraction in a large project. They have no time for documentation, training and knowledge transfer. Responsible persons may leave the project, leaving behind a knowledge gap and maintenance problems. Genome on the other hand is supported by TechTalk, a software company specialising in .NET development with 45 employees and worldwide customers who have been using Genome for over five years. Proven track record, future proof architecture Genome supports new technologies on the Microsoft platform as soon as they become available and has a proven track record of keeping pace with such developments. Our release history evidences this: over the years, new versions of Visual Studio, the .NET Framework and advances such as LINQ have been supported by Genome from the word go. This philosophy will ensures that projects are future proof.