Ok, time to write again about LLBLGen, my favorite ORM tool. It has been my favorite ORM for years now and I did write a post on the subject several years ago: http://blog.walteralmeida.com/2008/09/introducing-my-favorite-orm-tool-llblgen.html - So this is why I call this post "Introducing my favorite ORM Tool: LLBLGEN - Part 2" :)
For information, I will talk only about the new features that were of higher interest to me. There's much more, so check out Llblgen web site for more info: http://www.llblgen.com
So here we go: Llblgen is now more than never still my favorite tool: since version v3.0; the tools supports several well-known ORM frameworks: Entity Framework, Linq to SQL, NHibernate and of course the Llblgen framework. You now have to a single designer that let you build a data access layer using the ORM framework of your choice. For information, I am still using the Llblgen framework, can’t help it…
And IMHO, the most amazing new feature of all is… the support of model-first development! This was a must have. In the previous version, you had to start from an existing database schema to build your entity model and data access layer on top of it. It is no more the case: you gain in abstraction and can actually start from your entity model! The tool will generate for you the database schema on the target database of your choice, all based on your model. The tool is even capable of generating for you update scripts to integrate your entity model changes to the database: modification, creation and deletion scripts.
Important also to realize that you don’t lose the database first feature: shall you want to build on top of an existing database, or keep full control of your database schema: you still can start from your existing database. And… you can actually mix both and build a part of the data layer in a model first approach and build the rest following a database first approach, which could be a great option if you want to extend an existing database or keep control of mission critical sections of the database schema. You can also start database first and switch later to model first or the other way round. Let’s say: it is very flexible and implemented in a very loose coupled way making all these scenarios possible. I guess this will keep everybody happy and give the option to big believers of one or the other of the approaches to give a try to the other one!
Ok just one word about my view: I am a big believer of the model first approach, in a general way, that is: not only for the data layer, but for full enterprise application. I was therefore very happy when Llblgen V3 came to life!
What else could I say… Oh yes: you now have a graphical designer (called model views) allowing you to build entity models in a very user friendly way. It is also a must have to share with business people on the design of your business model.
What’s more? Full XML project file, which proves very useful to properly integrate Llblgen into your development lifecycle. Indeed, if you follow a model first approach, you then have to consider the model (here the Llblgen project file) as a first class citizen artifact of your project and therefore you should be able to compare versions of your models between several iteration. This is mandatory for proper design reviews. Well no problem to use your standard tooling on top of the Llblgen XML file!
In terms of code and product quality, no need to say that it is top quality, anyone who knows Frans Bouma will understand what I am saying:) No comment: great code, both the generated code and the code base. Nice and neat and effective and bug-free. Well there is no bug-free code, but this code could be considered bug-free when comparing to many other small and big companies. Even the V3 Beta 1 version was already of high quality. And this is essential for a tool that generates code and is targeted at developers. And if you manage to point out a bug: you'll get great first support and have a fix pretty soon available! To be honest: I was much more happy with Llblgen Support than with IBM support...
Ok now my favorite: extensibility. Llblgen Pro is highly extensible in many ways. And extensions can be written by building on top of the Llblgen SDK. BTW this is actually where you get an even more clear idea of the quality of the underlying Llblgen code. And this is essential for today’s software applications to have this extensibility capability because this is how an eco-system can be built around. In that context, as part of FENOMEN Project (www.fenomen.pro), we have been building for the last two years innovative products that allow the modeling and generation of full enterprise, business applications. And we built on top of Llblgen Pro which is our core ORM framework and entity model designer. This use of Llblgen was essential to quick-start our research and development efforts and build products that really add value to existing market solutions. Indeed why creating what’s already there and took years and years of work to others to master? We are big believers of the “compose and reuse” paradigm: never create what’s already out there: reuse and compose the best of what’s on the market today, and build only what does not exist yet! So stay tuned, you’ll hear about FENOMEN the year to come and will see a great example of the potential of Lllblgen extensibility. And for all whom already now, use and love LLBLGEN, you’ll get a great opportunity to go much further than your best expectations when using LLBLGEN with FENOMEN extensions. Curious? More information in 2011!
Comments