CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#.netdata-access
grenade
grenade

Reputation: 32179

Automatic Data Access Layer

I'm fundamentally sick of writing data access layers. I see it as a boring and pointless endeavour. I envisage a development environment where I can just create my Entities/Models and start building the application. The time taken to write the DAL, procedures, etc... just eats my enthusiasm for a project.

What I want is a generic repository interface for my data. Something like:

public interface IRepository
{
    //Get individual TEntity item by id
    TEntity GetItem<TIdentifier, TEntity>(TIdentifier id);

    //Get individual TEntity item by the expression
    TEntity GetItem<TIdentifier, TEntity, TArg>(Expression<Func<TArg, TEntity>> expression);

    //Get individual TEntity item by the expression
    TEntity GetItem<TIdentifier, TEntity, TArg1, TArg2>(Expression<Func<TArg1, TArg2, TEntity>> expression);

    //Get all TEntity items
    IList<TEntity> GetList<TEntity>();

    //Get all TEntity items,  filtered by the expression
    IList<TEntity> GetList<TEntity, TArg>(Expression<Func<TArg, IList<TEntity>>> expression);

    //Get all TEntity items,  filtered by the expression
    IList<TEntity> GetList<TEntity, TArg1, TArg2>(Expression<Func<TArg1, TArg2, IList<TEntity>>> expression);

    TIdentifier CreateItem...

    bool UpdateItem...

    bool DeleteItem...
}

I'm specifically interested in something that would work for

...but the theory would apply to any data repository

Has anyone come across a ready built solution or do I have to fix the problem by writing more data access layers than I ever wanted to shake a stick at.

Note: I know about ORM's, I want something that removes the requirement to write any of the DAL or stored procs.

Upvotes: 3

Views: 738

Answers (5)

Mac
Mac

Reputation: 8339

This is one of the goals of Salamanca. It is still in early stages though, but we could use a coding hand or two...

If you want an existing solution, I suggest you delve into ORMs (as other suggested) possibly associated with code generation tools :

Check out this very complete ORMs list.

Upvotes: 2

Jeremy Boyd
Jeremy Boyd

Reputation: 5405

LINQ to Entities and the Entities framework for .Net are the two best cross-server solutions.

More information here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb386964.aspx

Upvotes: 1

mkchandler
mkchandler

Reputation: 4758

I know you said that you know about ORM's and don't want them, but could you deal with something where the data access methods you write are written in LINQ?

I've found that I like writing LINQ statements over SQL statements. If you're open to this, I would check out Entity Framework, LINQ to SQL, NHibernate, etc.

Edit: If you want to use Azure, check out this link: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsazure/thread/74a0a57e-d979-48ed-b534-f449bac0f90d

Upvotes: 2

Bhaskar
Bhaskar

Reputation: 10681

Use LINQ, that would practically do all the Data Access task for you...

Upvotes: 0

Joel Coehoorn
Joel Coehoorn

Reputation: 415881

Take a look at NHibernate, Castle ActiveRecord, SubSonic, LinqToSql, ...

You say you know about ORMs, but they do pretty much exactly what your question asks for, at least to the extent possible.

Upvotes: 3

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