Re: [boost] SQL library with full embedded SQL-syntax

From: Rene Rivera (grafikrobot_at_[hidden])
Date: 2007-03-16 17:54:30

Thorsten Ottosen wrote:
> Rene Rivera wrote:
>> Sure... But we could use that same argument to propose that we write C++ 
>> programs by writing an abstraction on top of C++ compilers in Python so 
>> that we can remove the incompatibilities in the various C++ 
>> implementations. 
> 
> I guess you could do that. Like C++, porting can be a major problem.
> 
> Note, however, that is not an argument against having portible SQL DSL.

True :-) But it's an argument that a portable SQL DSL is not a great 
advantage.

>> Having had the displeasure of dealing with PL/SQL there 
>> is one serious drawback to the language embedded approach, it ties ones 
>> to the capabilities of the abstraction.
> 
> Right. The SQL library should provide a backdoor so you can still use
> string queries if you need to be non-portable or cutting egde etc.
> 
> I some of our company tools, we support multiple server backends: at 
> least oracle, mssql and mysql. I'm surpised just how diffucult it is to
> write portable SQL (even for very very simple queries).
> 
> If you want to use different functions, there's a pretty good change 
> they are different on different systems. I have end up writing my own 
> abstractionlayer in php to compensate.

That drives into what I think is the core problem I have with an SQL 
DSL. It doesn't provide an abstraction that has compelling advantages, 
other than syntactic sugar. What I would find way more useful would be 
an abstraction that removes the SQL language itself, i.e. a relational 
database library. That would have some advantages:

* Better coherence with C++ data types.
* Possibility to support non-SQL relational databases.
* Make it easier to construct object/relational translation abstractions.

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