Code generators vs. ORMs vs. Stored Procedures

Question

In what domains do each of these software architectures shine or fail?

Which key requirements would prompt you to choose one over the other?

Please assume th

Answer 1

Stored Procedures

• Pros: Encapsulates data access code and is application-independent
• Cons: Can be RDBMS-specific and increase development time

ORM

At least some ORMs allow mapping to stored procedures

• Pros: Abstracts data access code and allows entity objects to be written in domain-specific way
• Cons: Possible performance overhead and limited mapping capability

Code generation

• Pros: Can be used to generate stored-proc based code or an ORM or a mix of both
• Cons: Code generator layer may have to be maintained in addition to understanding generated code