Hmmmmm

Even though I've soured almost entirely on the .NET Entity Framework as a comprehensive design and application component - I still see it useful as a highly focused and limited tool.

Eliminating the unworkable process of generating an application's all-inclusive entity model, has seemed to be useful so far. Although, I'm still stuck in SQL Server World with the EF. Or am I?

.NET 3.5 (SP1 Beta) Entity Framework Test Drive

I'm giving the Entity Framework (EF) a test drive on the shortBet project. My primary reason for giving it a go was centered around the fact that I work primarily with Oracle database server on the backend and LINQ to SQL (L2S) is not a good fit for me. shortBet will be using SQL Server, so it serves as an excellent platform for this test drive.

Despite LINQ's greatness, I haven't been all that interested in L2S which has several nasty weaknesses. First, typical LINQ coding elegance falls down on its face when faced with joining more than a few queryables that are closely bound to relational views and tables. Second it generates SQL command text automagically, and I'm not intrinsically happy with that. Finally, and most significantly, use of L2S is bound to the SQL Server platform for the forseeable future.

The EF is an interesting tidbit I had heard was a better deal than the L2S way from a variety of .NET and Oracle resources I trust for leading edge information. After my test drive so far, my assertion is that it is and it isn't a better deal than L2S. It is, because queryables in the EF have a greater potential for expressing complexity and thus more elegant LINQ statements than using L2S queryables. It is, because the tools for expressing Entity Data Models (EDM) are fairly slick and effective. It isn't, because as far as I can fathom from my little dip in the pool, EF is utterly dependent upon L2S - unless you want to write your own custom Data Access Layer, which eliminating is one of the pillars of the EF. By using the EF, at best I'm out of the logical fire, but I'm still in the physical frying pan. It isn't, because even though I have a highly functional relational model for my Shortbet application - I can't seem to see how I would effectively express it with an EDM.

Part of that last failing is clearly because I'm a relational guy, and I'm not very good at OOP modeling. Partly it's because I believe (in my heart of hearts) that entity modeling is simply inferior.

So, at this point - although I'm still continuing with the EF test drive (thankfully I have some help) - I'm of the mindset right now that rich and meaningful entities are great - but a unified model of more than a child-sized handful of them is an irrational endeavor.

String in a Haystack

This is for the data reverse-engineers out there. What do you do if you have a distinctive string value making an appearance in a form or report that's in a big application package, and you have no idea what table or column that value might be calling home? Here's some fancy dancy Oracle SQL to do the trick. I would double-check with your DBA before running against production systems. Your mileage may vary.

declare
   cur sys_refcursor;
   val varchar2(4000);
begin
   for i in (select 'select "' || atc.column_name || '"' ||
                    '  from "' || atc.owner ||
                    '"."' || atc.table_name || '"' ||
                    ' where "' || atc.column_name ||
                    '" like ''%' || :searchstring ||
                    '%''' as cmd
                   ,atc.owner
                   ,atc.table_name
                   ,atc.column_name
               from all_tab_columns atc
               join all_objects ao on (atc.owner =
                                      ao.owner and
                                      atc.table_name =
                                      ao.object_name)
              where ao.object_type = 'TABLE'
                and atc.data_type = 'VARCHAR2'
                and ao.owner = :schema
              order by 2
                      ,3
                      ,4)
   loop
      open cur for i.cmd;
      loop
         fetch cur
            into val;
         exit when cur%notfound;
         dbms_output.put_line(val || ' <= ' ||
                              i.owner || '.' ||
                              i.table_name || '.' ||
                              i.column_name);
      end loop;
   end loop;
end;

There are two variables, the :searchString and the :schema. Bind/substitue with your query tool of choice.

And a Wino Shall Lead Them

Not just begging off your spare change anymore...

Everyone knows what a wino is. We've all seen Wimpy after he gets his cheeseburger loan. Flush with cash, he heads straight for the quickest corner Mom and Pop and takes care of business.

I can't completely empathize with the wino, because I'm predominantly a beer-drinking fellow. However the term wino is still fun and useful. Today, I've hijacked it to name my latest project. Every information technology project simply must have a catchy acronym; mine is WINO. It's a redux of LAMP used by the overzealous open source community. The acronym goes: Windows (instead of Linux), IIS (instead of Apache), .NET (instead of PHP) and Oracle (instead of MySQL).

Sometimes I think I'm the only WINO on planet Earth. Microsofties (lovers of .NET) tend to hate Oracle Database Server for all its power and stability in favor of the drivel that is SQL Server. Oracle clergy tends to view Microsoft-anything as heresy. I'm somewhere in the ether between these worlds and I'm tired of being alone. I am out to recruit.

WINOs can now unite under my project banner and obtain sage advice, peer validation and lively source code that burns the bush brightly enough to know that their way is the righteous in the kingdom of software bundles.

Link: WINO Project