I wont go into detail about the actual site yet (until we are closer to launch) but I will say a bit about my experience with PLINQO .
What is PLINQO?
Basically it's what LINQ to SQL should've been.
PLINQO is an ORM built on top of LINQ to SQL implemented as Codesmith templates so you'll need a copy of Codesmith to use it.
Why I chose PLINQO
Before I begun the project I had a few requirements in mind when deciding what framework to use for my business and data access layers:
- Code should be easily generated from Database schema
- Changes to my database schema should easily propagate to my code through code re-generation
- The code Generation tool should be simple to use
- Documentation should be readily available
- There should exist some implementation in the business layer objects to enforce business rules
- Performance should be good (for DB transactions)
- Objects should all have strongly typed properties.
- Should not be overly complex
- Learning curve not too steep
PLINQO by far fit my criteria above.
All I had to worry about was designing the DB then after specifying a few settings (with help from the video tutorials which were very easy to follow) then Codesmith generated all my classes and dbml from within Visual Studio.
If I make a change to my database, after 2-3 clicks, my code is updated to match.
I only needed to spend 30mins learning how it worked before I could jump right in and generate some code.
Development is still going and so is my learning experience with PLINQO but so far it has been an excellent choice.
