About Dali 2.2
Dali is a self-configuring object-relational mapper and data access layer that
connects your .NET classes to your relational database—without requiring
code generation and with little or no code changes. By analyzing your classes
and database structure, Dali dynamically generates and caches all the necessary
SQL to perform create, read, update and delete (CRUD) operations; automatically
and behind the scenes. There is no need to know SQL or even ADO.NET, nor are
there any mapping files or query languages to learn.
Dali can reduce the amount of code you need to connect your application or website
to your database by up to 80%—that's one fifth of what it would be using
straight ADO.NET. This is the ratio demonstrated by our Sample Web Solution that
is included with the Trial Edition download. Unlike code generators, Dali can work
with your existing business objects or web forms, allowing them to become
database-aware. And of course, less code results in faster development
time and less errors.
Dali abstracts complex database commands inside a simple class library. Easy to
use methods like Load() and Save() do all the work of loading an object's data
from the database and saving the object's data back to the database. If you
know basic object oriented principles and can create classes, you already have
what it takes to use Dali. In some cases, you can have your code using Dali
within minutes. To get a better idea of what Dali does or how it works, see the
article
Can your DAL do this? To get an idea of how easy Dali is to use
see the five minute
video tutorial.
Dali Studio
Also included with Dali 2.2 is Dali Studio, a code generation tool.
While Dali does not need or rely on code generation there are
times when this can help. For example, when starting a new project or
adding a new table to a database. Rather than write a class from scratch,
Dali Studio can write the tedious "boiler-plate" code for you.
Dali Studio will remember your various database connections and
settings specific to each connection so you can easily recreate code if your
database changes. Dali Studio can generate code in C# or
VB.NET. Dali Studio also gives you the option to generate a compiled assembly
instead of, or in addition to, the code files. If you don't plan on editing the
generated files you may find it more convenient to just let Dali Studio compile
an assembly for you. If you choose to use stored procedures for your data
access, Dali Studio can generate those for you as well.
Click here for a screen shot.