Microsoft.Data, because the 90s were so good, we want to do them again
time to read 3 min | 468 words

I just saw this post, and I had to double check the date of the post twice to be sure that I am reading about something that is going to come out soon, rather than something that have come out in 2002.

This is the code that is being proudly presented as an achievement:

using (var db = Database.Open("Northwind")) {
    foreach (var product in db.Query("select * from products where UnitsInStock < 20")) {
        Response.Write(product.ProductName + " " + product.UnitsInStock);
    }
}

Allow me to give you the exact statements used:

The user doesn’t have to learn about connection strings or how to create a command with a connection and then use a reader to get the results. Also, the above code is tied to Sql Server since we’re using specific implementations of the connection, command, and reader(SqlConnection, SqlCommand, SqlDataReader).

Compare this with code below it. We’ve reduced the amount of lines required to connect to the database, and the syntax for accessing columns is also a lot nicer, that’s because we’re taking advantage of C#’s new dynamic feature.

I really don’t know where to start. Yes, compared to raw ADO.Net I guess that this is improvement. But being beaten only thrice a week instead of daily is also an improvement.

I mean, seriously, are you freaking kidding me? Are you telling me that you are aiming to make the life of people writing code like this easier?

We have direct use of Response.Write – because it is so hard to create maintainable code, we decided to just give up from the get go. Beyond that, putting SQL directly in the code like that, including the parameters, is an open invitation for SQL injection.

Next, let us talk seriously, okay. Anyone who had to write ADO.Net code already wrapped it up. Anyone who didn’t isn’t going to.

But given all the times that we have heard “no resources to fix XYZ” from Microsoft, are you telling me that creating a framework that is intended for really bad programmers to slide down the maintainability scale more easily? Is that a valuable use of resources?

Writing code like that is actively harmful, period. There is really no need to deal with those low level stuff in this day and age.

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