I found this is very interesting since I've been invesigating O/R mappers ever since Microsoft pulled the plug on ObjectSpaces....
Don Box: As an aside, I really wonder how many O/R mappers the world needs. It's frightening how much energy goes into building these things (on both sides of the aisle I might add).
Ted Neward: Oh, dude, you have NO idea how much I agree with this statement. You weren't there, but at TechEd 2004 in May I was involved in a long conversation with Harry Pierson and Clemens Vasters about ORMs, and I made the (apparently now somewhat famous or infamous) statement that "object-relational mapping is the Vietnam of Computer Science", referring to exactly that particular problem: the amount of progress when compared to the amount of energy put in is a staggeringly bad ratio (once you get past some of the simpler things). Hibernate is fast approaching that point, and I think it's in Gavin's best interests to simply declare victory and call the troops home at this point before he gets himself into an even deeper quagmire. And I think Microsoft would be well-advised to bury ObjectSpaces and pretend they'd never heard of the idea.
