So I released the Alpha of DataMgr 2.5 more than a year ago. This is about as long as I have gone between a release. Why so long? Well, basically I have been neglecting DataMgr a bit to work on other things (more on that in another post). Also because DataMgr has been doing everything I want.
Finally, however, I have the first beta of DataMgr 2.5 ready.
DataMgr 2.2.0.3 Released
This may be the first release of DataMgr in which I have made no significant contribution myself. This is a small point release, but could actually have a big impact.
This release consists of a few small database-specific bug fixes from the 2.5 branch and two significant enhancements.
I happened to look at my RIAForge page yesterday and I saw that DataMgr has been downloaded 2,000 times. This doesn't actually encompass all of the downloads as the project had been around since before I put it on RIAForge, but it is still an exciting milestone.
This really inspires me to double my efforts on DataMgr 2.5.
I have been thinking this for some time, but it seemed like hubris (and flame bait) to say it. So be it - it needs to be said. I worry that ColdFusion ORM is being / will be marketed where it isn't appropriate.
It can't be helped, "better" is a word that only makes sense in the context of goals to be met. After all, it is impossible to tell if a sedan is better than a truck unless you know your goals. Do you need to get to work on low gas mileage or haul cargo? I will use the criteria that Adobe ColdFusion engineer, Rupesh Kumar, has laid out in "ColdFusion ORM - An Evolution in building datacentric application":
One of the new features in the upcoming DataMgr 2.5 release that I am really excited about is the ability to extend DataMgr to add or modify its functionality to your liking. This is a feature that John Farrar really had to push me into. Now that I finally see the light, however, I am really excited about the possibilities.
It has been seven months since DataMgr 2.2
I saw a comment recently that said of DataMgr "His project does a lot more than what i need, otherwise I would use it myself. ". This was in the context of suggesting someone look at DataMgr, so I certainly don't want to seem ungrateful. Even so, this got me thinking.
I have certainly seen programs that do so much that the extra stuff gets in the way of doing the easy stuff. I don't think that is the case with DataMgr, however.
The download for the current version of DataMgr (2.2.0.2) is a 71KB zipped file (under 400KB unzipped) - hardly massive.
So, how hard is it to use? I have a database on my local computer named "TestSQL" that has a table named "widgets". Fields in this table include "color" and "size".
Here is actual code to save a widget to the widgets table:
I just fixed a couple of bugs in DataMgr which caused an update in both DataMgr and in the com.sebtools pack. The com.sebtools package also includes an update to FileMgr among other components.
Using Filters in Relation Field Definitions
It recently came to my attention that I haven't yet covered in blogs or documentation one of the most powerful features in DataMgr. I have covered relation fields and filters, but (until now) not how to use a filter in a relation field definition.
In the last several weeks, I have gotten a few bug reports on DataMgr 2.2. Most of them are fixed in this release.
