Designing for Performance:What’s Your Strategy? - The Data Access - page 48

Table 2-3 Database System Native Support

Microsoft

Functionality DB2 SQL Server MySQL Oracle Sybase ASE

Cursor-based Supported Supported Not Supported Not

protocol supported supported

Streaming Not Not Supported Not Supported

protocol supported supported supported

Prepared Native Native Native Native Not

statements supported

Arrays of Depends Depends Not Native Not

parameters on version on version supported supported

Scrollable Supported Supported Not Not Depends

cursors 1 supported supported on version

Auto-commit Not Not Native Native Native

mode supported supported

LOB locators Native Native Not Native Not

supported supported

1 See Table 2-2, page 36, for more information about how these database systems support
scrollable cursors.

Using Object-Relational Mapping Tools

Most business applications access data in relational databases. However, the rela-
tional model is designed for efficiently storing and retrieving data, not for the
object-oriented model often used for business applications.
As a result, new object-relational mapping (ORM) tools are becoming popu-
lar with many business application developers. Hibernate and Java Persistence
API (JPA) are such tools for the Java environment, and NHibernate and
ADO.NET Entity Framework are such tools for the .NET environment.
Object-relational mapping tools map object-oriented programming objects
to the tables of relational databases. When using relational databases with
objects, typically, an ORM tool can reduce development costs because the tool
does the object-to-table and table-to-object conversions needed. Otherwise,
these conversions must be written in addition to the application development.
ORM tools allow developers to focus on the business application.