To Surface or not to Surface.

Buddy

Ok, so this one's part wtf, part request for advice.

I'll start with the wtf: here's a CodeSOD I perpetrated recently because I couldn't figure out a better way to get this out of our home-grown orm

   
 1247 +	private GalleryImage getLatestGalleryImage(String imageName) throws StaleFetchException {  
 1248 +		if (StringUtils.isEmpty(imageName)) {  
 1249 +			return null;  
 1250 +		}  
 1251 +		QueryResult query = GalleryImage.createQuery(getSurface(), GalleryImage.FIELD_IMAGE_NAME + " = '" + imageName + "'");  
 1252 +		QueryEnum queryResult = query.elements();  
 1253 +		if (!queryResult.hasMoreElements()) {  
 1254 +			return null;  
 1255 +		}  
 1256 +		GalleryImage latestVersion = null;  
 1257 +		for (Persist element = queryResult.nextElement(); queryResult.hasMoreElements(); element = queryResult.nextElement()) {  
 1258 +			if (element instanceof GalleryImage) {  
 1259 +				GalleryImage image = (GalleryImage) element;  
 1260 +				if (latestVersion == null || latestVersion.getImageVersion() < image.getImageVersion()) {  
 1261 +					latestVersion = image;  
 1262 +				}  
 1263 +			}  
 1264 +		}  
 1265 +		return latestVersion;  
 1266 +	}

we call it (the orm) “the surface” and it's a big fucking deal — our cto and a senior developer here made it, and it's pretty much the heart of our core product.

It was developed using IBM Rational Rose, and it has some idiosyncrasies. For instance, it can do inheritance, which means that several completely different types of objects will get stored in the same table because they all inherit from profilable or publishable or whatever. They have no fields in common, so the majority of each row is always null e.g. if the discriminator is foo then foo_name will have a value, otherwise bar_name or baz_name will. And don't get me started on how it does caching or concurrency.

But my main beef with the surface is that it is responsible for like 80% of our data integrity stuff (another 5% is covered by constraints in the db and he rest... well). So for example, if you set the value of a user-scope custom datafield with code=LOCATION for a user (which is what you see when you look up the user's details), the surface will go ahead and set the value of the user_location column (which affects what they will be able to see when they log in). But not when you unset the field, so if you accidentally edit the location of an area manager and then try to undo it you a) are going to be confused because their profile says they're not pinned to a location, but when they log in they clearly are b) will need to get a dev to clear the field c) but not a senior dev, their time is way too precious; rather get some dumbass kid fresh out of college (me) to do it.

Anyway now the advice part: I've got some basically greenfield work to do, integrating our core product's data with the “next big thing” being developed by another division. My question is: am I trwtf for wanting to do my data access in straight SQL? I mean, on the one hand, we've got something that pretty much works, and could be covering some pretty arcane behavior, that I'm thinking of discarding altogether — on the other hand, I feel like I'm a lot more familiar with our database than our code base, and when I think of my career, I'd much rather be gaining experience in java and sql than in the finer details of the acmecorp (-corp is a misnomer, there's way less than 100 people working here) workflow engine.

dkf

@Buddy said:

It was developed using IBM Rational Rose

Oh. :tom_selleck:

@Buddy said:

My question is: am I trwtf for wanting to do my data access in straight SQL?

No. SQL is actually rather good at data querying, and for anything other than the very simplest of lookups, it's better to hit that SQL to find out what's actually stored.

Lorne Kates

@dkf said:

NoSQL is actually rather good at data querying

Fixed that for you.

Also, I'm afraid I'm going to have to shoot you now. It's for the betterment of mankind, you see.

dkf

@Lorne_Kates said:

Also, I'm afraid I'm going to have to shoot you now.

That's fine. Just come up with the universally understood OWL/RDF statement for how exactly to do that and we can get right on with it.

FrostCat

@Lorne_Kates said:

Also, I'm afraid I'm going to have to shoot you now.

How? Don't Canadians not have guns? Also, aren't universities gun-free zones?

Lorne Kates

@FrostCat said:

@Lorne_Kates said:
Also, I'm afraid I'm going to have to shoot you now.

How? Don't Canadians not have guns? Also, aren't universities gun-free zones?

We're given one when we cross the border into Guntopia, much like you're given a loaner tie when you go to a fancy restaurant without one. It's just a shitty Derringer, but it'll get the job done.

And of course universities are gun-free zones. But according to the theory, that encourages more gun violence. So I'll be safe. As long as someone else doesn't plan a school shooting that day. (I'll check Tumblr before I leave)

redwizard

@FrostCat said:

How? Don't Canadians not have guns? Also, aren't universities gun-free zones?

That reminds me...

My wife found this on someone's Facebook page, which I found rather on point:

GUNS:
We defend our President...with guns
We defend our Congressmen...with guns
We defend our Governors...with guns
We defend our celebrities...with guns
We defend our sporting events...with guns
We defend our jewelry stores...with guns
We defend our banks...with guns
We defend our office buildings...with guns
We defend our factories...with guns
We defend our courts...with guns

We defend our children...with a sign that reads:

"THIS IS A GUN FREE ZONE."

...and then call someone with a gun if there's an emergency.

Filed under: with apologies to the OP for continuing off topic.

AlexMedia

And here I was, wondering if the guy who started the thread wanted to buy a Surface 4. Boy, was I wrong.

The opening post sounds like a clusterfuck of WTF. However, the code sample doesn't look all too bad (believe me, I've seen worse) and the issues reported sound like they are fixable. So... maybe it's a better idea to put the pros and cons of using direct SQL vs using the Surface side by side and to have a good discussion with the project lead(s).