You don't need an ORM

on YouTube ↗20m

" summary

Claim: plain SQL plus code generation replaces an ORM by generating typed Gleam bindings from .sql files. The demo builds a small web server that renders a per-genre top-3 book ranking, shows IDE SQL editing, and runs Squirrel to emit Gleam modules that decode rows into types so queries become functions. Squirrel inspects Postgres at build time, requires a dev database, reports errors early, and successfully removes manual glue code while keeping full SQL power in Gleam with Squirrel.

AI-written summary · about

" chapters (10)

1. 0:00Introduction
2. 0:45Why databases matter
3. 2:12Plain SQL vs ORMs
4. 4:18SQL string wrangling problems
5. 7:08Introducing Squirrel
6. 8:10Live demo: Squirrel
7. 13:02Developer experience with Squirrel
8. 15:29Why ORMs can lead to slow applications
9. 16:11Conclusion
10. 16:36Q&A

" related talks

• 23mI Would Never Use an ORMMatteo Collina · JSNation 2023
• 25mI Would Never Use an ORMMatteo Collina · JetBrains JavaScript Day 2022
• 52mThe SQL inside the ORM/Builder box | Claudio ZizzaSchrödinger's SQL · phpday 2023
• 30mBuilding an ORM with AReL: Walking up the (AS)Tree.Vipul Amler · GoGaRuCo 2014
• 46mBeyond Good and ORMsKerri Miller · Ancient City Ruby 2015
• 49mSQLPage — Building a full web application with nothing but Postgres and SQL queriesOphir Lojkine · PostgreSQL Conference Europe 2023
• 39mLet's Build an ORMGreg Back · PyOhio 2019
• 15mWhat If Writing SQL Became Cool Again?Sébastien Ferrer · Devoxx France 2026