NHibernate mapping attributes vs fluent NHibernate

Do mapping attributes offer the same versatility as nhib hbm's do? Can you use them together with FNH to handle things FNH doesn't yet do as well as hbm's can?

Cheers,

Berryl

By mapping attributes, I don't mean hbm files; there are apparently attributes that come with NHib (or maybe NHib contrib these days) that you use to decorate your class & class properties. I'm guessing these pr开发者_如何学Goe-date FNH, but not sure.

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I personally prefer to create the hbm.xml files myself. I've used Fluent, but I just like managing the nitty gritty myself for things like this. However I've not run into any mappings that I haven't been able to get working with Fluent though...

It is my understanding that Fluent nHibernate actually creates an hbm.xml file in the background based on your settings that is in turn used by nHibernate... so being that Fluent is itself creating the mappings, I would argue that just creating the hbm.xml manually would technically give you more flexibility and access to the nuance of the mapping file...

I think that there is a similar learning curve for both, so if you are going to bother learning Fluent that itself creates hbm.xml files, why not just learn how to create the damn hbm.xml files yourself in the first place and skip the middle man!

Unless you are doing MANY MANY projects in rapid succession, the act of actually mapping your database is only a fragment of the actual work you are doing on a particular project.

• Max Schilling

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The NHibernate attributes do pre-date FNH. Apart from a relatively small group of die-hard holdouts, I don't really know anyone that uses them. They're supported, but not exactly friendly. If you like attributes, the Castle ActiveRecord attributes are a much better implementation than the NHibernate core ones.

Fluent NHibernate can work with everything else. All it does is inject mappings into the NHibernate Configuration instance, so you can put whatever else in there you like. ActiveRecord is a bit more of a wide-reaching solution, so that may be an exception to this rule, it's been a while since I've used it.

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I've never run into a situation that couldn't be handled by Fluent NHibernate, but maybe you're using an obscure attribute. Anything in particular you need to know is available?

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We are using them in my business and I kinda like them.

I think it is really neat writing the mapping directly in the class definition (I know - to each one his own).

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I agree with most the comments here, Hibernate gives you the freedom of choice on how to implement the maps for the objects.

I prefer not to use attributes on my classes for NHibernate, as now my classes now have another dependancy which they should not know of.

What happens if you want to change your datasouce to a OODB or just a file. The classes will have redundant mapping code(the attributes). in this case it could be said, its cleaner to store the mapping in the data/infrastructure layer with the repository implementation (assumed useage of the repository pattern)

I also agree, each to they own :)

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I'm trying to understand where NHibernate 3 stands in relation to Hibernate 3 with respect to attributes vs annotation. I've been on several Java projects where we used Hibernate 3 annotations for mapping. It is quite elegant as

1. the entitites are clearly documented where the code lives
2. easier to debug when stepping through the debugger...
3. you don't have to go open a separate file out of context
4. less artifacts to manage
5. compile time checking
6. intellisense = fewer typos
7. no need to install/learn a separate 3rd party component (e.g. FNH)
8. the Hibernate team invested in making annotations easy to use and integral

Not sure I buy the "what if you have to change datasources" or the "separation of concerns" arguments. In practice, those arguments are looking at the "20%" (or less) that either won't occur, or have marginal impact if they do - the benefits are far greater IMHO.

With that said, what is not clear to me is whether the NHibernate team has invested enough in making the attributes robust enough to warrant use, or would I be better off moving to EF4.x to get the same benefits... those are the answers I was hoping for from this post.