So MS wants us to use DataSets, DataTables and TableAdapters in the new ADO.Net 2.0.
I am very game for this, in fact I am all for it because it is pretty darn close to
Data Access Layer(DAL) auto generation. I pursued a solid solution for generating
a DAL all through the long, lonely years of .Net 1.*. Of course, there were options.
CodeSmith, RapTier, and others, but nothing really seamless.
So now we have the new XSD driven model baked into Vs2005 and it is pretty great.
- Create a new DataSet, represented by an XSD file.
- Drag your stuff (tables, sprocs, etc.) onto the XSD designer.
- Customize your XSD by adding new functioanlity to your DataTables.
- Generate your code.
- Repeat.
With all of that kick-butt functionality, would auto layout on the XSD designer have
really been that hard? Bottom line, when I drag 10 tables onto the designer and they
all land in a pile that I then have to separate by hand, it makes me think this whole
thing is clugy. C’Mon, Bill. It’s the little stuff, too.