Help choose a code generation tools for ASP.NET

Question

Hello,

I am new to the code generation tools and I would like to know how does a tool like LLBGen Pro compares with the Entity Framework? On top of that my boos is really looking into a tool called CodeOnTime http://codeontime.com/default.aspx because he likes their good UI support.

I am asking here because I really want an unbiased opinion.

I am not sure if LLBGen can also generate the UI. So far all the development in the house we do it the classic way coding each layer manually. However we are in need of a fast prototyping tool.

Any advice to help me choose wisely will be much appreciated

thanks in advance.

Answer 1

I've used both LLBLGen and Entity Framework. In my experience, they are roughly equal in capability, especially now that Entity Framework 4 has been released. NHibernate is also in this realm and should be considered if you're looking to compare the top ORM tools for .NET.

I would recommend downloading the LLBLGenPro demo to evaluate it. According to Frans Bouma's blog, LLBLGenPro offers enhanced features not present in the out-of-the-box Entity Framework tooling built into VS.NET 2010.

ORM tools like EF and LLBLGen do not generate UI. For that you will need something like IronSpeed (not recommended, I don't like the code generated) or the IdeaBlade DevForce products, which I have not used.

Answer 2

The thing is that there are code generators and object relational mappers (ORM) and code generators that do object relational mapping.

Something like NHibernate is a pure (ORM) and doesn't generate any code, it just provides you with an object persistence layer.

Llblgen is a code generator that generates code that performs the functions of an ORM but you can actually see the code and can override it with custom behaviour. Llblgen won't generate your UI for you and it isn't designed to. It's heavily focused around data access.

Then you have tools like CodeSmith or the built in T4 generator that comes with visual studio which you can use to create templates and then they will generate anything you want, provided you write your own templates. I've worked for companies that have invested thousands into writing their own templates.

Finally there are complete tools like CodeOnTime or IronSpeed which generate entire applications for you. This sounds good in theory, and is great for small CRUD type applications, but you lose a lot of flexibility with tools like these as they often have conventions which you are required to work around and once you start getting into heavy customization, tend to get in your way.

You should ask yourself:

1. Do I just need something for accessing my data? if so, you could use an ORM
2. Do I need to generate a highly customized UI? if so, you'd probably be best avoiding the tool like CodeOnTime and IronSpeed

Answer 3

Have you taken a look at CodeSmith Generator? It's a template based generation tool with Visual Studio integration, so by definition all templates are open source, and it has advanced features such as generate on build that keep your project up to date with your data source at all times.

Also, the CodeSmith team is about to start working on an official set of EF templates, but for now they offer several different ORM options including LINQ to SQL, NHibernate, .netTiers, CLSA, etc.