Playing with CodeSmith and .netTiers

Not that much to say other than if you're sick of working developing data layers yourself then check out CodeSmith 5 and the .netTiers templates. It doesn't take long to get to grips with and generates workable data layers you can implement into your project AND regenerate whenever you want which is great for Agile projects.

The article I started on is here and introduces you to the concept.

My only issue is with codesmiths "savings calc" which I think is flawed OR you should be earning way more on software development. Basically codesmith can generate the layers, the VS solution etc and as a result has a cute little function to show you how much time and money you've saved.

The problem is the initial DB I was working with had one table with one primary key/identity field and then username and password. I generated the data-layer and once complete checked the calculator and was told I'd saved over £40,000 worth of time.

So either the calculator is flawed and they are generating WAY too much code or I'm seriously missing something. Show me a client that would pay £40,000 for a DAL that accesses one table and inserts/edits/deletes and I'll show you one let down customer!

Anyway, Codecharge and .netTiers makes a great combination and the best thing is you can alter the DB and simply regenerate the datalayer into your existing project. This means you can be really agile, tweaking the DB as you go.