Drizzle: A Lightweight Object Relational Mapping Tool

Introduction

Most apps in the real world rely on databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite to store their critical user data. However, working with raw SQL can be painful and even life-threatening when mistakes are made. Over the years, numerous libraries have been developed to abstract away SQL code and hide its complexity within your favorite object-oriented programming language. This technique is known as object relational mapping (ORM). While ORM is great, it can often introduce unnecessary performance overhead and lead to leaky abstractions because developers are unaware of how their underlying SQL code functions. Drizzle is an ORM that takes a different approach by providing an API and TypeScript that closely mirrors native SQL code. This allows for type safety and intellisense without the need for complex abstractions.

Features of Drizzle

Drizzle provides dedicated adapters for various databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite, as well as tools for popular cloud hosts like RDS. It offers optional Prisma-like query APIs to keep data fetching and join code concise and readable. Additionally, Drizzle includes a CLI for handling database migrations called Drizzle Kit. The standout feature of Drizzle is Drizzle Studio, a GUI tool that can be run locally to manage your data.

Getting Started with Drizzle

To get started with Drizzle, you first need to set up a relational database. For this tutorial, we will use PostgreSQL with Neon, a popular database sponsor. Neon offers an easy-to-use platform with a generous free tier and a fast serverless driver compatible with Drizzle.

Install Drizzle and the corresponding database driver, and then connect to the database in your TypeScript code. Next, create a schema file and define tables using the PGTable function. Each table should have a name and columns defined within a JavaScript object. Columns can have constraints specified using JavaScript functions equivalent to their SQL counterparts.

Once the tables are defined, you can establish relationships between them using foreign keys and the relations function. This simplifies relational queries and joins within the database.

Using Drizzle in Practice

Convert your TypeScript code into PostgreSQL by running the Drizzle Kit generate command, which generates migration files. These migration files can then be applied to Neon using the migrate function. With the schema strongly typed, writing incorrect queries becomes impossible. Additionally, the relations defined in the schema allow for easy fetching of records based on various types of relationships.

Drizzle’s strength lies in its ability to provide type safety and intellisense without sacrificing the raw power of SQL. By closely mirroring native SQL code, developers can gain a better understanding of how their database interactions work. The optional query APIs and CLI tools make working with Drizzle a seamless experience.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Drizzle offers a lightweight and efficient approach to object relational mapping. By providing a close match to native SQL code and dedicated adapters for different databases, Drizzle allows developers to work with their favorite relational databases in a type-safe and intuitive manner. With features like Drizzle Studio and the Prisma-like query API, managing and querying data becomes a straightforward task. Give Drizzle a try in your next project and experience the benefits of type-safe object relational mapping.