Introducing Spot ORM v2

Welcome to the new website for the completely re-coded Spot v2. The new version of Spot has been completely re-coded and based on a solid foundation – Doctrine DBAL. The DBAL powers all of Spot’s queries and auto-migrations using schema reflection, and removes the need for Spot to have its own database drivers.

Building on top of the DBAL allows me to focus on making Spot the best ORM it can possibly be instead of worrying about database support and poorly designed database adapters that were in the previous version of Spot. This has already lead to some noticeable feature improvements, like support for eager-loading HasManyThrough relations – a weak point of poor architecture in the previous version of Spot [v1 issue]. Users of Spot v2 can also enjoy more robust type support thanks to the DBAL, like native json columns in PostgreSQL, among many other benefits.

History of Spot

The Spot ORM project started in 2010, as a completely re-imagined, re-coded, and re-named version of phpDataMapper - a project that started in 2008. The name was changed from phpDataMapper to Spot after reviewing the PHP License that asks projects not to use PHP in their names.

Keeping The Good Parts

The first version of Spot, and its predecessor, phpDataMapper had some really good syntax building queries and defining fields. These features have been kept in Spot v2, so porting over your code from Spot v1 should be fairly easy.

Spot’s general philosophy favoring simplicity and clarity, and against “magic” behavior and excessive configuration (like XML, INI, and YAML) has also been preserved.

Looking Forward

I have learned a lot over the years, and have incorporated all of it into the new Spot v2. Perhaps the most important (and beneficial) lesson is to stand on the shoulders of giants. By using Doctrine DBAL, I now I have an entire team of dedicated people to worrying about database adapters and portability, which not only removes a significant amount of work from my plate, but allows me to focus on making Spot better. It also gives me a much greater degree of confidence knowing the foundation is solid, and allows me to more seriously consider Spot as a good alternative to larger projects like Doctrine ORM and Propel. Spot’s future is bright!