TypeORM

Published on: Mar 01, 2023

Object-Relational Mapping ORM is a programming technique that helps us to map object-oriented models to relation database models and to interact with a database.  

TypeORM is an ORM tool that is written in TypeScript. It allows developers to interact with relational databases in a type-safe manner and it supports a wide range of database management systems including MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and MongoDB. 

TypeORM provides a wide range of features such as: 

  • Automatic generation of database schema from the entities 
  • Support for both Active Record and Data Mapper patterns 
  • Support for advanced features such as lazy-loading, eager-loading, and pagination 
  • Support for transaction management 
  • Support for caching 
  • Support for event listeners and subscribers 

It can be used in different use cases such as web applications, web services, desktop applications, and more. 

TypeORM provides great flexibility in terms of the ORM architecture patterns that can be used. It supports the use of Active Record, Repository, Custom Repository, and Data Mapper patterns, all with type support. 

Active Record is an ORM pattern that combines the data access logic and the data itself in a single class. TypeORM supports this pattern by providing an easy way to define the entities, which are equivalent to the database tables and automatically generates the schema and CRUD operations. 

Repository is an ORM pattern that separates the data access logic from the data itself. TypeORM supports this pattern by providing a built-in repository layer that can be easily extended to add custom methods for querying and manipulating the data. 

Custom Repository is an ORM pattern that allows developers to create custom repositories for their entities. TypeORM supports this pattern by providing a way to define custom repositories that can be used to add custom methods for querying and manipulating the data. 

Data Mapper is an ORM pattern that separates the data access logic from the data itself and maps the data to and from the entity classes. TypeORM supports this pattern by providing a built-in data mapper layer that can be easily extended to add custom methods for querying and manipulating the data. 

All of the above patterns are supported with type safety, which means that TypeORM provides a type-safe way of working with the entities and the data, reducing the risk of 

TypeORM also provides additional features that make it a robust solution for database management. 

  • SQL injection prevention: TypeORM uses parameterized queries, which are a safe way to insert data into a database. This helps to prevent SQL injection attacks, which is a common security concern in database management. 
  • Model/Schema migration: TypeORM provides built-in support for model/schema migration, making it easy to manage changes to the database schema over time. This includes the ability to generate migration scripts, apply migrations, and rollback migrations. This feature allows you to handle changes to the database schema easily and automatically. 
  • Query builder: TypeORM includes a powerful query builder that makes it easy to write complex queries. The query builder provides a fluent API for building and executing queries, with support for various query methods and options. This makes it easy to perform advanced queries and filtering operations on the data, without having to write raw SQL. 

At Softobiz, we used TypeORM in several projects.  

Trial

During the trial phase, we implemented TypeORM in a sample project and used it to perform basic CRUD operations on our relational database. We also tested its ability to handle complex relationships, perform migrations and evaluated the developer experience and found it to be intuitive and easy to use. We also tested its flexibility to use ORM architecture patterns like Active Records, Repositories, Custom Repositories, and Data Mappers with type support. 

Adopt

Based on our assessment, we decided to adopt TypeORM as a solution for our database management needs. We found it to be a powerful and user-friendly ORM tool that can be easily tailored to meet the needs of different organizations. TypeORM is an Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) tool that is written in TypeScript and allows developers to interact with relational databases in a type-safe manner. It supports a wide range of database management systems including MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and MongoDB. 

In summary, TypeORM is a powerful Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) tool that is written in TypeScript. It allows developers to interact with relational databases in a type-safe manner and it supports a wide range of database management systems. TypeORM provides a wide range of features such as automatic generation of database schema, support for both Active Record and Data Mapper patterns, support for advanced features, and more. At Softobiz, we used TypeORM in several projects and it was a powerful tool that helped us to improve the performance, scalability and maintainability of our data models.