In the latest release of Prisma, an interesting feature has been added that takes Prisma's flexibility and usability to the next level: typed raw SQL queries. For more information: see the documentation.
What is Prisma?
Prisma is an ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) tool that helps us developers to work with databases easily through a type-safe API. It allows us to query, insert, update and delete data without worrying about the underlying SQL queries. Prisma provides a query builder that ensures that all your inputs and outputs are typed, so that when you write your code, you know if your queries are correct and what kind of data to expect.
Okay, so what is Typed Raw SQL?
Prism has always had the ability to use Raw SQL for situations where the standard Query Builder isn't enough. This is useful for complex queries or when you want to use specific database features that are not supported by Prism's query builder. However, the problem with this raw SQL was that the input and output was not typed. This meant that you would only find out if your query was good and what kind of data you were getting back when you ran your software. Quite error-prone, and debugging could become quite a chore after a day (or month) of coding.
With the new 'Typed Raw SQL' feature, you can now write raw SQL into a special file where you can use named parameters and template literals to create dynamic SQL queries. When you generate your Prisma client (with the prisma generate command), this SQL is parsed and linked to your Prisma schema so that both the input and output of the query are typed. This means that you can still use the full power and flexibility of SQL, but now with the security of type safety.
Why is this useful?
This new feature gives you the best of both worlds: the flexibility of raw SQL and the type safety of Prism. Here are a few reasons why we are very excited about this new feature:
- Type safety: You can write your Raw SQL queries with confidence, knowing that the input and output are correct, reducing runtime errors.
- Flexibility: For more complex queries or situations where the Prism Query Builder falls short, you can still use the full power of SQL without losing type safety.
- Dynamic SQL: Use template literals to create powerful, dynamic SQL queries that are still fully typed.
- Maintainability: Because your queries are typed, your code base is easier to maintain and refactor.
Who will benefit?
Typed Raw SQL in Prisma provides a powerful solution for developers who want to combine the flexibility of Raw SQL with the security of type checking. This makes working with databases not only more robust, but also more efficient and less error-prone. And since we regularly work with complex database queries, this is a very valuable addition to Prisma for us!