Note that the well-designed ORMs have a good query builder that can be used on its own. For example, I've heard many people use Python's SQLAlchemy just to have

Note that the well-designed ORMs have a good query builder that can be used on its own. For example, I've heard many people use Python's SQLAlchemy just to have a more sane SQL syntax. (See also my other comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13929111 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13929111 )