You are just defining the limits of "something else" and then saying it doesn't do that. If your data looks completely differently to how the database outputs i

You are just defining the limits of "something else" and then saying it doesn't do that. If your data looks completely differently to how the database outputs it, I don't think you can say it is just a trivial difference. Both the structure of a query and its output use different concepts to sql. Using linq, a query will look like: db.Products.Include(p => p.manufacturers).Include(p => p.parts).where(p => p.name == 'bike').ToList(); in sql, it is SELECT * from products, manufacturers, parts, JOIN ...... ON ......... The linq query syntax makes it seem like you are just plucking a Product out of a database that has manfufacturer and a list of parts as part of its object. It is an object, not a row and table based structure. Then the output itself is also an object, in a completely different structure to what the database gave to you. People can use an ORM and not really know how SQL works if they never bother to learn. It is presenting them with an object-based database. In a NoSQL database like Mongo, you either have to literally store the Product with its parts and manufacturer, or you take them separately from the database and put them back together in code. This requires no abstraction. It is exactly what is happening.