I have a similar opinion. I find that modelling SQL tables first removes the “where in the JSON-like tree should this live” question - often a single object ty

I have a similar opinion. I find that modelling SQL tables first removes the “where in the JSON-like tree should this live” question - often a single object type lives in many places in the tree. Breaking data into atomic units and then building up any JSON-like structures you require with queries is very flexible, and solves persistence first. ORMs seem to solve persistence second after modelling your data as JSON-like in-language objects. Persistence needs to be solved as disk is cheaper than RAM and your program cannot live forever with data in RAM.