As long as an ORM allows you to break out and right custom optimised SQL when needed, then I see no reason to write all your SQL by hand. ORMs are great for cov

As long as an ORM allows you to break out and right custom optimised SQL when needed, then I see no reason to write all your SQL by hand. ORMs are great for covering basic, repetitive queries, but there are times where it's not producing what you need. Of course you then loose the portability feature of ORMs, but I think this is acceptable. The biggest advantage for me isn't generation of SQL, it's mapping data back into your domain model/DTOs.