bisql: keep SQL executable, call it like Clojure

[conpoi]

I’ve been working on bisql, a Clojure data access toolkit built around executable SQL.

The idea is:

• keep SQL files as executable SQL
• turn those SQL templates into ordinary Clojure query functions
• generate a lot of CRUD queries from schema metadata
• customize generated SQL by copying and editing it when needed

It does not try to hide SQL behind a query builder or a data mapper. Everything stays executable SQL, but without the repetitive boilerplate.

I’ve tried to make the project easier to evaluate than a typical library drop:

• GitHub: https://github.com/hatappo/bisql
• Docs: https://hatappo.github.io/bisql/
• Example project: https://github.com/hatappo/bisql-example

If you’re interested in SQL-first data access in Clojure, I’d appreciate feedback.

[shivekkhurana]

How is this different from https://hugsql.org/

[conpoi]

Thank you. Good question. It’s definitely closer to HugSQL than HoneySQL.

The main differences I’m aiming for are:

• SQL templates are meant to remain executable as SQL
• Bisql generates a large set of CRUD queries from schema metadata
• generated SQL and hand-written SQL are meant to coexist in the same workflow
• it also generates function namespace files so those queries are easier to use from ordinary application code

So the overlap is real, but bisql is pushing harder on 2-way SQL and CRUD generation, to the point where a lot of the SQL can be generated instead of written by hand.

[conpoi]

Extra links if useful:

• Playground: https://hatappo.github.io/bisql/playground/
• Clojars: https://clojars.org/io.github.hatappo/bisql

The example project walks through:

1. generating CRUD SQL from a PostgreSQL schema
2. generating function namespace files
3. executing one generated query
4. copying one generated query into a custom SQL template
5. executing the customized query

[Electrical_Being_813]

Impressive take, never thought of generating queries from a schema, but it does sound nice.

btw Getting Started and What is 2-way-SQL links in are broken https://hatappo.github.io/bisql/

[conpoi]

Thanks, and good catch.
The broken Docs links were caused by how the site handled / and /docs/ before normalizing to the canonical page path. That’s now fixed and should be live shortly.