Part 3 of my CTE series wraps up with the real-world challenge: how do you use CTEs when your ORM pretends they don't exist?
The Reality Check
Doctrine (PHP): No .with() method. Nada.
Hibernate (Java): No CTE support in HQL. Zilch.
Eloquent (Laravel): Needs a third-party package.
The Rebels That Get It
Three ORMs actually embrace CTEs:
SQLAlchemy Core: Elegant .cte() method with fluent API
jOOQ: Type-safe SQL DSL with native .with() support
Django 4.2: Finally added native CTE support (better late than never!)
Survival Strategies for "Hostile" ORMs
When stuck with CTE-ignorant ORMs:
- Repository Pattern: Isolate CTE queries in dedicated classes
- Database Views: Create views for frequent CTE patterns
- Hybrid Approach: CTEs for analytics, ORM for CRUD
My Pragmatic Rule
80% ORM for standard operations + 20% CTEs for complex queries = best of both worlds.
Your users don't care about your tech stack. They care about fast, reliable apps. Use the right tool for the job.
Full breakdown with code examples: https://medium.com/@pascal.cescato/part-3-orms-vs-ctes-the-ultimate-showdown-spoiler-you-can-win-both-battles-603caf1960d7
What's your experience mixing ORMs with advanced SQL? Share in the comments!
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