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Bob vs GORM

Source of truth​

  • GORM is code-first. It generates the database from your code, using GORM-specific techniques. If you use a different tool for migration, you then have to manually ensure that your GORM models are in sync with your database.

  • Bob is database-first. You generate your database using the first class tools for your DB (SQL, pgAdmin, migration packages). And then generate your models from your database.

Type Safety​

  • GORM makes heavy use of interface{} and magic strings which will lead to runtime panics if incorrect.

  • Bob generates type-safe code for every thing, including loading relationships. Any incorrect use will be caught compile time and not a runtime.

Query Building​

  • GORM is limited to a subset of common features across the supported dialects.

  • Bob has a much more powerful query builder. Across all supported dialects, Bob allows you to build pretty much any Select, Update, Insert or Delete query supported by the dialect.

Ecosystem​

  • GORM needs special drivers to work. However because of its popularity, there are existing plugins for many use cases.

  • Bob works with *sql.DB, so any package that works with the standard library will work with Bob.

Adoption curve​

  • GORM needs to be adopted fully. It is not possible to use only a part of its features.

  • Bob can be used incrementally. For example, it is possible to use only the query builder without needing to fully adopt Bob.

Testability​

  • GORM does not provide any testing helpers.

  • Bob also generates factories (inspired by Ruby's FactoryBot) to make it very easy to test your models.