Can you do that with generics now please?

I LOVE IT!!!

Where I work now they decided that datasets just weren't as crappy as they could be. The "Architecture" team created their own type of dataset to be recursive, equally untyped, AND (yes, it can get much better... wait for it... wait for it... here it comes...) make a database call to establish its own schema (but please, let's let is remain untyped) on creation!! Everything must inherit from it (a la Active Record in its most bastardized format) or you won't get the stamp of approval to go to production with your code.

Either those are tears of sympathy or laughter that I see in your eye. Either way, you are right.

Unfortunately, with how slowly that team comes to permit the use of new fangled development tools such as plain old clr objects in a rich "domain", I doubt we'll ever see light of implementing .NET 3.5.

Jason I feel your pain, mostly in the statement "Everything must inherit from it (a la Active Record in its most bastardized format) or you won't get the stamp of approval to go to production with your code." I wonder how the architect gets any coding done reviewing all that code before going into the production. How will he find the time to right a tool that automates checking the code so he can provide some real value to the client?

Hopefully the MVC framework coming out in 3.5 encourages more rich domain model approaches.

Don,

Do you mean like this? I think this way you get the type safety that dataset brings to the table:

public static DataSet ThinkBeforeYouUseADataSet(this DataSet dataSet)

{
DataSet<DataSet> genericsDataSet = new DataSet<DataSet>();
genericsDataSet.Add(dataSet);

return genericsDataSet;
}

That's adorable for more reasons than I can fit in this little box.

Hey Joe,

I actually posted this the morning before our meeting with you guys :P