It is always a problem to change edit forms when a basic change was needed in a table structure...

I always had the feeling we have to spend too much time on rewriting the data editing forms instead of developing the useful stuff, like processing/ integrations / reporting / analyze data / decisions / alerting etc...
For this reason, I made long time ago a code generator. Immediately, it become easier to re-generate the forms. With it, I could create UI with a standard code and display nicely with a custom CSS. Whenever I needed to change database structure (so update an edit form) I had to re-generate the code and redeploy.

One disadvantage I noticed was about the changes (customizations, improvements etc.) done on the previous generated code, which were lost when you re-generate it.
But anyway, the advantage of having a lot of work done by the code-generator was great!

I initially did this for Microsoft SQL Server & the 2000s Microsoft ASP (Active Server Pages)... so, when that technology was replaced by .NET, my code-generator become obsoleted. I made something similar for PHP but I never finished it because of available time restrictions...


Anyway, from small experiments I found that generating code on the fly can be way more helpful (and this approach does not exclude the SAVED generated code): no worries about changing database etc.


So, the next step was to create something that I am very proud to show here: 🌱 the DATA-SEED.

I would start with some applicable use cases. I worked to add details on how to use, but if something is still missing please let me know!

You can change database structure, and with no line of code you can start edit data, and more like this, you have available an API for CRUD operations. Simply like this!

I am still a fan of the "code-generator" approach, and I think it is just a flavor of using XML/XSLT that I used for DATA-SEED. I plan to add code-generator functionalities but until then, enjoy 🌱 the DATA-SEED!