Repetitive row-mapping,turned into a readable data layer

So much of a small app’s time disappears into repetitive mapping code, manual reader handling, and the ceremony around moving data from tables to objects. MiniORM concentrates that in one place — without replacing SQL.

Row mapping was too repetitive to keep honest

Every query needed the same object-building steps, which made the data layer noisy and easy to drift out of sync. The more database logic leaked into features, the harder it became to see what each screen actually needed.

The goal was never to hide SQL. It was to make the data layer feel predictable and small, so each query stayed explicit while the surrounding glue code got easier to read.

I traded framework-level convenience for predictability: explicit mapping over reflection-heavy magic, a narrow public API so the common case stays short, and a structure simple enough to grow without turning into a dependency. Start with the query you already know how to write, pass it through a small helper that owns connection and mapping, and get typed objects back.

mapping noise

the repetitive parts moved into one place, so feature code scans cleanly

call sites

consumers focus on the query and the model instead of the plumbing

debug story

close enough to ADO.NET that stepping through it stays straightforward