Just a quick update.

Based on my research, including a post by the chap responsible for some of these packages, it would appear that Class::DBI and DBIx::Class are obsolete, and that if one is to use a Perl ORM , one should use Rose::DBI::*. That said, if the objective is primarily speed, the benchmarking page I found for Rose::DB::* would suggest that though it is much faster than any other ORM tested, one is still better off using DBI itself.

I do not know if the benchmark tests used are inadequate to show the benefits of using an ORM, or if ORM systems are just a convenience for developers that may or may not justify the poorer performance (the cost of development is, after all, a major consideration alongside the speed of an application, when deciding what to do to support the functional requirements defined for the application). I will thus study Rose::DB::*, and reserve judgement as to whether or not it's use is warranted at least in some circumstances. (Maybe someone with experience with it, or a similar ORM, would like to contribute some insight based on observations when using it in real world applications?)

Cheers

Ted