Odoo provides an ORM (Object Relational Mapping) layer that allows developers to interact with the database using Python objects instead of writing raw SQL queries. ORM automatically handles:
Access rights & record rules
Multi-company logic
Translations
Cache management
Upgrade compatibility
SQL directly interacts with the PostgreSQL database and bypasses Odoo’s security and business logic layers.
✅ ORM Example
partners = self.env[‘res.partner’].search([(‘customer_rank’, ‘>’, 0)])
for partner in partners:
partner.write({‘comment’: ‘Customer’})
✅ Secure
✅ Respects access rules
✅ Easy to maintain
✅ SQL Example
self.env.cr.execute(“””
SELECT id FROM res_partner WHERE customer_rank > 0
“””)
partner_ids = [row[0] for row in self.env.cr.fetchall()]
partners = self.env[‘res.partner’].browse(partner_ids)
⚠️ Faster for large datasets
⚠️ No access rule checking
⚠️ Manual security handling required
When to Use What?
Use Case ORM SQL
Business logic ✅ ❌
CRUD operations ✅ ❌
Large reports ❌ ✅
Performance-critical queries ❌ ✅
Best Practice: Always prefer ORM unless SQL is absolutely necessary.
