[eluser]Jelmer[/eluser]
I don't know Doctrine and I didn't do full testing with DMZ - so I can't comment on those. But implementing RapidDataMapper actually spead things up for me instead of slowing them down like one would expect from a more complex system.
So my experience doesn't match yours in that respect.
Also ORM's prevent mistakes because they allow you to code stuff in a way that's more logically. And the more logical your code the less chances of forgetting certain work-arounds.
Even if I'd have lost performance implementing RDM I would also recommand it to those losing just a little bit of performace. Sometimes writing more logical code is more important then writing the most precise efficient code. Because the mistakes and harships you might face after writing very complex statements with Active Record, those might cause more problems then a couple percentage points performance difference is worth.
Always try to find a balance, don't just look at 0.1% points in performance - also think about future changes. A system that's completely optimized might give users 0.003 seconds faster load time but might cause you hours upon hours of work implementing changes.
In my opinion a well coded system isn't the most possible efficient system, but a system that keeps the balance between very logical code and performance optimization.
