DataMapper ORM v1.8.0

[eluser]WanWizard[/eluser]
The reason static calls are used is that you can do that without actually creating an object instance. The static class also provide the instances (that are created when you instantiate a model) with setup and configuration information.

Removing it would lead to complex code and 'hacks' to store the information somewhere (for example a separate class loaded as a CI singleton).

In your case I would have copied the entire application folder to a second CI installation, copied the latest Datamapper files in, changed the database config to a test db, and started testing. A lot easier then modifying code...