"alembic" is better by leaps and bounds. it is used within a SQLAlchemy system, which is also a superior ORM than Django's.

question of taste...

Less taste and more that data mapper ORMs are better (although harder to make) than active record ones, except for very small datasets/simple queries.

"Better" for whom? It was a long time ago that I surveyed the ORM landscape but I remember thinking at the time I was much happier using an active record style ORM.

I guess I'm saying I'm always suspicious when I see "better" with no qualification. Everything has tradeoffs.

I, for one, find data mapper simply baffling. I look at it and can't even comprehend why someone might want to do things that way.

Granted, I'm not fond of ORMs in general, but I at least understand the appeal of the active record pattern.

Presumably to mitigate the large downsides of Active Record.