We're working on a more comprehensive explanation of why EdgeDB isn't an ORM. Does EdgeDB do "object-relational mapping" under the hood — absolutely. The reason we try to distance ourselves from the category of ORMs is that the term "ORM" comes with a big bag of preconceptions that don't apply here. EdgeDB has:

- Full schema model with indexing, constraints, defaults, computed properties, stored procedures

- A query language that replaces SQL. If there's something you can do in SQL that isn't possible in EdgeQL, it's a bug. Most ORMS provide some sort of language-specific API for writing queries and generating SQL under the hood—that's dramatically different than providing a new query language.

- A full type system, grammar, set of functions and operators, etc. A set theoretic basis for all expressions in EdgeQL. https://www.edgedb.com/docs/edgeql/sets

- A set of drivers for different languages that implement our binary protocol.

EdgeDB is a new abstraction built on a lower-level abstraction: Postgres. Both indubitably fit any reasonable definition of "database".