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October 17, 2005

Hibernate: The Smart Approach to Java and Databases

Hibernate is an object/relational mapping solution for Java environments. It takes the pain out of communicating between Java classes and relational databases. In addition to providing a powerful and fast approach to mapping databases, it also allows for data querying. This, of course, can reduce development time, especially for the developers who care less about how to relate to a database and only concerned with retrieving the correct data from it.

Hibernate can persist most JavaBeans. What this means is there is no need for Java classes, but rather makes the use of such things as Maps of Maps, allowing you map entities to SQL expressions. This can eliminate the need for traditional table interaction, and with the use of a persistence service, business domain objects can be run without the persistence layer. This is a great methodology for extreme programmers or those who need an application complete ASAP.

Another benefit of Hibernate is its ability to access variables through get/set functions, or modify the variables directly. When accessing through functions, they can be private, packaged, or protected. This allows for your application to avoid breaking data hiding, which you should always strive for.

Through the use of XML mapping metadata, Hibernate allows you to make use of mapping GUI without the troublesome possibility of slower performance through standard GUI tools. In addition, XDoclet and JDK 5.0 annotations can really help in reducing clutter and keeping your configuration together.

Hibernate can be a great tool when a database is needed. It makes communication and retrieval of objects much simpler than most services.

Posted by Kenny on October 17, 2005 10:15 AM

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