Harnessing Hibernate

Book excerpt: Harnessing Hibernate is an ideal introduction to the popular framework that lets Java developers work with information from a relational database easily and efficiently. Databases are a very different world than Java objects, and they often involve people with different skills and specializations. With Hibernate, bridging these two worlds is significantly easier, and with this book, you can get up to speed with Hibernate quickly. Rather than present you with another reference, Harnessing Hibernate lets you explore the system, from download and configuration through a series of projects that demonstrate how to accomplish a variety of practical goals. The new edition of this concise guide walks you through Hibernate's primary features, which include mapping from Java classes to database tables, and from Java data types to SQL data types. You will also learn about Hibernate's data query and retrieval facilities, and much more. By reading and following along with the examples, you can get your own Hibernate environment set up quickly and start using it for real-world tasks right away. Harnessing Hibernate teaches you how to: Perform Object/Relational mapping Work with persistent data from Java code Work with groups and relationships between objects Extend Hibernate's rich type support for your own needs Simplify query creation using criteria and examples Use the Hibernate Query Language (HQL) and understand how it differs from SQL Use Hibernate in conjunction with Spring Use Hibernate in conjunction with other packages, such as the Stripes web framework and the Eclipse IDE Once you're past the first few chapters, you can jump to topics that you find particularly interesting or relevant. All background material and explanations of how Hibernate works and why is in the service of a focused task. Source code can be downloaded from the book's website. If using SQL is an uncomfortable chore, Harnessing Hibernate offers you an effective and trouble-free method for working with the information you store in your applications.