Re: Database development

From:

Lew <noone@lewscanon.com>

Newsgroups:

comp.lang.java.programmer

Date:

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 12:08:57 -0400

Message-ID:

<hr1peq$t9l$1@news.albasani.net>

Jack wrote:

When I work on database development projects, I use JDBC and SQL. Many
people use hibernate [sic]/spring [sic]. Can somebody explain the pros and cons of
using JDBC and SQL vs using hibernate [sic]/spring [sic] on database
developments?

Arne Vajh??j wrote:

That is a rather big discussion.

The ultra short version is:
- ORM (Hibernate or other) is best when the problem to
be solved is CRUD of objects
- pure SQL (JDBC) is best when you want to do something
more unusual

Hibernate, as Arne pointed out, is not the only ORM (Object-Relational
Mapping) tool. The biggies include also OpenJPA and EclipseLink.

They all support and implement the Java Persistence API (JPA), the Java
standard for ORM.

JPA is useful for more than mere CRUD, but that is the most common use case.

JPA does not require Spring at all. "Hibernate/Spring" is not one thing nor
one word.

Strictly speaking, JPA is not for database development. It is for persistent
object development. The point of view of JPA is object orientation, quite
different from the set logic of SQL.

SQL is best when you need a relational view of data. JPA is best when you
need an object view of objects.

Obviously JPA sits atop JDBC, so there is no real dichotomy between the two.
The question is roughly equivalent to the decision between a low-level library
and a higher-level one.

--
Lew