Java Persistence with Hibernate

This book is divided into three major parts.
In part 1, we introduce the object/relational paradigm mismatch and explain the fundamentals behind object/relational mapping. We walk through a hands-on tutorial to get you started with your first Hibernate, Java Persistence, or EJB 3.0 project. We look at Java application design for domain models and at the options for creating object/relational mapping metadata.
Mapping Java classes and properties to SQL tables and columns is the focus of part 2. We explore all basic and advanced mapping options in Hibernate and Java Persistence, with XML mapping files and Java annotations. We show you how to deal with inheritance, collections, and complex class associations. Finally, we discuss integration with legacy database schemas and some mapping strategies that are especially tricky.
Part 3 is all about the processing of objects and how you can load and store data with Hibernate and Java Persistence. We introduce the programming interfaces, how to write transactional and conversation-aware applications, and how to write queries. Later, we focus on the correct design and implementation of layered Java applications. We discuss the most common design patterns that are used with Hibernate, such as the Data Access Object (DAO) and EJB Command patterns. You'll see how you can test your Hibernate application easily and what other best practices are relevant if you work an object/relational mapping software.
Finally, we introduce the JBoss Seam framework, which takes many Hibernate concepts to the next level and enables you to create conversational web applications with ease. We promise you'll find this chapter interesting, even if you don't plan to use Seam.
Who should read this book?
Readers of this book should have basic knowledge of object-oriented software development and should have used this knowledge in practice. To understand the application examples, you should be familiar with the Java programming language and the