Hibernate FAQs

1.what is the advantage of Hibernate over jdbc?

There are so many
1)Hibernate is data base independent, your code will work for all ORACL,MySQL ,!"L!er#er etc$
%n case of &'(C )uery must be data base specific$ !o hibernate based persistance lo*ic is database
independent persistance lo*ic and &'(C based persistance lo*ic is database dependent lo*ic$
+)As Hibernate is set of Ob,ects ,
-) .o need to learn !"L lan*ua*e$/ou can treat TA(L as a Ob,ect $ Only &a#a knowled*e is need$
%n case of &'(C you need to learn !"L$
-)'ont need "uery tunin* in case of Hibernate$ %f you use Criteria "uires in Hibernate then
hibernate automatically tuned your )uery and return best result with performance$
%n case of &'(C you need to tune your )ueries$
0) /ou will *et benefit of Cache$ Hibernate support two le#el of cache$ 1irst le#el and +nd le#el$ !o
you can store your data into Cache for better performance$
%n case of &'(C you need to implement your ,a#a cache $
2)Hibernate supports "uery cache and %t will pro#ide the statistics about your )uery and database
status$
&'(C .ot pro#ides any statistics$
3)'e#elopment fast in case of Hibernate because you dont need to write )ueries
4).o need to create any connection pool in case of Hibernate$ /ou can use c-p5$
%n case of &'(C you need to write your own connection pool
6)%n the 7ml file you can see all the relations between tables in case of Hibernate$ asy readability$
8)/ou can load your ob,ects on start up usin* la9y:false in case of Hibernate$
&'(C 'ont ha#e such support$
15 ) Hibernate !upports automatic #ersionin* of rows but &'(C .ot$
2.What is Hibernate?
Hibernate is an open source, li*ht wei*ht Ob,ect Relational ;appin* tool to de#elop the database
independent persistence lo*in in ,a#a and ,+ee based applications$
Hibernate is a pure &a#a ob,ect<relational mappin* =OR;) and persistence framework that allows
you to map plain old &a#a ob,ects to relational database tables usin* =>;L) confi*uration and
mappin* files$ %ts purpose is to relie#e the de#eloper from a si*nificant amount of relational data
persistence<related pro*rammin* tasks
3.What is ORM ?
OR; stands for ob,ect?relational mappin*, means pro#idin* the mappin* between class with table
and member #ariables with columns is called OR;$ OR; is the automated persistence of ob,ects in
a &a#a application to the tables in a relational database$
.hat does ORM consists of ?
An OR; solution consists of the followin* four pieces@
AA% for performin* basic CRB' operations
AA% to e7press )ueries referrin* to classes
1acilities to specify metadata
Optimi9ation facilities @ dirty checkin*,la9y associations fetchin*

!.What are the ORM "eve"s ?

The OR; le#els are@
Aure relational =stored procedure$)
Li*ht ob,ects mappin* =&'(C)
;edium ob,ect mappin*
1ull ob,ect ;appin* =composition,inheritance, polymorphism, persistence by reachability)
$
#.Wh$ do $o% need ORM too"s "i&e hibernate?
The main ad#anta*e of OR; like hibernate is that it can de#elop the database independent
persistence lo*ic$ Apart from this, OR; pro#ides followin* benefits@
'()roved )rod%ctivit$
Hi*h<le#el ob,ect<oriented AA%
Less &a#a code to write
.o !"L to write
'()roved )erfor(ance
!ophisticated cachin*
La9y loadin*
a*er loadin*
'()roved (aintainabi"it$
A lot less code to write
'()roved )ortabi"it$
OR; framework *enerates database<specific !"L for you
*.What +oes Hibernate ,i()"if$?
Hibernate simplifies@
!a#in* and retrie#in* your domain ob,ects
;akin* database column and table name chan*es
Centrali9in* pre sa#e and post retrie#e lo*ic
Comple7 ,oins for retrie#in* related items
!chema creation from ob,ect model
-.What is the (ain difference between .ntit$ /eans and Hibernate ?
1)%n ntity (ean at a time we can interact with only one data (ase$ Chere as in Hibernate we can
able to establishes the connections to more than One 'ata (ase$ Only thin* we need to write one
more confi*uration file$
+) &( need container like Ceblo*ic, Ceb!phare but hibernate donDt nned$ %t can be run on tomcat$
-) ntity (eans does not support OOA! concepts where as Hibernate does$
0) Hibernate supports multi le#el cachein*, where as ntity (eans doesnDt$
2) %n Hibernate C-A5 can be used as a connection pool$
3) Hibernate is container independent$ &( not$
0.What are the 1ore interfaces and c"asses of Hibernate fra(ewor&?
The fi#e core interfaces are used in ,ust about e#ery Hibernate application$ Bsin* these interfaces, you
can store and retrie#e persistent ob,ects and control transactions$
Confi*uration class =or*$hibernate$cf* packa*e)
!ession interface =or*$hibernate packa*e)
!ession1actory interface =or*$hibernate packa*e)
Transaction interface =or*$hibernate packa*e)
"uery and Criteria interfaces =or*$hibernate packa*e)
12.What is the genera" f"ow of Hibernate co((%nication with R+/M,?
The *eneral flow of Hibernate communication with R'(;! is @
Load the Hibernate confi*uration file and create confi*uration ob,ect$ %t will automatically
load all hbm mappin* files because mappin* file can be confi*ured in confi*uration file$
Create session factory from confi*uration ob,ect
Eet one session from this session factory
Create H"L "uery
7ecute )uery to *et list containin* &a#a ob,ects$
11.What is the need for Hibernate (a))ing fi"e?
Hibernate mappin* file is used to pro#ides the mappin* between ,a#a class with table member
#ariables with column names of the table$ And also we can confi*ure primary key *eneration
al*orithm, relations and so on$ Typical mappin* file look as follows@
12.What are the i()ortant tags of hibernate.cfg.3("?
This file can be used to pro#ide the database information like dri#erclass name, url, database
usename, database password, dialect, connection poolin* mappin* file and so on$
1ollowin* are the important ta*s of hibernate$cf*$7ml@
13.What ro"e does the ,ession interface )"a$ in Hibernate?
The main runtime interface between a &a#a application and Hibernate The !ession interface is the
primary interface used by Hibernate applications$ %t is a sin*le<threaded, short<li#ed ob,ect
representin* a con#ersation between the application and the persistent store$ %t allows you to create
)uery ob,ects to retrie#e persistent ob,ects$
The main function of the !ession is to offer create, read and delete operations for instances of mapped
entity classes$ %nstances may e7ist in one of three states@
transient: ne#er persistent, not associated with any !ession
persistent: associated with a uni)ue !ession
detached: pre#iously persistent, not associated with any !ession
!ession session : session1actory$open!ession=)F
,ession interface ro"e@
Craps a &'(C connection
1actory for Transaction
Holds a mandatory =first<le#el) cache of persistent ob,ects, used when na#i*atin* the ob,ect
*raph or lookin* up ob,ects by identifier
1.What ro"e does the ,essionFactor$ interface )"a$ in Hibernate?
!ession1actorys are immutable$ The beha#iour of a !ession1actory is controlled by properties
supplied at confi*uration time$ These properties are defined on n#ironment$
The application obtains !ession instances from a !ession1actory$ There is typically a sin*le
!ession1actory for the whole applicationGreated durin* application initiali9ation$ The !ession1actory
caches *enerate !"L statements and other mappin* metadata that Hibernate uses at runtime$ %t also
holds cached data that has been read in one unit of work and may be reused in a future unit of work
%mplementors must be threadsafe$
!ession1actory session1actory : confi*uration$build!ession1actory=)F
1!.What are the (ost co((on wa$s to s)ecif$ the Hibernate config%ration )ro)erties?
The most common methods of Hibernate confi*uration are@
Aro*rammatic confi*uration
(y usin* setAroperty=<) method of or*$hibernate$cf*$Confi*uration$
>;L confi*uration =hibernate$cf*$7ml)
(y usin* $properties file
(y Bsin* annotaions$=from Hibernate -$- on words)
1#.How do $o% (a) 4ava Objects with +atabase tab"es?
1irst we need to write &a#a domain ob,ects =beans with setter and *etter)$
Crite hbm$7ml, where we map ,a#a class to table and database columns to &a#a class
#ariables$
.3a()"e @
Hhibernate<mappin*I
Hclass name:Jcom$dur*asoft$mployee(eanJ table:J;ALO/JI
Hid name:Gidcolume:GdI
Hproperty name:JenameJ column:J.A;J len*th:J+22J
not<null:JtrueJ type:J,a#a$lan*$!trin*J?I
Hproperty name:JaddressJ column:JA''RJ len*th:J+22J
not<null:JtrueJ type:J,a#a$lan*$!trin*J?I
H?classI
H?hibernate<mappin*I
1*.How do $o% define se5%ence generated )ri(ar$ &e$ a"gorith( in hibernate?
(y usin* HidI, H*eneratorI ta*s we can confi*ure the primary key and primary key *eneration
al*orithm$
.3a()"e@<
Hid name:JuseridJ column:JB!RK%'J type:J,a#a$lan*$Lon*JI
H*enerator class:Jse)uenceJI
Hparam name:JtableJI!"K.A;H?paramI
H*eneratorI
H?idI
1-.What is co()onent (a))ing in Hibernate?
A component is an ob,ect sa#ed as a #alue, not as a reference
A component can be sa#ed directly without needin* to declare interfaces or identifier
properties
Re)uired to define an empty constructor
!hared references not supported
10 . +ifference between get1%rrent,ession67 and o)en,ession67 in Hibernate ?
*etCurrent!ession=) @
Obtains the current session$ The Jcurrent sessionJ refers to a Hibernate !ession bound by Hibernate
behind the scenes, to the transaction scope$
A !ession is opened when *etCurrent!ession=) is called for the first time and closed when the
transaction ends$ %t is also flushed automatically before the transaction commits$ /ou can call
*etCurrent!ession=) as often and anywhere you want as lon* as the transaction runs$ Only the
!ession that you obtained with sf$*etCurrent!ession=) is flushed and closed automatically$
open!ession=) @
%f you decide to use mana*e the !ession yourself the *o for sf$open!ession=) , you ha#e to flush=)
and close=) it$
%t does not flush and close=) automatically$
7ample @
Transaction t7 :session$ber*inTransaction=)F
!ession session : factory$open!ession=)F
try L
t7$be*in=)F
?? 'o some work
session$create"uery=$$$)F
session$persist=$$$)F
session$flush=)F ?? 7tra work you need to do
t7$commit=)F
M
catch =Runtime7ception e) L
t7$rollback=)F
throw eF ?? or display error messa*e
M
finally L
session$close=)F ?? 7tra work you need to do
M
22.What are the t$)es of Hibernate instance states ?
Three types of instance states@
Transient <The instance is not associated with any persistence conte7t
Aersistent <The instance is associated with a persistence conte7t
'etached <The instance was associated with a persistence conte7t which has been closed
currently not associated
21.What are the t$)es of inheritance (ode"s in Hibernate?
There are three types of inheritance models in Hibernate@
Table per class hierarchy
Table per subclass
Table per concrete class
22.What is Hibernate Q%er$ 8ang%age 6HQ87?
Hibernate "uery Lan*ua*e is )uery lan*ua*e which is used to de#elop the data independent )uery
lan*ua*e in the application$ This H"L )ueries are not related to any database$ Hibernate offers a
)uery lan*ua*e that embodies a #ery powerful and fle7ible mechanism to )uery, store, update, and
retrie#e ob,ects from a database$ This lan*ua*e, the Hibernate )uery Lan*ua*e =H"L), is an ob,ect<
oriented e7tension to !"L$
23.What are the wa$s to e3)ress joins in HQ8?
H"L pro#ides four ways of e7pressin* =inner and outer) ,oins@<
An implicit association ,oin
An ordinary ,oin in the 1RO; clause
A fetch ,oin in the 1RO; clause$
A theta-style ,oin in the CHR clause$
2 . 9ransaction with )"ain 4+/1 in Hibernate ?
%f you donDt ha#e &TA and donDt want to deploy it alon* with your application, you will usually ha#e
to fall back to &'(C transaction demarcation$ %nstead of callin* the &'(C AA% you better use
HibernateDs Transaction and the built<in session<per<re)uest functionality@
To enable the thread<bound strate*y in your Hibernate confi*uration@
set hibernate$transaction$factoryKclass to or*$hibernate$transaction$&'(CTransaction1actory
set hibernate$currentKsessionKconte7tKclass to thread
!ession session : factory$open!ession=)F
Transaction t7 : nullF
try L
t7 : session$be*inTransaction=)F
?? 'o some work
session$load=$$$)F
session$persist=$$$)F
t7$commit=)F ?? 1lush happens automatically
M
catch =Runtime7ception e) L
t7$rollback=)F
throw eF ?? or display error messa*e
M
finally L
session$close=)F
M
2! . What are the genera" considerations or best )ractices for defining $o%r Hibernate
)ersistent c"asses?
1$/ou must ha#e a default no<ar*ument constructor for your persistent classes and there should be
*et>>>=)and set>>>=) methods for all your persistable instance #ariables$
+$/ou should implement the e)uals=) and hashCode=) methods based on your business key and it is
important not to use the id field in your e)uals=) and hashCode=) definition if the id field is a
surro*ate key =i$e$ Hibernate mana*ed identifier)$ This is because the Hibernate only *enerates and
sets the field when sa#in* the ob,ect$
-$ %t is recommended to implement the !eriali9able interface$ This is potentially useful if you want to
mi*rate around a multi<processor cluster$
0$The persistent class should not be final because if it is final then la9y loadin* cannot be used by
creatin* pro7y ob,ects$
2# . +ifference between session.%)date67 and session."oc&67 in Hibernate ?
The session$update method is used to update the persistence ob,ect in the in the database$
The session$lock=) method simply reattaches the ob,ect to the session without checkin* or updatin*
the database on the assumption that the database in sync with the detached ob,ect$ %t is the best
practice to use either session$update=$$) or session$sa#eOrBpdate=)$ Bse session$lock=) only if you are
absolutely sure that the detached ob,ect is in sync with your detached ob,ect or if it does not matter
because you will be o#erwritin* all the columns that would ha#e chan*ed later on within the same
transaction$
2*.What are the 1o""ection t$)es in Hibernate ?
!et
List
Array
;ap
(a*
2-.What is the difference between sorted and ordered co""ection in hibernate?
sorted co""ection vs. order co""ection @<
sorted collection order collection A sorted collection is sortin* a collection by utili9in* the sortin*
features pro#ided by the &a#a collections framework$ The sortin* occurs in the memory of &N;
which runnin* Hibernate, after the data bein* read from database usin* ,a#a comparator$ Order
collection is sortin* a collection by specifyin* the order<by clause for sortin* this collection when
retrie#al$ %f your collection is not lar*e, it will be more efficient way to sort it$ %f your collection is
#ery lar*e, it will be more efficient way to sort it $ 20.What are the wa$s to e3)ress joins in HQ8?
H"L pro#ides four ways of e7pressin* =inner and outer) ,oins@<
An implicit association ,oin
An ordinary ,oin in the 1RO; clause
A fetch ,oin in the 1RO; clause$
A theta-style ,oin in the CHR clause$
32.What do $o% (ean b$ :a(ed ,Q8 5%er$?
.amed !"L )ueries are defined in the mappin* 7ml document and called where#er re)uired$
.3a()"e;
Hs)l<)uery name : JempdetailsJI
Hreturn alias:JempJ class:Jcom$dur*asoft$mployeeJ?I
!LCT emp$;AK%' A! Lemp$empidM,
emp$;AKA''R!! A! Lemp$addressM,
emp$;AK.A; A! Lemp$nameM
1RO; mployee ;A CHR emp$.A; L%O @name
H?s)l<)ueryI
%n#oke .amed "uery @
List people : session$*et.amed"uery=JempdetailsJ)
$set!trin*=JTom(radyJ, name)
$set;a7Results=25)
$list=)F
-1$How do you in#oke !tored AroceduresG
Hs)l<)uery name:JselectAllmployeesK!AJ callable:JtrueJI
Hreturn alias:JempJ class:JemployeeJI
Hreturn<property name:JempidJ column:J;AK%'J?I
Hreturn<property name:JnameJ column:J;AK.A;J?I
Hreturn<property name:JaddressJ column:J;AKA''R!!J?I
L G : call selectAllmployees=) M
H?returnI
H?s)l<)ueryI
32..3)"ain 1riteria A<'
The interface or*$hibernate$Criteria represents a )uery a*ainst a particular persistent class$ The
!ession is a factory for Criteria instances$ Criteria is a simplified AA% for retrie#in* entities by
composin* Criterion ob,ects$ This is a #ery con#enient approach for functionality like JsearchJ
screens where there is a #ariable number of conditions to be placed upon the result set$
.3a()"e @
List employees : session$createCriteria=mployee$class)
$add=Restrictions$like=JnameJ, JaPJ) )
$add=Restrictions$like=JaddressJ, J(ostonJ))
$addOrder=Order$asc=JnameJ) )
$list=)F
33.What? the difference between "oad67 and get67?
load=) *et=) Only use the load=) method if you are sure that the ob,ect e7ists$ %f you are not sure that
the ob,ect e7ists, then use one of the *et=) methods$ load=) method will throw an e7ception if the
uni)ue id is not found in the database$ *et=) method will return null if the uni)ue id is not found in
the database$ load=) ,ust returns a pro7y by default and database wonG be hit until the pro7y is first
in#oked$ *et=) will hit the database immediately$
3.What is the difference between and (erge and %)date ?
Bse update=) if you are sure that the session does not contain an already persistent instance with the
same identifier, and mer*e=) if you want to mer*e your modifications at any time without
consideration of the state of the session$
3!.+efine cascade and inverse o)tion in one=(an$ (a))ing?
cascade < enable operations to cascade to child entities$
cascade:JallQnoneQsa#e<updateQdeleteQall<delete<orphanJ
in#erse < mark this collection as the Jin#erseJ end of a bidirectional association$
in#erse:JtrueQfalseJ
ssentially Jin#erseJ indicates which end of a relationship should be i*nored, so when persistin* a
parent who has a collection of children, should you ask the parent for its list of children, or ask the
children who the parents areG
3#.+efine Hibernate9e()"ate?
or*$sprin*framework$orm$hibernate$HibernateTemplate is a helper class which pro#ides different
methods for )ueryin*?retrie#in* data from the database$ %t also con#erts checked
Hibernate7ceptions into unchecked 'ataAccess7ceptions$
3*.What are the benefits does Hibernate9e()"ate )rovide?
The benefits of HibernateTemplate are @
HibernateTemplate, a !prin* Template class simplifies interactions with Hibernate !ession$
Common functions are simplified to sin*le method calls$
!essions are automatically closed$
7ceptions are automatically cau*ht and con#erted to runtime e7ceptions$
3-. How do $o% switch between re"ationa" databases witho%t code changes?
Bsin* Hibernate !"L 'ialects , we can switch databases$ Hibernate will *enerate appropriate h)l
)ueries based on the dialect defined$
30.'f $o% want to see the Hibernate generated ,Q8 state(ents on conso"e> what sho%"d we do?
(y usin* GhowKs)lproperty of the hibernate confi*uration file
%n Hibernate confi*uration file set as follows@
Hproperty name:JshowKs)lJItrueH?propertyI
2.What are derived )ro)erties?
The properties that are not mapped to a column, but calculated at runtime by e#aluation of an
e7pression are called deri#ed properties$ The e7pression can be defined usin* the formula attribute of
the element$
1.+efine cascade and inverse o)tion in one=(an$ (a))ing?
cascade < enable operations to cascade to child entities$
cascade:JallQnoneQsa#e<updateQdeleteQall<delete<orphanJ
in#erse < mark this collection as the Jin#erseJ end of a bidirectional association$
in#erse:JtrueQfalseJ
ssentially Jin#erseJ indicates which end of a relationship should be i*nored, so when persistin* a
parent who has a collection of children, should you ask the parent for its list of children, or ask the
children who the parents areG
2 . .3)"ain abo%t transaction fi"e?
Transactions denote a work file which can sa#e chan*es made or re#ert back the chan*es$ A
transaction can be started by session$be*inTransaction=) and it uses &'(C connection, COR(A or
&TA$ Chen this session starts se#eral transactions may occur$
3 . +ifference between session.save67 > session.saveOr?)date67 and session.)ersist67?
All methods are used to store the data in to database
session$sa#e=) @ sa#e=) method u!a#e does an insert and will fail if the primary key is already
persistent$
session$sa#eOrBpdate=) @ sa#eOrBpdate=) insert the data in the database if that primary key data not
a#ailable and it update the data if primary key data not a#ailabt
session$persist=) @it is the same like session$sa#e=)$ (ut session$sa#e=) return !eriali9able ob,ect but
session$persist=) return #oid$
1or 7ample @
if you do @<
!ystem$out$println=session$sa#e=)uestion))F
This will print the *enerated primary key$
if you do @<
!ystem$out$println=session$persist=)uestion))F
Compile time error because session$persist=) return #oid$
. .3)"ain abo%t the id fie"d?
This id field is used to confi*ure the primary key in the mappin* file, and also we can confi*ure
primary key *eneration al*orithm$
!.What is the %se of d$na(ic=insert and d$na(ic=%)date attrib%tes in a c"ass (a))ing?
Criteria is a simplified AA% for retrie#in* entities by composin* Criterion ob,ects$ This is a #ery
con#enient approach for functionality like JsearchJ screens where there is a #ariable number of
conditions to be placed upon the result set$
dynamic<update =defaults to false)@ !pecifies that BA'AT !"L should be *enerated at
runtime and contain only those columns whose #alues ha#e chan*ed
dynamic<insert =defaults to false)@ !pecifies that %.!RT !"L should be *enerated at
runtime and contain only the columns whose #alues are not null$
#.What is a%to(atic dirt$ chec&ing?
Automatic dirty checkin* is a feature that sa#es us the effort of e7plicitly askin* Hibernate to update
the database when we modify the state of an ob,ect inside a transaction$
*.What are 1a""bac& interfaces?
Callback interfaces allow the application to recei#e a notification when somethin* interestin* happens
to an ob,ectGor e7ample, when an ob,ect is loaded, sa#ed, or deleted$ Hibernate applications donDt
need to implement these callbacks, but theyDre useful for implementin* certain kinds of *eneric
functionality$
-.What is Hibernate )ro3$?
The pro7y attribute enables la9y initiali9ation of persistent instances of the class$ Hibernate will
initially return CEL%( pro7ies which implement the named interface$ The actual persistent ob,ect will
be loaded when a method of the pro7y is in#oked$
0.How can Hibernate be config%red to access an instance variab"e direct"$ and not thro%gh a
setter (ethod ?
(y mappin* the property with access:JfieldJ in Hibernate metadata$ This forces hibernate to bypass
the setter method and access the instance #ariable directly while initiali9in* a newly loaded ob,ect$
!2.How can a who"e c"ass be (a))ed as i((%tab"e?
;ark the class as mutable:JfalseJ ='efault is true),$ This specifies that instances of the class are =not)
mutable$ %mmutable classes, may not be updated or deleted by the application$
!1 . .3)"ain abo%t trans)arent )ersistence of Hibernate?
Transparent persistence is pro#ided for Alain old &a#a ob,ects or AO&Os$ 1or proper functionin* of
the applications importance should be *i#en to the methods e)uals =) and hash Code methods =)$ %t
has a re)uirement which should be strictly followed in the applications which is a no<ar*ument
constructor$
!2 . .3)"ain abo%t the dirt$ chec&ing feat%re of Hibernate?
'irty checkin* feature of the Hibernate allows users or de#elopers to a#oid time consumin* data
base write actions$ This feature makes necessary updations and chan*es to the fields which re)uire a
chan*e, remainin* fields are left unchan*ed or untouched$
!3 . What is the effect when a transient (a))ed object is )assed onto a ,essions save?
Chen a !essions sa#e =) is passed to a transient mapped ob,ect it makes the method to become more
persistent$ Earba*e collection and termination of the &a#a #irtual machine stays as lon* as it is
deleted e7plicitly$ %t may head back to its transient state$
! . .3)"ain abo%t add1"ass f%nction?
This function translates a &a#a class name into file name$ This translated file name is then loaded as an
input stream from the &a#a class loader$ This addClass function is important if you want efficient
usa*e of classes in your code$