Friday, 17 February 2012

What is the difference between the session.update() method and the session.lock() method? | Java Hibernet

Both of these methods and saveOrUpdate() method are intended for reattaching a detached object. The session.lock() method simply reattaches the object to the session without checking or updating the database on the assumption that the database in sync with the detached object. It is the best practice to use either session.update(..) or session.saveOrUpdate(). Use session.lock() only if you are absolutely sure that the detached object is in sync with your detached object or if it does not matter because you will be overwriting all the columns that would have changed later on within the same transaction.

What are the general considerations or best practices for defining your Hibernate persistent classes? | Java Hibernet

1.You must have a default no-argument constructor for your persistent classes and there should be getXXX() (i.e accessor/getter) and setXXX( i.e. mutator/setter) methods for all your persistable instance variables.
2.You should implement the equals() and hashCode() methods based on your business key and it is important not to use the id field in your equals() and hashCode() definition if the id field is a surrogate key (i.e. Hibernate managed identifier). This is because the Hibernate only generates and sets the field when saving the object.
3. It is recommended to implement the Serializable interface. This is potentially useful if you want to migrate around a multi-processor cluster.
4.The persistent class should not be final because if it is final then lazy loading cannot be used by creating proxy objects.
5.Use XDoclet tags for generating your *.hbm.xml files or Annotations (JDK 1.5 onwards), which are less verbose than *.hbm.xml files.

How would you reatach detached objects to a session when the same object has already been loaded into the session?

 You can use the session.merge() method call.

What is the difference between the session.get() method and the session.load() method? | Java Hibernet

Both the session.get() and session.load() methods create a persistent object by loading the required object from the database. But if there was not such object in the database then the method session.load(..) throws an exception whereas session.get(&) returns null.

How does Hibernate distinguish between transient (i.e. newly instantiated) and detached objects? | Java Hibernate

" Hibernate uses the version property, if there is one.
" If not uses the identifier value. No identifier value means a new object. This does work only for Hibernate managed surrogate keys. Does not work for natural keys and assigned (i.e. not managed by Hibernate) surrogate keys.
" Write your own strategy with Interceptor.isUnsaved().

What are the pros and cons of detached objects? | Java Hibernet

Pros:
" When long transactions are required due to user think-time, it is the best practice to break the long transaction up into two or more transactions. You can use detached objects from the first transaction to carry data all the way up to the presentation layer. These detached objects get modified outside a transaction and later on re-attached to a new transaction via another session.
Cons
" In general, working with detached objects is quite cumbersome, and better to not clutter up the session with them if possible. It is better to discard them and re-fetch them on subsequent requests. This approach is not only more portable but also more efficient because - the objects hang around in Hibernate's cache anyway.

" Also from pure rich domain driven design perspective it is recommended to use DTOs (DataTransferObjects) and DOs (DomainObjects) to maintain the separation between Service and UI tiers.

What are the benefits of detached objects? | Java Hibernet

Detached objects can be passed across layers all the way up to the presentation layer without having to use any DTOs (Data Transfer Objects). You can later on re-attach the detached objects to another session.