Mapping
Mapping Java classes to database tables is accomplished through the configuration of an XML file or by using Java Annotations. When using an XML file, Hibernate can generate skeletal source code for the persistence classes. This is unnecessary when annotations are used. Hibernate can use the XML file or the annotations to maintain the database schema.
Facilities to arrange one-to-many and many-to-many relationships between classes are provided. In addition to managing associations between objects, Hibernate can also manage reflexive associations where an object has a one-to-many relationship with other instances of its own type.
Hibernate supports the mapping of custom value types. This makes the following scenarios possible:
- Overriding the default SQL type that Hibernate chooses when mapping a column to a property.
- Mapping Java Enum to columns as if they were regular properties.
- Mapping a single property to multiple columns.
Read more about this topic: Hibernate (Java)