JBoss Updates Java Object/Relational Mapping App

JBoss Monday released Hibernate 3.2, the latest update to the company's Java object/relational mapping software. Hibernate packages now support the most popular development frameworks, and can be used with JDK 5.0 (Java Developer Kit) annotations, the Java Persistence API, or full Enterprise JavaBeans 3.0 (EJB 3.0).

A significant new feature of Hibernate 3.2 is support for and certification with Java Persistence, which was introduced in the Java Enterprise Edition (EE) 5.0 platform to simplify the development of Java EE applications using data persistence.

Enhancing Developer Productivity

Java Persistence support and certification lay the groundwork for JBoss' final EJB 3.0 implementation in the JBoss Java EE 5.0 application server. Hibernate can now also be used as a portable and pluggable Java Persistence provider with any Java EE 5.0 application server.

"Hibernate has always been about simplification and enhancing developer productivity, and that includes giving developers what they need to develop with in the manner that makes the most sense for their projects," said Ram Venkataraman, director of product management, JBoss. "Java Persistence standardizes innovative data management features with a ... programming model tightly integrated with EJB 3.0. Furthermore, the Hibernate software modules can be used in any combination and with any JDK."

New Release Features

Included in the Hibernate 3.2 release are the following:

• Hibernate Core is a full featured object/relational persistence and query service that relieves developers from 95 percent of common data persistence related programming tasks, compared to manual coding with SQL and the JDBC API. Hibernate Core offers a powerful native data management and query API, and object/relational mapping with XML metadata. Hibernate Core requires JDK 1.3 or greater and works with any J2EE 1.4 or Java EE 5.0 application server.
• Hibernate Annotations offers several packages of JDK 5.0 code annotations that developers can use to map classes, as a replacement or in addition to XML metadata. Hibernate Annotations supports standard Java Persistence object/relational mapping annotations, native Hibernate extension annotations, and declarative data integrity rule definition and validation with the Hibernate Validator framework. Hibernate Annotations requires JDK 5.0.
• Hibernate Entity Manager implements the Java Persistence programming interfaces, object lifecycle rules, and query options as defined by Java Specification Request 220 (EJB 3.0). Combined with Hibernate Annotations, this wrapper offers a complete Java Persistence provider on top of the Hibernate Core. The Hibernate Java Persistence provider is the default Java Persistence provider of the JBoss EJB 3.0 implementation. Additionally, it can be used inside any other Java EE 5.0 application server or standalone with JDK 5.0.

Licensed under the Gnu Lesser General Public License (LGPL), Hibernate is free to download and use. It is also currently bundled in the Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) Application Stack.