I've experience with Toplink to translate objects to database and vica versa. But this was all part of a JSP site and now I did some EJB stuff with it to. Now is my question: is it good to work with stuff like Toplink in a Java Desktop application or is it more common to use native sql stuff from Java?
Maybe some experience of prof. developpers might be good. I need to develop a seriously application for a client. I'm doing it in Java and I'm gonna store the data in a database.
Thanks
ORM is nice if your data model is well structured, not overly complex and, most of all, if you have control over it.
Legacy databases or poorly modelled ones are harder to be represented with ORM, and doing so would be strongly discouraged, as your application would add further complexities over those implied by the model itself.
If you are comfortable with some ORM tool such as Hibernate and your database is fairly well done, go for it. They sure save you a lot of boilerplate code and have some nice query optimization code under the hood. Otherwise, you may want to use JDBC directly or some other framework to simplify JDBC use but still using plain SQL. For such situations I recommend MyBatis.
TopLink (and EclipseLink/JPA) work just as well in a desktop application as in a server side application. In fact TopLink has been around since the 90s with client-server Smalltalk apps before the server side was popular.
It's dependent on your use cases
ORM technologies can nicely abstract away database specifics and allow you to concentrate of the domain model. However, there are circumstances where using an ORM layer is not appropriate (extremely large data sets can cause performance issues for example, database schemas that are difficult to map to objects is another).
I would recommend using a JPA compliant technology such as Hibernate. That way you're using the ORM that implements a Java standard and you can more or less swap in and out implementations.
For everything else then JDBC is a flexible friend
depends on database volume too. For databases with huge data try using hibernate. It might be of great help rather than writing JDBC code
Related
This question is for software architects,
I have a confusion about to use ORM framework in restful web service, is it good practice?
I'm actually Java Developer working from since 5 years on Java, now doing some software architect stuff, so this confusion is raised, should I use it or not?
please give me pros and cons about it from your experience
Thanks
If your service is calling down to a SQL DB then it is perfectly reasonable to have an ORM layer.
PRO: simplified coding for simple problem spaces
CON: sub-optimal performance for complex SQL problem spaces
Agree with Lee.
It is a totally valid approach using an ORM framework together with Rest (or SOAP).
We use this scenario in a rather large project in conjunction with a service-oriented architecture.
Regarding pros and cons of an ORM framework from my experience:
while ORM tries to shield the developers from the complexities of SQL, it makes things to easy sometimes, in the way that it lures developers into neglecting things like transaction boundaries and database isolation levels
if you have developers which already have experience with SQL, you may consider using myBatis
using JPA/ORM will require some effort to master, but it is quite worth reading a book or taking a course, as using JPA in a suboptimal way will bring down database performance or result in excessive loading of object trees
In the current project we made very good experience with a two day training which will provide you with some tricks and example code how to handle the most common problems and avoid pitfalls.
I am working on a Web Application, to be designed in Java using Play Framework. This application will have high traffic so performance will be a major concern. The performance cause is thus preventing me from using an Object Relational Model (ORM). On searching I found that ORM can be replaced architecturally using a Data Access Layer (DAL) also using database access via "raw" JDBC. However, since I am a novice, I don't understand what "raw" JDBC is. Is this similar to the one in this tutorial. Moreover, how can we implement a modular and manageable DAL using this pattern?
Your best bet would be to initially implement your program as quickly as possible ( lightweight Object Relational Modal may be a good choice). Your aim is speed of creation (but make sure you "hide" elements of your program so the use of an ORM or direct JDBC is not "known" by much of your program.
Once you have your program running, measure where your performance blockers are ... you may be surprised an what you find. Reducing the time to get "running" pays great dividends on focusing your improvement efforts on actual issues rather than "expected ones".
Currently I am migrating databases from Oracle to MySQL. I mainly use Java to send queries to the database using JDBC. In the process of migrating, I need to change a lot of my queries in the Java code (the queries are hard-coded) as they will not work in MySQL.
I want to be able to recode my queries in such a way that I can easily switch between the databases if problems arise; I am changing all my queries to standard SQL but there are areas where this is not possible. I am thinking of having two versions of the queries, one for Oracle and one for MySQL so I can switch between both (I will have two versions temporarily just to see if MySQL can cope with our needs). However this seems like a terrible idea - does any one have any advice on a better way they would do this?
You have a bunch of options.
Firstly, many people now use Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) tools to connect applications to SQL databases. These come in a variety of different flavours - Hibernate is popular - and allow you switch between databases at very little cost. However, they do have a fairly steep learning curve. Inexperienced developers often struggle with performance problems in ORM applications.
If you stick with "traditional" JDBC, I suggest you take the body of the SQL out of the Java code, and treat it like a resource. As Henry suggests, you could use property files, and use parameter placeholders (ideally named placeholders, using the Spring template). While this does spread the code for a given piece of functionality into two files, it makes it easy to quickly refine the SQL and test new versions.
One possibility is to store the queries in a properties file. You would have one for Oracle and one for MySql.
I must add - ORM is good advice and will work... when you are starting with a fresh application and you can design your application to work on a domain model.
In this case however there is an existing application that invokes a great number of SQL queries. ORM based queries (HQL, JPQL) translate to SQL just fine; SQL does not by definition translate to the ORM layer however, major changes will be needed to make it a more object oriented approach to the data.
The problem will still persist even when you do manage to work in an ORM layer. There is already a major difference between MySQL and Oracle in how primary key generation works for example; MySQL uses auto-numbering where Oracle uses a sequence. Likely you already have an existing datamodel that you need to reverse engineer into the ORM layer code; it isn't going to be cross-database code.
A legacy web application written using PHP and utilizing MySql database needs to be rewritten completely. However, the existing database structure must not be changed at all.
I'm looking for suggestions on which framework would be most suitable for this task? Language candidates are Python, PHP, Ruby and Java.
According to many sources it might be challenging to utilize rails effectively with existing database. Also I have not found a way to automatically generate models out of the database.
With Django it's very easy to generate models automatically. However I'd appreciate first hand experience on its suitability to work with legacy DBs. The database in question contains all kinds of primary keys, including lots of composite keys.
Also I appreciate suggestions of other frameworks worth considering.
Use sqlalchemy. On any framework you choose. It can reflect your database as ORM.
I’m currently rebuilding a legacy PHP web application with a MySQL database my self.
The PHP code was kind of spaghetti and is now rewritten in Java as it type safe, promotes well-structured code, has excellent tooling and has superior unit testing capabilities. For database to Java mapping I use Hibernate/JPA.
The web application is incrementally delivered to production. Meaning we run both Java and large parts of the old PHP code together until the application is fully converted.
But in order to use hibernate effectively we needs the database to be logical correct (something MySQL MyIsam does not enforce). So with each production release I run an refactoring scripts for the database (also used to build the development environment and do unit testing) and update the PHP code with a new version that works with the schema changes.
As a web framework I use Stripes as it’s simple, elegant and easy to learn.
I have very good experience with Django. Every time I needed it was up to the task for interfacing with existing database.
Autogenerated models are the start, as MySQL is not the strictest with its schema. Not that it will not work only that usually some of the db restrictions are held in app itself.
My first thought would be to use Hibernate and Java, but I may be biased because that is what my experience is in. You generally map your Model classes via Hibernate after you create the database anyway, so it might not be a bad choice.
I'll let it explain itself to you: Hibernate's website
I suppose that any PHP Framework (I'm a PHP guy, so I will only talk about PHP) could be OK for you ; but you should use one that's well-supported, has a large community, ...
To make things short, I'm thinking about one off this list :
Symfony
Zend Framework
CakePHP
Kohana
Code Igniter
Now, if you're asking "which framework is the best", it's a question that doesn't really have an answer : it's mainly a matter of personnal preferences...
Still, here's a couple of questions+answers that could bring you some interesting informations :
Best PHP framework for an experienced PHP developer?
What PHP framework would you choose for a new application and why?
To use a PHP framework or not?
PHP Framework Decision - Analysis paralysis!
PHP - MVC framework?
Which PHP Framework is right for this project?
Also, note that choosing a Framework is an important decision -- which means you should take some time to evaluate each framework and how it'll answer your specific need.
Really : you should definitely not rush that decision.
You know, there's a whole Ruby web dev world away from Rails, e.g.:
Sinatra
Ramaze
Webby
With such a general question it's always a bit hard to help...
Try web2py, extremely easy to prototype any webapp, and IMO a bit easier to grasp (overall) than other similar web frameworks, HTH
There are no clear cut winners when picking a web framework. Each platform you mentioned has its benefits and drawbacks (cost of hardware, professional support, community support, etc.). Depending on your time table, project requirements, and available hardware resources you are probably going to need some different answers.Personally, I would start your investigation with a platform where you and your team are most experienced.
Like many of the other posters I can only speak to what I'm actively using now, and in my case it is Java. If Java seems to match your projects requirements, you probably want to go with one of the newer frameworks with an active community. Currently Spring Web MVC, Struts2, and Stripes seem to be fairly popular. These frameworks are mostly, if not totally, independent of the persistence layer, but all integrate well with technologies like hibernate and jpa; although you have to do most, if not all, of the wiring yourself.
If you want to take the Java road there are also pre-built application stacks that take care of most of wiring issues for you. For an example you might want to look at Matt Raible's AppFuse. He has built an extensible starter application with many permutations of popular java technologies.
If you are interested in the JVM as a platform, you may also want to look at complete stack solutions like Grails, or tools that help you build your stack quickly like Spring Roo.
Almost all of the full stack solutions I've seen allow for integration with a legacy database schema. As long as your database is well designed, you should be able to map your tables. The mention of composite keys kind of scares me, but depending on your persistence technology this may or may not be an issue. Hibernate in Java/.NET supports mapping to composite keys, as does GORM in grails (built on hibernate). In almost all cases these mappings are discouraged, but people who build persistence frameworks know you can't always scorch earth and completely recreate your model.
I found an article from 2008 discussing how to call Java code from MySQL. There were a lot of caveats and disclaimers because the process involved working with an experimental branch of MySQL.
For a project I have in mind, it would be very useful to be be able to access Java libraries within MySQL, analogous to Oracle's Java Stored Procedures. Does this capability now exist as a standard feature of MySQL? If not, what open source RDBMSs support something similar to Oracle's Java Stored Procedures?
PostgreSQL supports pluggable procedure languages, and a project exists to extend PostgreSQL with PL/Java as the language.
I don't recommend putting too much code in the RDBMS. Tools to develop, test, and debug code in the application layer are better than tools for code in the RDBMS.
Also many developers don't understand that code inside the RDBMS should obey transaction isolation. They try to send emails from triggers and so forth. I think code with side effects should be in the application layer, so you don't create phantom effects (e.g. an email may notify of a database change, even though the change was rolled back).
If you can use HSQLDB then you can call java methods directly from SQL: http://hsqldb.org/doc/2.0/guide/sqlroutines-chapt.html#N1240C
I fully agree with Bill, but I can imagine business rules being stored (not processed) in the database. I'm thinking of drools here. The engine would be in the application, but the rules could be in the database with a management front-end.
Such a beast would be interesting for scenarios where not only the parameters change, but also the formulas can change.
It is difficult to give good advice based on the limited information that you have provided so far. However:
... the example involves a graph-based data type (chemical structures) that can't be matched to a query using built-in MySQL functions. The Java library would convert the query and contents of a text field into an in-memory object that can by matched. Keeping this logic in the DB layer would, for example, keep joins within the database, which seems like where they belong. That's the idea, at least.
I don't think I would use database-side Java in MySQL for this. Instead, I think I would consider the following options:
Use an object-relational mapping such as JDO or JPA (for example using Hibernate) to deal with the mapping between your graph-based data model and what the database provides. You don't necessarily have to use an RDBMS as the backend, but that is probably the best place to start ... unless you've already found that this is a performance issue.
Take another look at your data model and data access patterns. See if you can figure out some transformation that allows your application's main queries to be implemented as (efficient) table joins without resorting to server-side application logic.
If you do need to use server-side application logic (for performance reasons!) stick with the mechanisms supported by your RDBMS. For example, in Oracle you'd use PL/SQL and PostgreSQL you have a number of options. Be prepared to switch to a different RDBMS that better suits your application requirements.
I (personally) would avoid depending on an experimental branch of some database:
Consider what happens if the experimental branch is not merged back into the main branch. You would be stuck with your code base depending on a branch that is not supported, and is likely to stop being maintained and fizzle out.
Using a (currently) unsupported RDBMS branch will be an impediment to other folks who might want to use your software.
Now obviously, if the long term viability of your software is not a primary concern, you could choose to ignore this advice. But it probably matters to someone; e.g. your research supervisor.
I realise that this is quite an old article, but it bears updating. The ability to call java from a database trigger is is part of the "SQL Routines and Types for the Java Programming Language" (SQL/JRT) standard.
Read more about this on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQL/JRT.
Amongst the compliant database engines are..
HyperSQL: http://hsqldb.org/
Oracle: https://www.oracle.com/database/