Beginning Hibernate is ideal if youre experienced in Java with databases (the traditional, or "connected," approach), but are new to open source lightweight Hibernatethe most popular de facto object-relational mapping and database-oriented application development framework. This book packs in brand new information about the latest release of the Hibernate 3.2.x persistence layer and provides a clear introduction to the current standard for object-relational persistence in Java.

Experienced author Dave Minter and contributor Jeff Linwood provide more in-depth examples than any other books for Hibernate beginners. The authors also present material in a lively, example-based mannernot in a dry, theoretical, hard-to-read fashion. And since the book keeps its focus on Hibernate without wasting time on nonessential third-party tools, youll be able to immediately start building transaction-based engines and applications.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 16 Ratings

Poorly organized and poorly written - 2008-02-11
Reviewer Rating:
Most APress books seem to be well done. Sadly, this book is poorly organized and poorly written. There is only one example program in the book and it does not compile due incorrect instructions and code omissions. You can fix the errors without too much trouble and compile the project, but the example is too simple to use in your work. The rest of the book outlines (without runnable examples) other aspects of the Hibernate api, but a programmer is going to want complete example applications that run in order to get a good feel of how all the parts fit together and work together.

A better choice, if you need to learn the basics of Hibernate is the web tutorial given on the Hibernate web site. The tutorial is free and, unlike the book example, it works! The tutorial on the Hibernate site is well written and clear.

A bad name for a really good book - 2008-01-29
Reviewer Rating:
I found this book to be really well organized and methodical, starting with the basics of Hibernate and working up to more complex aspects and features in a gradual, measured fashion. My only prior exposure to a book on Hibernate was Hibernate: A Developer's Notebook; it was short and sweet, and of necessity was kind of lightweight, not sufficient for really getting into Hibernate deeply. I looked at Java Persistence with Hibernate but found it kind of baroque. Although that seems to be the most popular book on the subject, I found its approach not especially conducive to learning the subject matter.

My background is that I am an experienced Java/J2EE programmer with a strong database background. My organization has been making use of Hibernate but others in my group have been the ones really blazing the trails. So I'd been exposed to Hibernate usage, I could "get" a good portion of what's going on under the hood, but I required better and deeper understanding if I wanted to work more intimately with our lower-level "DAO" code.

Most complaints I'm seeing here seem to be saying that this book is not for beginners. First, I would question what kind of "beginners" we are talking about--would a novice Web designer who can use design tools but doesn't know HTML, or a PHP programmer who doesn't know Java or J2EE or enterprise design patterns, find this book useful and readable? I don't think so. So I would have to agree, this is not a book for that kind of "beginner".

But this is an indictment of the title, not of the book itself. This IS a book that starts at the beginning and works its way up to rather advanced stuff in what I thought was a well-organized manner. The material in later chapters requires background and experience with other aspects of Java and database technology, including understanding of annotations, abstract query language concepts, etc.

For a lighter-weight introduction to Hibernate I might recommend Hibernate: A Developer's Notebook, but if you are really looking to get into the trenches and dig deep, I found this book to be excellent. I've been told that other APress books named "Beginning XXXXX" are mis-titled, that the "Beginning" title really isn't appropriate and really doesn't do the book(s) justice. So be aware that these are books that start at the "beginning" but that doesn't mean they're necessarily appropriate for total neophytes in related technologies.

A Solid "Intermediate" Book - 2008-05-10
Reviewer Rating:
This book is a good book on Hibernate, but not for the complete beginner, ss the title suggests.

The book moves quickly into advanced topics, introducing DAOs a little too early for a beginner, as another review has said. I think a total beginner might be frustrated with this book, or so some have complained. I think this book is more focussed on people who are beginning Hibernate, but have a good deal of experience working with other databases or database frameworks.

If you're used Toplink, worked heavily with DAOs, did alot of CMP mapping, or have a good deal of JDBC or database programming experience, then this is the right book for you to pick up in order to jump into Hibernate. It's a perfect fit for that type of professional. For someone a little less familiar with database persistence technologies, Hibernate: A Developer's Notebook, or Hibernate Made Easy: Simplified Data Persistence with Hibernate and JPA (Java Persistence API) Annotations might be a better fit.

One word: Bad. Actually two words: Super Bad - 2009-09-03
Reviewer Rating:
I'm trying to dig into Hibernate and the title of the book is very promising. I read chapter one, lost lots of hair trying to understand what the authors want me to understand. Re-read it... still don't know what it's saying. I suggest it shouldn't say "from Novice..." So... if you are new to Hibernate... I don't think this book is do you any good.

Great all around Hibernate book - 2009-01-07
Reviewer Rating:
Using this book, I was able to get up and running pretty fast. A very hand section in the back is called "Limitations of Hibernate" that give you a good approach for a few oddball issues I have not found a clear answer for on the internet. For example, aggregating seconds when diffing an end/start date.

I recommend this book over the O'Reilly "Programming Hibernete" book.

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