Chapter 1. An Introduction to Hibernate and Spring

Hibernate and Spring are open-source Java frameworks that simplify developing Java/JEE applications from simple, stand-alone applications running on a single JVM, to complex enterprise applications running on full-blown application servers. Hibernate and Spring allow developers to produce scalable, reliable, and effective code. Both frameworks support declarative configuration and work with a POJO (Plain Old Java Object) programming model (discussed later in this chapter), minimizing the dependence of application code on the frameworks, and making development more productive and portable.

Although the aim of these frameworks partially overlap, for the most part, each is used for a different purpose. The Hibernate framework aims to solve the problems of managing data in Java: those problems which are not fully solved by the Java persistence API, JDBC (Java Database Connectivity), persistence providers, DBMS (Database Management Systems), and their mediator language, SQL (Structured Query Language).