Re: learning Hibernate

 
I think I can relate to this. I won't claim that I am experienced enough in
using Hibernate. But, I too did read about it - especially the "bible" :
Hibernate in Action - when I got onto an assignment for a client of ours.

The opinion that I have formed, from what I've learnt and followed thus far
is, it may be a good thing to use, but as you said, does not necessarily
eaze things. More specifically, my experience has been that when folks want
to learn the "latest and greatest", they choose it. This kind of stuff is
good for bespoke/new/complete development such as for product development.
But, it's a real nightmare maintaining such systems, especially, bcoz the
guys who wrote it in the first place are seldom around!

Sure, there are/may be advantages and good things about Hibernate, but,
unless it's used the way it's meant to be, and the design choices
documented, it can become extremely hard for a new comer to pick it up. My
personal preference: why not leave the database stuff to the database
experts in the first place?! As you rightly mentioned, with Hibernate, the
developer needs to know not only Java and related technologies (which, are
already a universe in themselves), but database stuff. Maybe I'm missing
something here - but, I believe I'm coming from a fairly practical
viewpoint. And, it's hard to find folks experienced with such skills too. 

Rgds,
Saurabh Bobde 

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-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Richard Hammer
Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2006 6:43 PM
To: juglist
Subject: [Juglist] learning Hibernate

I have assumed that it would be good to learn Hibernate, mostly because I've
seen many job ads in which Hibernate was listed among the desired skills.

So I've been working at it.  I've run a few very simple applications. 
I've read a lot of online documentation and half of the book _Hibernate In
Action_.

It is difficult.  Hibernate does not relieve the developer of the
requirement to understand relational databases and SQL.  Rather it adds to
what the developer must know.  And it appears to be quite a lot to know.  At
this stage I would say that learning Hibernate (after one has learned
relational databases and SQL) is more work than learning relational
databases and SQL.

To use Hibernate successfully it seems that one needs to learn to think in
the Hibernate way, and you can't do that until you've "grown up" in a
Hibernate world.

At this point I am still assuming that Hibernate must be a great tool,
because so many employers ask for it.

But I have some doubt because, in a parallel development, for years now many
job descriptions have asked for experience with EJB.  But does that prove
that EJB is a good technology, or only that lots of people have been caught
up in EJB hype?  EJB seems to be losing some if its glamor in what I'm
reading recently, and I am given doubt that EJB has ever lived up to its
promises.  For all I know the enthusiasm over Hibernate may follow the same
pattern.

See, I used the word "pattern".  Now hire me.

But, if all this leads up to a question, are there people who are using
Hibernate successfully in real, working, mission-critical, applications? 
  Probably that is a dumb question.  But still it would encourage me to
receive an affirmative answer from respectable people on this list whom I
know.

Thank you,
Rich Hammer

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