Pro Hibernate 3 is the first book to offer complete coverage of the open source lightweight Hibernate 3 and its new features. Authors Dave Minter and Jeff Linwood discuss the new persistence layer and share design tips and best practices. And the duo goes beyond just explaining "how to" use parts of Hibernate; they probe well beneath the surface, and teach you how to step back and solve problems thoroughly.

If you have experience using Java with databases, but lack experience with Hibernate, then this book is ideal for you. Similarly, if you have some familiarity with Hibernate 2 and now want to learn the nuances of version 3, then this book is a wise addition to your library.

Virtually every application we have worked on has involved a database. While Java and the
JDBC standard have significantly reduced the effort involved in carrying out simple database
operations, the point of contact between the object-oriented world and the relational world
always causes problems.

Hibernate offers a chance to automate most of the hard parts of this particular problem.
By writing a simple XML file, you can make the database look object oriented. Along the way,
you get some performance improvements. You also get an enormous improvement in the elegance
of your code.

We were originally skeptical of yet another object-relational system, but Hibernate is
so much easier to work with that we are entirely converted. Neither of us expect to write a
database-based system with JDBC and SQL prepared statements again—Hibernate or its
successors will form an essential part of the foundations. Hibernate is not just “another”
object-relational system, it is the standard to beat.
Speaking of standards, the EJB3 specification has received a lot of input from the Hibernate
team—who have, in turn, made efforts to reflect the emerging standard in their API. Therefore,
to learn good practices for EJB3, start here with Hibernate.