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Hibernate VS Ebean ORM

Compare Hibernate VS Ebean ORM and see what are their differences

Hibernate logo Hibernate

Hibernate an open source Java persistence framework project.

Ebean ORM logo Ebean ORM

ORM for Java / Kotlin
  • Hibernate Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-04-25
  • Ebean ORM Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-06

Hibernate features and specs

  • Object-Relational Mapping
    Hibernate simplifies database interaction in Java by providing Object-Relational Mapping (ORM), allowing developers to map Java objects to database tables without writing repetitive SQL code.
  • Automatic Table Generation
    Hibernate can automatically generate database tables based on your Java entity classes, reducing the need for manually creating and maintaining database schemas.
  • HQL (Hibernate Query Language)
    Hibernate provides its own query language, HQL, which allows developers to write queries in an object-oriented manner and reduces the dependency on SQL.
  • Caching
    Hibernate supports caching mechanisms like first-level cache (session cache) and second-level cache, which can significantly improve performance by reducing the number of database hits.
  • Transaction Management
    Hibernate integrates with the Java Transaction API (JTA) to provide robust transaction management, ensuring data consistency and reducing the complexities of handling transactions manually.
  • Lazy Loading
    Hibernate supports lazy loading of associated entities, which can optimize performance by retrieving only the necessary data from the database on-demand.

Possible disadvantages of Hibernate

  • Learning Curve
    Hibernate has a steep learning curve for beginners due to its extensive set of features and configurations, which can be overwhelming initially.
  • Performance Overhead
    The abstraction layer provided by Hibernate can introduce a performance overhead compared to using plain SQL queries, especially in complex queries or large-scale applications.
  • Complexity in Configuration
    While Hibernate provides flexibility in configuration, it can become complex and cumbersome to manage, especially in large applications or when tuning performance.
  • Debugging Difficulty
    Debugging issues in Hibernate can be challenging due to its abstraction and proxy mechanisms, making it harder to trace problems back to the source.
  • Dependency Management
    The use of Hibernate adds additional dependencies to your project, which can complicate dependency management and increase the size of your application.
  • Limited Control Over SQL
    Hibernate abstracts away SQL, which can be a disadvantage for developers who need fine-grained control over the generated SQL and database optimizations.

Ebean ORM features and specs

  • Simplified ORM
    Ebean ORM simplifies database interactions with an easy-to-use API, which abstracts away much of the complexity involved in handling SQL directly. This allows developers to focus more on business logic rather than database connectivity and queries.
  • Automatic Query Generation
    Ebean automatically generates queries based on the defined entity models, reducing the need for manually crafting complex SQL queries. This feature can save development time and reduce the potential for query-related errors.
  • Lazy Loading Support
    Ebean supports lazy loading, which allows for the efficient retrieval of data by only loading related entities when they are accessed. This can help improve application performance by reducing initial data loading times.
  • Integration with Play Framework
    Ebean integrates seamlessly with the Play Framework, which is advantageous if you are developing applications using this framework, providing a cohesive development experience and reducing setup complexity.
  • Full-text Search
    Ebean provides built-in support for full-text search, enabling applications to perform search operations without relying on external search services, thus offering more versatility in how data can be queried and manipulated.

Possible disadvantages of Ebean ORM

  • Limited Ecosystem
    Compared to more established ORMs like Hibernate, Ebean has a smaller community and ecosystem, which may result in less third-party support, fewer tutorials, and less available expertise, potentially increasing the learning curve for new developers.
  • Documentation
    While Ebean offers documentation, some users might find it lacking in depth compared to larger projects, which can make troubleshooting and advanced use cases more challenging to navigate without external help or experimentation.
  • Resource Intensive
    Ebean can be resource-intensive in terms of memory and processing, especially in cases of complex data models or when dealing with extremely large datasets, which might impact application performance and scalability.
  • Lack of Advanced Features
    For highly specialized and advanced ORM tasks, Ebean might lack some of the features offered by more mature ORMs like Hibernate, which could necessitate additional work or integration with other tools for complex requirements.

Hibernate videos

Should you Hibernate, Shut down, or put your PC to sleep?

More videos:

  • Review - GELERT Hibernate 400 sleeping bag review.
  • Tutorial - Java Hibernate Tutorial Part 8 Chapter 1 Review 1

Ebean ORM videos

Ebean ORM - fetch join @OneToMany maxRows treatment

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Hibernate and Ebean ORM)
Web Frameworks
80 80%
20% 20
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Development
66 66%
34% 34
Application And Data
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Hibernate and Ebean ORM

Hibernate Reviews

17 Popular Java Frameworks for 2023: Pros, cons, and more
MyBatis is somewhat similar to the Hibernate framework, as both facilitate communication between the application layer and the database. However, MyBatis doesn’t map Java objects to database tables like Hibernate does — instead, it links Java methods to SQL statements. As a result, SQL is visible when you’re working with the MyBatis framework, and you still have control over...
Source: raygun.com
10 Best Java Frameworks You Should Know
Hibernate is one of the best Frameworks which is capable of extending Java's Persistence API support. Hibernate is an open-source, extremely lightweight, performance-oriented, and ORM (Object-Relational-Mapping) tool.

Ebean ORM Reviews

We have no reviews of Ebean ORM yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Hibernate should be more popular than Ebean ORM. It has been mentiond 16 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Hibernate mentions (16)

  • How To Secure APIs from SQL Injection Vulnerabilities
    Object-Relational Mapping frameworks like Hibernate (Java), SQLAlchemy (Python), and Sequelize (Node.js) typically use parameterized queries by default and abstract direct SQL interaction. These frameworks help eliminate common developer errors that might otherwise introduce vulnerabilities. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Top 10 Java Frameworks Every Dev Need to Know
    Overview: Hibernate is a Java ORM (Object Relational Mapping) framework that simplifies database operations by mapping Java objects to database tables. It allows developers to focus on business logic without worrying about SQL queries, making database interactions seamless and more maintainable. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • In One Minute : Hibernate
    Hibernate is the umbrella for a collection of libraries, most notably Hibernate ORM which provides Object/Relational Mapping for java domain objects. In addition to its own "native" API, Hibernate ORM is also an implementation of the Java Persistence API (jpa) specification. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Spring Boot – Black Box Testing
    I'm using Spring Data JPA as a persistence framework. Therefore, those classes are Hibernate entities. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • How to Secure Nodejs Application.
    To prevent SQL Injection attacks to sanitize input data. You can either validate every single input or validate using parameter binding. Parameter binding is mostly used by developers as it offers efficiency and security. If you are using a popular ORM such as sequelize, hibernate, etc then they already provide the functions to validate and sanitize your data. If you are using database modules other than ORM such... - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
View more

Ebean ORM mentions (4)

  • How do you guys go about the persistence layer?
    You can have a look at https://ebean.io/ ... Better control over the generated SQL, multiple levels of abstraction, can generate DB migrations and run the DB migrations, transparent encryption support, SQL 2011 history support, test against docker containers. Source: about 3 years ago
  • What do you whish for Spring 6?
    There is https://ebean.io/ and looks like it a community driven alternative to jOOQ. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Do you use code generators in your IDEs or some external ones? If so, which ones?
    Ebean ORM https://ebean.io/ was built to somewhat rival JPA (and JDBI) Btw: you can use java 16 records with ebean as DTOs, EmbeddedId and also as read only entity beans (and JPA implementations could similarly do so). Source: over 3 years ago
  • Stop Using JPA/Hibernate
    I wouldn't call it micro, but https://ebean.io/ is pretty nice. - Source: Hacker News / about 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Hibernate and Ebean ORM, you can also consider the following products

Spring Framework - The Spring Framework provides a comprehensive programming and configuration model for modern Java-based enterprise applications - on any kind of deployment platform.

Mikro orm - TypeScript ORM for Node.js based on Data Mapper, Unit of Work and Identity Map patterns.

Grails - An Open Source, full stack, web application framework for the JVM

Beego - Beego Web is official blog and documentation website for beego app web framework

Sequelize - Provides access to a MySQL database by mapping database entries to objects and vice-versa.

Dapper - Dapper is a user-friendly object mapper for the .NET framework.