Comparing the Performance of the Object-Relational Mapping Program-ming Frameworks Available in Java

Mateusz Połeć

mateusz.polec1@pollub.edu.pl
Politechnika Lubelska (Poland)

Jakub Pitera

(Poland)

Grzegorz Kozieł

Lublin University of Technology (Poland)

Abstract

The paper concerns a performance evaluation of selected object-relational mapping tools. This work is intended to assist software architects in determining which of the analyzed libraries will be the optimal choice for use in a specific project. The work includes the comparison of Hibernate ORM, EclipseLink, Apache OpenJPA and DataNucleus libraries from the theoretical and practical point of view. Each of the examined tools has been described according to criteria allowing to distinguish the most important features influencing communication with relational databases. These features will then be compared on a practical level by examining the behavior of the test applications. In terms of performance, the Apache OpenJPA library turned out to be the best, but in terms of configuration and availability it significantly differs from other libraries. This was caused by an unintuitive configuration and poor documentation of the technology. In this respect, the Hibernate library definitely dominated, the configuration of which with the Spring programming framework was simple and intuitive, and the documentation was rich and supported by an extensive community of programmers using it.

Keywords:

Java ORM, Java Persistence API, Performance Evaluation