Java Data Objects revolutionizes the way Java developers interact with
databases and other datastores. JDO allows you to store and retrieve
objects in a way that's natural to Java programmers. Instead of working
with JDBC or EJB's container-managed persistence, you work directly with
your Java objects. You don't have to copy data to and from database
tables or issue SELECTs to perform queries: your JDO implementation
takes care of persistence behind-the-scenes, and you make queries based
on the fields of your Java objects, using normal Java syntax.
The result is software that is truly object-oriented: not code that is
partially object-oriented, with a large database-shaped lump on the back
end. JDO lets you save plain, ordinary Java objects, and does not force
you to use different data models and types for dealing with storage. As
a result, your code becomes easier to maintain, easier to re-use, and
easier to test. And you're not tied to a specific database vendor: your
JDO code is entirely database-independent. You don't even need to know
whether the datastore is a relational database, an object database, or
just a set of files.
This book, written by the JDO Specification Lead and one of the key
contributors to the JDO Specification, is the definitive work on the JDO
API. It gives you a thorough introduction to JDO, starting with a simple
application that demonstrates many of JDO's capabilities. It shows you
how to make classes persistent, how JDO maps persistent classes to the
database, how to configure JDO at runtime, how to perform transactions,
and how to make queries. More advanced chapters cover optional features
such as nontransactional access and optimistic transactions. The book
concludes by discussing the use of JDO in web applications and J2EE
environments.
Whether you only want to read up on an interesting new technology, or
are seriously considering an alternative to JDBC or EJB CMP, you'll find
that this book is essential. It provides by far the most authoritative
and complete coverage available.
