Hibernate – Difference Between ORM and JDBC

Hibernate is a framework that is used to develop persistence logic that is independent of Database software. In JDBC to develop persistence logic, we deal with primitive types. Whereas Hibernate framework we use Objects to develop persistence logic that is independent of database software.

ORM (Object-Relational Mapping)

ORM, an abbreviation for Object-relational mapping, is a programming approach that connects object code to a relational database via a metadata descriptor. This object code is developed in object-oriented programming (OOP) languages like Java, Python, C++, C#, etc. ORM transforms data between type systems that don’t get along in relational databases or OOP languages. In other words, it is a technique for storing, recovering, updating, as well as deleting from an object-oriented program in a relational (table) database. Now let’s first understand the term object code.

What is Object Code?

Object code is defined as low-level code that is comprehensible by computers. It is generated by the compiler using the source code. In other words, it is a file generated by the compiler containing the instructions for the machine in the form of binary digits. 

Advantages of ORM:

• Resolves object code and relational mismatch
• Using ORM, the development process is quite simplified as it automates object to table and table to object conversion which results in lower development and maintenance cost
• The code is less as compared to embedded SQL
• Gives an optimized solution that results in faster application and easier maintenance.

JDBC (Java Database Connectivity)

JDBC is an abbreviation for Java database connectivity. It is a JavaSoft (was once a division of Sun Microsystems, responsible for developing Java and for licensing the use of JVM) specification of standard API that allows Java programs to access database management systems. The JDBC API is a set of Java interfaces and classes that allow you to connect to databases and send queries. This API of JDBC makes use of drivers of JDBC in order to get connected along with the database. There are four types of JDBC drivers:

• JDBC-ODBC bridge plus ODBC drive (Type 1 driver)
• Native -API, partly Java driver (Type 2 driver)
• JDBC-Net, pure Java driver (Type 3 driver)
• Native-protocol, pure Java driver (Type 4 driver)

Advantages of JDBC:

• It assists in quickly establishing a connection with a data source.
• It allows you to submit queries and update statements.
• It also allows you to collect data from the database and process the results in a very simple method.

We can also perform numerous activities using JDBC API required to handle the database:

• Connection to the database
• Execution of queries and updation of statements to the database
• Retrieving results that are fetched from the database

Difference Between ORM and JDBC

ORM when compared to JDBC is easier to work with as it does all the work by itself. It maps Java classes to the database variables via XML. While working with domain-driven applications and in the case of complex object relationships, ORM is mostly preferred but when the application is simple enough then it is better to use JDBC. 

Object Relational Mapping	Java Database Connectivity
Little slower than JDBC	It is faster compared to ORM
SQL queries requirement is comparatively quite less however this doesn’t mean that you have to do less work using ORM	SQL queries are required here
Hibernate framework (working on ORM technology) makes it easy to store objects/data to database automatically without writing manual code	We have to write code manually to store objects/ data in the database
The flow from Object/data to hibernate i.e. the frontend part is based on the ORM technique	Whereas when the data is stored in the database finally i.e., the backend part is still based on JDBCin
There are not many restrictions while dealing with data. Even a single database cell can be retrieved, changed, and saved.	JDBC comes with a lot of restrictions on extracting the result-set, processing it, and then committing it back to the database.