Is there anything special about native queries that I should be aware of when using them? Is there any reason to prefer them over HQL queries or to avoid them? In general, what's the difference between doing something via an HQL and an SQL query?


[OFF TOPIC]
I was forced to register a new account due to some problem with the previous one. How do I contact the admin about this? I see no way to send private messages or anything...

If you wana be general and if you wanna really abstract from the database, it's better to use HQL, many people use hibernate without to know the main interest.
If you use HQL, you can change of JDBC support easilier than Native query, it's normal because native query use the dialect of your jdbc

Yes, I'm aware of that issue, but I was thinking more along the lines of possible differences in caching or other more subtle aspects.