I'm evaluating Hibernate as a means of solving a data migration problem that I currently face. Both source & target systems have Oracle back ends, 9i & 10g, respectively. Their relational schemae differ somewhat, partly owing to differences in implementation, and partly owing to new features absent from the old application. Object domains are otherwise identical. The migration will be carried out in phases, so acceptable solutions must handle the case of a non-empty target database.

Since my employer refuses to purchase an ETL tool, I am setting out to develop my own solution. It appears as if Hibernate can yield a fairly clean, manageable solution, but since my familiarity with it is still limited, I'm hoping someone more experienced can warn me, if Hibernate would be, for any reason, entirely unsuitable for my needs.

Thanks in advance, for any constructive advice you might offer.