xdoclet 1.2.3
hibernate 3.0.5

Currently I'm using a separate component class, mapping properties in the component with @hibernate.property column="x_id", and @hibernate.id on the actual persistent class.

I'd like to map the composite id columns in the actual persistent class. I'm not quite sure if this is possible or how to do it. I've read a lot about this on the xdoclet JIRA, but I'm not quite sure where it stands. Someone suggested that xdoclet will interpret multiple @hibernate.id tags as a composite-id, and map the key-properties accordingly, but I haven't been able to get this to work. Has anyone succeeded in this?

Also, the rationale for doing this is simplicity - one less class. Is there a compelling reason to not do it? As others have mentioned before, this is a legacy schema that's somewhat off limits.
Thanks.

Firstly, integrated Composite keys are NOT the recommended approach. So I would suggest you stay with using the external key class. If you are determined to have integrated keys and still use XDoclet then you will need to try out the CVS version of XDoclet [not sure if its complete as yet - check the test cases for examples].

Thanks, that answered my question. The reference mentions key components are better. This is because the separate key provides a 'handle' with it's own equals and hashCode methods?

Yes thats correct. Its also more consistent as session access is coded in the same approach as having just a single key. Less likely to make mistakes in your code base.