This question is based on Hibernate 2 the latest as of this posting. I did a great deal of reading on hibernate before posting this to make sure I couldn't get a clear answer from somewhere else before resorting to "bugging" the forum for a better answer.

The Problem:
I am developing an applicaiton which has need of getting data in as agnostic a database fashion as possible, however the query that will give me the data that I want is complex and requires a feature that I know is not in Hibernate now from reading the available docs. The query in question is a UNION ALL of disperate data sets. I have experience with ORM (ala OJB) but no experience with Hibernate per se.

The Question:
Knowing the above problem - is there a direct benefit to using hibernate's framework and structure despite the fact that I have to issue my own query to get the data that I want? i.e. In the situation where I have to issue my own query for data, is there a benefit to using Hibernate over say just writing a java object to execute a query and return the result set? Take into account there would be frame work around jdbc connections and pooling etc.

Thoughts? Help? Comments? I will take ANY and ALL input I can get, because this project has a VERY SHOOOOOOORRRRTTTTT development period (April 1 deadline) and I am only coming into the project now. A decision HAS to be made.

Thanks,
Joe Campbell
joe.campbell@guideworkstv.com

If you have only one query in your application, do not use Hibernate. That's insane. Hibernate is for applications with sophisticated data requirements.


(By the way, in Hibernate, you can use a UNION ALL in a native SQL query.)

True - sorry for not being clear enough... there is more then one single query, but they are all themes on two base queries returning essentially the same data. Noting that I can do my own query setup in Hibernate (like the post reponse suggests) is there still a benefit to using the hibernate framework? If so what is it or what are they?

Thanks in advance,
Joe

Is this complex query being mapped to an object (java class)?

If not, then there's no benefit to using Hibernate, which is an *OBJECT*-relational mapping tool.

If yes, then since your post indicates that your "application [has a] need of getting data in as agnostic a database fashion as possible", I assume that means you don't have any say in the design of the database, which I further assume means you do have some say in the design of the objects. So maybe try breaking up your objects into simpler objects, which might simplify the queries.

(although I only have a week experience with Hibernate) I would say if the sole benefit you expect from hibernate is database independence then this is not the tool you need for this project. Database independence is only a side-effect of hibernate and only in fortunate circumstances.