Using a left join fetch in hql, I'm able to retrieve a list made up of parent objects, with a set of child objects nested inside of it.

However, when I try using native SQL (ether by .createSQLQuery() or a named query), I end up with a list of objects, each object containing the parent object, and standalone child objects (not nested in the parent object).

My hql is tuned to the point where it matches my hand written sql. I've read the references, the forums, the books, and looked through the Hibernate JUnit test code. I've tried using both <load-collection> and <return-join>; still no luck.

Is it possible to retrieve complete assembled parent objects (populated with collections of children inside them) using native sql or name queries; or must I manually assemble them? And if it is possible, could someone please post an example.

Have you found any information about this?

Actually, I have...

The SQL returns a list of objects. Each object is an object array. The first item in the array is the parent object, which does contain the populated collection. The second item, is one of the child objects (same hash code as the one in the collection)(your list will contain as many objects as there are in the child collection).

While it's simple enough then to just deal with object[0], you'll also have to watch out for memory leaks... A single parent object contains all the collection objects, and each object in the original list contains a reference to the parent object's collection. As long as the single parent object stays around, the list objects (as it stands) won't be garbage collected.