(Hibernate 3.1.3)

I have a relationship between 2 entities (Product and Seller) with an attribute (prices).

Is there a way to realize this link without creating a new entity (Price_for_Product_to_Seller)?

Thank you

I guess you speak about a many-to-many relationship.

If the relationships holds an attribute, I think it's impossible. Think about it: what would be the object each side is holding and how could each side access the prices attribute if the object contained in the collection does not hold this attribute?

If the relationship between the two entities is simply represented by a relation table, then no need to have a intermediary object, but if it has an attribute, then I guess a relation class is needed imo.

I don't think there is. I have searched for such a thing since I do have a special situation where I need to use an objects ID only and can NOT use the full object. But in this case I found that I can just wrap the object in something that hides all of its methods except for its ID. And then its safe to use as if it were just an ID sort of.

I have found a way to do this. I have 2 mapping files. 1 mapping is used for schema creation, the other is used for runtime usage. The creation mapping uses a class to define the relationship. But the runtime mapping instead maps this column to a property which is simply a Long.