roach wrote:
...but then again, I was never very clear on the difference between a "Schema" and a "Catalog".
This is one of the areas where there is not only no standard, but database vendors are handling things completely differently.
Most vendors use "schema" for a bunch of tables, and "catalog" for the area where the metadata on that table (such as name, column types, etc.) are stored.
However, "bunch of tables" may be all tables owned by a user, or all tables in something called a "database" (which can become a somewhat vague term in the presence of clustered databases).
Most vendors associate a schema with each user. I dimly remember that some database allowed a user to own multiple schemas, and the list of all schemas for that user would then be a "catalog" in the sense that Hibernate Tools uses the term, not in the usual "repository of metadata for a schema" sense.
It's all a real mess, and you're not alone in not being quite clear. The best thing you can do is to learn the terminology of your vendor, and how it applies to Hibernate Tools.
(What Hibernate Tools could do is to associate an explanation with the terms "catalog" and "schema" for each database dialect, and show the explanation in the GUI once a dialect has been chosen. It's one of the first hurdles any new Hibernate Tools user faces, and having to experiment with no clear feedback on whether it's correct now or not is a bit steep.)