Hibernate is a skill in high demand among Java developers. The Hibernate framework aims to free Java developers from complex persistence configurations by abstractly mapping POJO objects to database tables. Top tech companies use Hibernate in their tech stacks, so they seek Java Web Developers who are well-versed in Hibernate.
We’ve listed the top advanced Hibernate interview questions and answers for experienced professionals in this article. Practicing these Hibernate interview questions and answers will help you revise the key concepts and assess your preparation for the upcoming technical interview.
Interviewers at top tech companies expect Hibernate developers to be well-prepared for Hibernate interview questions and answers for experienced professionals and basic concepts. Let’s go through some of the most common questions asked in tech interviews.
The following four reasons make Java Hibernate so popular:
Hibernate uses a fetching strategy for retrieving associated objects when the application has to navigate the association. The strategies can be declared in the O/R mapping metadata or overridden by a particular HQL or criteria query. Hibernate supports the following fetching strategies:
This is one of the most commonly asked Hibernate interview questions and answers for experienced developers. An application developed using Hibernate consists of the following four parts:
Hibernate framework consists of the following main elements:
Interviewers often ask such Hibernate interview questions and answers for experienced professionals to gauge your proficiency in HQL. The following table enumerates the most commonly used methods and their functions.
The one-to-many association indicates that one object is associated with multiple objects. On the contrary, many-to-many association indicates multiple relations between the instances of two entities.
No, we should not declare the entity class final because Hibernate employs objects for lazy loading of data and proxy classes and hits the database only if it is absolutely necessary. You can achieve the same by extending the entity bean. However, if you declare the entity class (or bean) final, then it can’t be extended. As a result, lazy loading won’t be supported.
The term polymorphic association is used in discussions of ORM with respect to the problem of representing in the relational database domain a relationship from one class to multiple classes. In Java, these multiple classes serve as subclasses of the same superclass.
Concurrency strategies act like mediators storing and retrieving items from the cache. The following concurrency strategies are used in Hibernate:
The following practices help avoid SQL Injection attacks:
JMX or Java Management Extensions is a Java technology that provides tools for monitoring and managing applications, devices, system objects, and service-oriented networks. The resources are represented by objects referred to as Managed Beans.
You can bind the SessionFactory to JNDI using the values of hibernate.jndi.url, hibernate.jndi.class to instantiate an initial context.
The Hibernate QBC API stands for Hibernate Query By Criteria Application Performing Interface. It is used to create queries by manipulating criteria objects at runtime.
The evict() method in Hibernate helps detach the object from the session cache. Once the object is detached from the session, any change to the object will not be persisted.
The callback interface is used in a Hibernate application to receive a notification when an object event occurs, such as loading, saving, or deletion. It is used with HibernateTemplate’s execution methods, and its implementation will call session.load/find/update to perform certain operations on persistent objects.
Also read:Â Hibernate Java Interview Questions for Beginners and Experienced Developers.
These Hibernate interview questions focus on basic concepts, basic problem-solving, and working with Hibernate in ordinary application development.
The callback interface is used in a Hibernate application to receive a notification when an object event occurs, such as loading, saving, or deletion. It is used with HibernateTemplate’s execution methods, and its implementation will call session.load/find/update to perform certain operations on persistent objects.
In Hibernate, an entity can exist in three states as follows:
The @OneToOne annotation is used in Hibernate to represent a one-to-one mapping. It can be defined with optional cascade types. Besides this, the relationship can also be specified using mappedBy for bidirectional mappings or the foreign key using @JoinColumn.
In Hibernate, a transaction is a portion of database operations that should be carried out as a logical unit. It may be controlled manually via Session object (beginTransaction(), commit(), rollback() ) or declaratively using annotations on classes in frameworks, such as Spring using @Transactional.
Pagination in Hibernate is achieved by the Query or Criteria API by setting first, by first making use of the method setFirstResult() for the definition of the start point and then setMaxResults() is used to set the number of results returning in a single page.
These Hibernate interview questions questions are related to slightly advanced topics, best practices, and common challenges that tend to emerge in mid to senior-level positions.
The merge() method copies the state of a detached entity into the current persistence context, returning a managed instance. This does not throw an exception if the entity is already in session. update() on the other hand re-attaches a detached entity but throws an exception if there already exists an instance of that entity in the session.
Hibernate Annotations directly map Java classes to database tables within the Java code. While it is easier to configure and accompanied by fewer XML files, it locates the XML configuration in a separate, more verbose piece of code but does prove to be handy in having the necessity for externalized, modular configurations.
Hibernate supports three types of inheritance mappings:
@TypeDef allows you to define custom types in Hibernate by mapping Java types to database types. To do so, you have to first create a class implementing the UserType interface, then register it with @TypeDef, and finally annotate your entity field with @Type.
These Hibernate interview questions focus on deep architectural and performance-based aspects along with that of real-world problem-solving.
Java Transaction API, JTA, is the service provided for distributed applications that coordinates transactions across several resources, like databases or message queues. Hibernate integrates into this type of global transaction and provides for consistency across systems.
For such an ability you will have to configure the application server’s transaction manager, and each resource must enlist with the JTA for coordinated, distributed management.
To debug Hibernate queries in production:
Hibernate fully supports ACID properties through transaction management.
High concurrency in Hibernate is fine-tuned by:
Practicing the following Java Hibernate interview questions for experienced professionals will help you get familiar with the most anticipated Hibernate developer questions.
Hibernate is one of the most popular Java backend frameworks as it provides an abstraction layer for interacting with databases and allows establishing connections to implement CRUD operations.
Lazy loading in Hibernate is when it does not initially load the children (child objects) along with the parent; rather, it loads children on demand. The feature improves the performance and is enabled by default in Hibernate.
Yes, the interviewer can ask you to explain Hibernate features through code. You should practice coding problems to ace coding interview rounds during on-site interviews at top companies.
You should be well versed in the following Hibernate concepts: Lazy Loading, Concurrency, SQL injection risks, fetching, annotations in Hibernate, Hibernate architecture, and APIs.
The average salary of a Hibernate developer is $120,000/yearin the United States. While entry-level positions begin at $97,500/year, experienced professionals can earn up to $150,000/year.).
Related reads:
Attend our free webinar to amp up your career and get the salary you deserve.
693+ FAANG insiders created a system so you don’t have to guess anymore!
100% Free — No credit card needed.
Time Zone:
Get your enrollment process started by registering for a Pre-enrollment Webinar with one of our Founders.
The 11 Neural “Power Patterns” For Solving Any FAANG Interview Problem 12.5X Faster Than 99.8% OF Applicants
The 2 “Magic Questions” That Reveal Whether You’re Good Enough To Receive A Lucrative Big Tech Offer
The “Instant Income Multiplier” That 2-3X’s Your Current Tech Salary
The 11 Neural “Power Patterns” For Solving Any FAANG Interview Problem 12.5X Faster Than 99.8% OF Applicants
The 2 “Magic Questions” That Reveal Whether You’re Good Enough To Receive A Lucrative Big Tech Offer
The “Instant Income Multiplier” That 2-3X’s Your Current Tech Salary
Just drop your name and email so we can send your Power Patterns PDF straight to your inbox. No Spam!
By sharing your contact details, you agree to our privacy policy.
Time Zone: Asia/Dhaka
We’ve sent the Power Patterns PDF to your inbox — it should arrive in the next 30 seconds.
📩 Can’t find it? Check your promotions or spam folder — and mark us as safe so you don’t miss future insights.
We’re hosting a private session where FAANG insiders walk through how they actually use these Power Patterns to crack interviews — and what sets top performers apart.
🎯 If you liked the PDF, you’ll love what we’re sharing next.
Time Zone:
