Introduction to Ibator

Ibator is a code generator for iBATIS. Ibator will introspect a database table (or many tables) and will generate iBATIS artifacts that can be used to access the table(s). This lessens the initial nuisance of setting up objects and configuration files to interact with database tables. Ibator seeks to make a major impact on the large percentage of database operations that are simple CRUD (Create, Retrieve, Update, Delete). You will still need to hand code SQL and objects for join queries, or stored procedures.

Ibator will generate:

• Java POJOs that match the table structure. This may include:
  • a class to match the primary key of the table (if there is a primary key)
  • a class to match the non-primary key fields of the table (except BLOB fields)
  • a class to include the BLOB fields of a table (if the table has BLOB fields)
  • a class to enable dynamic selects, updates, and deletes

  There is an inheritance relationship between these classes as appropriate. Note that Ibator may be configured to generate different types of POJO hierarchies - for example, you may choose to tell Ibator to generate a single domain object for each table if you so desire.

• iBATIS Compatible SQL Map XML Files. Ibator generates SQL for simple CRUD functions on each table in a configuration. The generated SQL statements include:
  • insert
  • update by primary key
  • update by example (using a dynamic where clause)
  • delete by primary key
  • delete by example (using a dynamic where clause)
  • select by primary key
  • select by example (using a dynamic where clause)
  • count by example

  There are different variations of these statements depending on the structure of the table (for example, if the table doesn't have a primary key, then Ibator will not generate an update by primary key function).

• DAO interface and implementation classes that make appropriate use of the above objects. The generation of DAO classes is optional. Ibator will generate DAOs of the following types:
  • DAOs that conform to the Spring framework
  • DAOs that only use the iBATIS SQL mapping API. These DAOs can be generated in two varieties: supplying the SqlMapClient through either constructor or setter injection.
  • DAOs that conform to the iBATIS DAO Framework (an optional part of iBATIS, this framework is now deprecated and we suggest that you use the Spring framework instead)

Ibator is designed to run well in an iterative development environment, and Ibator can even be included as an Ant task in a continuous build environment. Important things to note when running Ibator iteratively include:

1. Ibator will automatically merge XML files if there is an existing file with the same name as the newly generated XML file. Ibator will not overwrite any custom changes you make to the XML files it generates. You can run it over and over again without fear of losing custom changes to you XML. Ibator will replace any XML elements that were generated in a previous run.
2. Ibator will not merge Java files, it can either overwrite existing files or save newly generated files with a different unique name. If you make changes to the generated Java files and run Ibator iteratively you will have to merge the changes by hand. When run as an Eclipse plugin, then Ibator can automatically merge Java files.

Dependencies

Ibator has no dependencies beyond the JRE. Ibator does require JRE 5.0 or above. Ibator also requires that the JDBC driver implements the DatabaseMetaData interface, especially the getColumns and getPrimaryKeys methods.

About the Name

"Ibator" is an iBATIS styled version of the noun abator. "Abator" means "one who abates a nuisance". This describes the purpose of Ibator - it abates some of the nuisance of creating objects and configuration files for iBATIS.

Ibator was originally named "Abator", but the name was changed as the result of a federal trade registration dispute.

Support

Support for Ibator is provided through the iBATIS user mailing list. You may subscribe to the mailing list by sending a note to:

user-java-subscribe@ibatis.apache.org

Once you have subscribed, you can mail questions or bug reports to:

user-java@ibatis.apache.org

If you want to unsubscribe from the mailing list, send a note to:

user-java-unsubscribe@ibatis.apache.org

If you think you have found a bug, please ask a question about it on the user list first, before creating a JIRA issue. If you find a bug, or have a new feature request, you may open a JIRA issue for Ibator at

http://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/IBATIS

Please select the "Tools" component when creating any JIRA issues for Ibator.