JPA Essentials for the Movie Database

1. Introduction

Why Use JPA for Database Operations?

• JPA simplifies the process of interacting with relational databases by abstracting the boilerplate code required for SQL and JDBC.
• With JPA, you can work with database tables as Java objects, making your code cleaner and easier to maintain.

How JPA Simplifies Our Movie DB Project

• Maps classes like Movie, Actor, and Studio directly to their respective database tables.
• Handles relationships like many-to-many (Movie ↔ Actor) and many-to-one (Movie → Studio) seamlessly.
• Automatically generates SQL queries for common operations (e.g., save, update, delete).

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2. Maven Dependencies

Key Points:

• Learn the basics of dependency management with Maven.
• Add the required dependencies for JPA and MariaDB connectivity.

Hands-On: Adding Dependencies

Update your pom.xml file with the following:

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-data-jpa</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.mariadb.jdbc</groupId>
    <artifactId>mariadb-java-client</artifactId>
    <scope>runtime</scope>
</dependency>

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3. Marking an Entity and Mapping It to a Table

Concepts:

• A JPA Entity is a simple Java class that is mapped to a database table.
• Use @Entity to mark a class and @Table to specify the table name.

Example: Mapping the Studio Class

import javax.persistence.*;

@Entity
@Table(name = "Studio")
public class Studio {
    // Fields and methods here...
}

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4. How JPA Uses Entity Fields

Key Points:

• JPA automatically maps class fields to database columns by default.
• Use @Column to customize the mapping (e.g., renaming, setting constraints).

Practical Example: Map the studioName Field

@Column(name = "StudioName", nullable = false, length = 100)
private String studioName;

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5. Mapping Surrogate Fields

Explanation:

• Surrogate keys are unique IDs (primary keys) generated independently of the data.
• JPA manages surrogate keys efficiently with annotations like @Id and @GeneratedValue.

Demo: Adding a Surrogate Key

@Id
@GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.IDENTITY)
private Long id;

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6. Creating Simple IDs

Teachings:

• Every JPA entity must have an ID field.
• Use @Id and @GeneratedValue to define and auto-generate unique identifiers.

Example: Setting Up IDs for the Actor Entity

@Id
@GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.IDENTITY)
private Long actorId;

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7. Creating Composite IDs

Concept:

• Use composite keys for tables like Movie_Actor that combine keys from multiple tables.
• Define a composite key class with @Embeddable.

Example: Composite Key for the Movie_Actor Table

@Embeddable
public class MovieActorId implements Serializable {
    @Column(name = "MovieId")
    private Long movieId;
    @Column(name = "ActorId")
    private Long actorId;

    // equals, hashCode, getters, and setters...
}

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8. Using Basic Data Types

Discussion:

• JPA supports common Java types like String, Integer, LocalDate, and BigDecimal.
• Maps them directly to SQL types.

Illustration: Examples in Movie Entity

@Column(name = "MovieReleaseDate")
private LocalDate releaseDate;

@Column(name = "MovieRating", precision = 3, scale = 1)
private BigDecimal rating;

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9. Specifying Column Names and Details

Key Points:

• Customize columns using @Column annotations to set constraints like nullable, length, and unique.

Example: Customizing the actorName Field

@Column(name = "ActorName", nullable = false, length = 100, unique = true)
private String actorName;

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Engagement Strategies

1. Scenario-Based Learning

• Use movie industry examples:
  • “How do we ensure a movie always belongs to a studio?”
  • “What happens if an actor stars in multiple movies?”

2. Interactive Quizzes

• Include questions like:
  • “Which annotation marks a class as a JPA entity?”
  • “How do you define a composite key in JPA?”

3. Live Coding Sessions

• Walk through creating entities for Movie, Actor, and Studio.
• Debug common errors like mismatched column names.

4. Pair Programming

• Assign students to collaborate on mapping the Movie_Actor relationship.
• Encourage them to add fields (e.g., role) to the Movie_Actor table.