Difference between Hibernate createCriteria, createQuery, createSQLQuery functions

Question

Can anyone please tell me the difference between Hibernate\'s:

• createCriteria
• createQuery
• createSQLQuery

Answer 1

To create query in the Hibernate ORM framework, there is three different types. The following are the three ways to create query instance:

1. session.createQuery()
2. session.createSQLQuery()
3. session.createCriteria()

Look into the details of each category in detail.

Session.createQuery()

The method createQuery() creates Query object using the HQL syntax. For example:

Query query = session.createQuery("from Student s where s.name like 'k%'");

---

Session.createSQLQuery()

The method createSQLQuery() creates Query object using the native SQL syntax. For example:

Query query = session.createSQLQuery("Select * from Student");

---

Session.createCriteria()

The method createCriteria() creates Criteria object for setting the query parameters. This is more useful feature for those who don't want to write the query in hand. You can specify any type of complicated syntax using the Criteria API.

Criteria criteria = session.createCriteria(Student.class);