App9: Spring Data JPA - Setup and Basics

Q1: What is Spring Data JPA?

• A: Spring Data JPA is a part of the larger Spring Data family. It simplifies the data access layer
by providing repository support for JPA, allowing developers to focus on business logic.

Q2: How do you set up Spring Data JPA in a Spring Boot application?

• A: Steps:

1. Add the Spring Data JPA dependency in pom.xml:

2. <dependency>

3. <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>

4. <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-data-jpa</artifactId>

5. </dependency>

6. <dependency>

7. <groupId>com.h2database</groupId>

8. <artifactId>h2</artifactId>

9. </dependency>

10. Configure the database connection in application.properties or application.yml:

11. spring.datasource.url=jdbc:h2:mem:testdb

12. spring.datasource.driver-class-name=org.h2.Driver

13. spring.datasource.username=sa

14. spring.datasource.password=password

15. spring.jpa.database-platform=org.hibernate.dialect.H2Dialect

16. Create an entity class annotated with @Entity.

17. Create a repository interface extending JpaRepository.

Q3: What are the key annotations in Spring Data JPA?

• A:

o @Entity: Marks a class as a JPA entity.

o @Table: Specifies the table name and other table properties.

o @Id: Marks the primary key.

o @GeneratedValue: Specifies the generation strategy for primary keys.

o @Column: Defines column properties.

Q4: What is the role of JpaRepository?

 • A: JpaRepository provides CRUD methods out of the box and extends
PagingAndSortingRepository for pagination and sorting support.

Q5: How do you enable JPA repositories?

• A: Add the @EnableJpaRepositories annotation in the configuration class or rely on Spring

Boot's auto-configuration.

App10: Spring Data JPA - CRUD Operations

Q1: What methods are available in JpaRepository for CRUD operations?

• A:

o save(S entity): Save or update an entity.

o findById(ID id): Retrieve an entity by its ID.

o findAll(): Retrieve all entities.

o deleteById(ID id): Delete an entity by its ID.

o deleteAll(): Delete all entities.

Q2: How do you implement a custom query for fetching data?

• A: Use @Query annotation in the repository:

• @Query("SELECT u FROM User u WHERE u.email = :email")

• User findByEmail(@Param("email") String email);

Q3: How do you handle pagination and sorting?

• A: Use the Pageable and Sort interfaces:

• Page<User> findAll(Pageable pageable);

• List<User> findAll(Sort sort);

Q4: What is the difference between save() and saveAndFlush()?

• A:

o save(): Saves an entity without flushing changes to the database.

o saveAndFlush(): Saves an entity and flushes changes immediately.

App11: Spring Data JPA - Custom Operations

Q1: How do you define a custom repository method?

• A: Extend JpaRepository and define methods based on naming conventions or use @Query
for custom SQL queries.

Q2: How do you enforce constraints like not null, unique, composite keys, etc.?
 • A:

o Not Null: Use @Column(nullable = false).

o Unique: Use @Column(unique = true).

o Composite Unique: Use @Table(uniqueConstraints =

@UniqueConstraint(columnNames = {"column1", "column2"})).

o Composite Primary: Use @Embeddable and @EmbeddedId.

Q3: How do you implement a composite primary key?

• A:

1. Create an @Embeddable class with fields for the composite key.

2. Use @EmbeddedId in the entity class.

• @Embeddable

• public class CompositeKey implements Serializable {

• private Long idPart1;

• private Long idPart2;

• // Getters and setters

• }

• @Entity

• public class ExampleEntity {

• @EmbeddedId

• private CompositeKey id;

• }

App12: Spring Data JPA - VAO and DTO

Q1: What is the difference between VAO and DTO?

• A:

o VAO (Value Added Object): Represents an enriched data object containing derived
or computed data.

o DTO (Data Transfer Object): A plain object used to transfer data between layers,
reducing coupling.

Q2: How do you create a DTO in Spring Data JPA?

• A:
 1. Define a DTO class with necessary fields.

2. Use a constructor expression or projection in queries:

3. @Query("SELECT new com.example.dto.UserDTO(u.name, u.email) FROM User u")

4. List<UserDTO> findAllUsers();

Q3: What is the purpose of mapping DTOs?

• A: To avoid exposing entity objects directly and ensure data consistency.

Q4: How do you map entity to DTO using ModelMapper or MapStruct?

• A: Use tools like:

o ModelMapper:

o ModelMapper modelMapper = new ModelMapper();

o UserDTO userDTO = modelMapper.map(user, UserDTO.class);

o MapStruct: Annotate with @Mapper and define mapping methods.

Q5: How do you handle nested mappings in DTOs?

• A: Use nested projections or custom mappings in tools like MapStruct.