LOTD #22: How to inject JPA resources ? - PersistenceUnit vs PersistenceContext

Java Persistence API defines a standard object/relational mapping using POJOs. In JPA, a persistence unit is described using "persistence.xml", bundled with the web application, injected into your web application and then POJOs are used to access all the information from the underlying persistence mechanism such as a database.

JPA can injected into your application couple of different ways as shown below:

@PersistenceUnit EntityManagerFactory emf;

and

@PersistenceContext EntityManager manager;

Which one is preferred, why, and pros/cons are very clearly explained in (slightly old but very relevant) this blog. It also discusses a JNDI approach.

In case you are interested in the summary:

• Use "@PersistenceUnit EntityManagerFactory" for Servlets because of thread safety
• Use "@PersistenceContext EntityManager" in EJBs for simpler/cleaner code

Read other JPA related entries.
All previous entries in this series are archived at LOTD.

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