object relational mapping (ORM)

Object Relational Mapping (ORM) is a programming technique for converting data between relational databases and object-oriented programming languages. The ORM technique can be used to map objects to the structures of a relational database.

Object Relational Mapping can be used to convert data between incompatible systems using object-oriented programming languages. Objects can be accessed and modified from different data sources, even as the data sinks that receive them and the applications in which they are used change. Based on abstraction, ORM manages the mapping details between a set of objects and the underlying relational databases, XML repositories, or other data sources and data sinks, while hiding the often-changing details of the associated interfaces from developers and the code they create.

Since relational formations don't always map 1:1 to object-oriented structures, this is one approach for tools that support ORM mapping. In addition to commercial tools such as Oracle Toplink, Hibernate is one of the best known and most developed persistence frameworks available as open source. Its use not only allows it to connect to most relational databases, but it also takes into account clustering, caching and session management.