What is the difference between Spring Data JPA and Spring Data JDBC?

Spring Data JPA and Spring Data JDBC are two different approaches to working with databases in Spring, distinguished by their level of abstraction and functionality.

• Spring Data JPA uses JPA (Java Persistence API) and ORM (e.g., Hibernate) for object-relational mapping. It allows working with entities as objects, supports lazy loading, cascading operations, complex entity relationships, caching, etc.

• Spring Data JDBC is a simpler and lightweight approach that does not use ORM. It works directly with SQL and maps table rows to objects without complex relationships and lazy loading. Suitable for simple data models and when high performance and transparency are required.

Example:

• If complex business logic with relationships between entities is needed, Spring Data JPA is chosen.
• If simple, fast database operations without ORM overhead are needed — Spring Data JDBC.