Introduction to the Solution

"Native" TopLink ORM refers to the API, configuration files, and tools for object-relational mapping that evolved in TopLink before the Java Persistence API (JPA) standardized an object-relational mapping API. Full JPA support was introduced in Oracle TopLink 10g (10.1.3.1.0), via TopLink Essentials. However, native TopLink continued to be supported.

Prior to the TopLink 11g (11.1.1) release, Oracle contributed the TopLink source code--including TopLink JPA and native TopLink--to the Eclipse Foundation, where it was used to form the basis of the open-source EclipseLink persistence services project. Then, in TopLink 11g Release 1 (11.1.1), Oracle started to include EclipseLink in TopLink, providing TopLink's core functionality.

EclipseLink developers using TopLink versions 11.1.1.0.0 though 11.1.1.6.0 have access to native TopLink ORM in either the proprietary Oracle toplink.jar or in the EclipseLink eclipselink.jar. In toplink.jar, the classes are in packages whose names start with oracle.toplink.*. In eclipselink.jar, those package names begin instead with org.eclipselink.persistence.

You can migrate applications that use oracle.toplink.* packages from toplink.jar to use org.eclipselink.persistence. packages from eclipselink.jar. The application functionality remains the same, but migrating to eclipselink.jar provides the most up-to-date code base. After migrating, you will have access to other EclipseLink features and will be better prepared to convert your application to use JPA or one of the other persistence services included in current versions of EclipseLink.

This chapter explains how to use the renaming tool that is packaged with stand-alone EclipseLink to easily change the package names in your application and how to perform other actions necessary to migrate to the current code base.