Using JPA for smart data persistence

The Java Persistence API is a specification that describes an interface for managing relational databases using Java EE. 

It eases data manipulation and reduces a lot of the code written for it, especially if you are used to SQL ANSI.

This recipe will show you how to use it to persist your data.

Getting ready

Let's first add the dependencies needed:

        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.hibernate</groupId>
            <artifactId>hibernate-entitymanager</artifactId>
            <version>4.3.1.Final</version>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>junit</groupId>
            <artifactId>junit</artifactId>
            <version>4.12</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.hamcrest</groupId>
            <artifactId>hamcrest-core...