Build a Java App with CockroachDB

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This tutorial shows you how build a simple Java application with CockroachDB using a PostgreSQL-compatible driver or ORM.

We have tested the Java JDBC driver and the Hibernate ORM enough to claim beta-level support, so those are featured here. If you encounter problems, please open an issue with details to help us make progress toward full support.

Tip:

For a more realistic use of Hibernate with CockroachDB, see our examples-orms repository.

Before you begin

Install CockroachDB.
Start up a secure or insecure local cluster.
Choose the instructions that correspond to whether your cluster is secure or insecure:

Warning:

The examples on this page assume you are using a Java version <= 9. They do not work with Java 10.

Step 1. Install the Gradle build tool

This tutorial uses the Gradle build tool to get all dependencies for your application, including Hibernate.

To install Gradle on Mac, run the following command:

$ brew install gradle

To install Gradle on a Debian-based Linux distribution like Ubuntu:

$ apt-get install gradle

To install Gradle on a Red Hat-based Linux distribution like Fedora:

$ dnf install gradle

For other ways to install Gradle, see its official documentation.

Step 2. Create the `maxroach` user and `bank` database

Start the built-in SQL client:

$ cockroach sql --certs-dir=certs

In the SQL shell, issue the following statements to create the maxroach user and bank database:

> CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS maxroach;

> CREATE DATABASE bank;

Give the maxroach user the necessary permissions:

> GRANT ALL ON DATABASE bank TO maxroach;

Exit the SQL shell:

> \q

Step 3. Generate a certificate for the `maxroach` user

Create a certificate and key for the maxroach user by running the following command. The code samples will run as this user.

$ cockroach cert create-client maxroach --certs-dir=certs --ca-key=my-safe-directory/ca.key

Step 4. Convert the key file for use with Java

The private key generated for user maxroach by CockroachDB is PEM encoded. To read the key in a Java application, you will need to convert it into PKCS#8 format, which is the standard key encoding format in Java.

To convert the key to PKCS#8 format, run the following OpenSSL command on the maxroach user's key file in the directory where you stored your certificates (certs in this example):

$ openssl pkcs8 -topk8 -inform PEM -outform DER -in client.maxroach.key -out client.maxroach.pk8 -nocrypt

Step 5. Run the Java code

Download and extract hibernate-basic-sample.tgz, which contains a Java project that includes the following files:

File	Description
`Sample.java`	Uses Hibernate to map Java object state to SQL operations. For more information, see Sample.java.
`hibernate.cfg.xml`	Specifies how to connect to the database and that the database schema will be deleted and recreated each time the app is run. For more information, see hibernate.cfg.xml.
`build.gradle`	Used to build and run your app. For more information, see build.gradle.

In the hibernate-basic-sample directory, build and run the application:

$ gradle run

Toward the end of the output, you should see:

1 1000
2 250

To verify that the table and rows were created successfully, start the built-in SQL client:

$ cockroach sql --certs-dir=certs --database=bank

To check the account balances, issue the following statement:

> SELECT id, balance FROM accounts;

+----+---------+
| id | balance |
+----+---------+
|  1 |    1000 |
|  2 |     250 |
+----+---------+
(2 rows)

Sample.java

The Java code shown below uses the Hibernate ORM to map Java object state to SQL operations. Specifically, this code:

Creates an accounts table in the database based on the Account class.
Inserts rows into the table using session.save(new Account()).
Defines the SQL query for selecting from the table so that balances can be printed using the CriteriaQuery<Account> query object.

package com.cockroachlabs;

import org.hibernate.Session;
import org.hibernate.SessionFactory;
import org.hibernate.cfg.Configuration;

import javax.persistence.Column;
import javax.persistence.Entity;
import javax.persistence.Id;
import javax.persistence.Table;
import javax.persistence.criteria.CriteriaQuery;

public class Sample {
    // Create a SessionFactory based on our hibernate.cfg.xml configuration
    // file, which defines how to connect to the database.
    private static final SessionFactory sessionFactory =
            new Configuration()
                    .configure("hibernate.cfg.xml")
                    .addAnnotatedClass(Account.class)
                    .buildSessionFactory();

    // Account is our model, which corresponds to the "accounts" database table.
    @Entity
    @Table(name="accounts")
    public static class Account {
        @Id
        @Column(name="id")
        public long id;

        @Column(name="balance")
        public long balance;

        // Convenience constructor.
        public Account(int id, int balance) {
            this.id = id;
            this.balance = balance;
        }

        // Hibernate needs a default (no-arg) constructor to create model objects.
        public Account() {}
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        Session session = sessionFactory.openSession();

        try {
            // Insert two rows into the "accounts" table.
            session.beginTransaction();
            session.save(new Account(1, 1000));
            session.save(new Account(2, 250));
            session.getTransaction().commit();

            // Print out the balances.
            CriteriaQuery<Account> query = session.getCriteriaBuilder().createQuery(Account.class);
            query.select(query.from(Account.class));
            for (Account account : session.createQuery(query).getResultList()) {
                System.out.printf("%d %d\n", account.id, account.balance);
            }
        } finally {
            session.close();
            sessionFactory.close();
        }
    }
}

hibernate.cfg.xml

The Hibernate config (in hibernate.cfg.xml, shown below) specifies how to connect to the database. Note the connection URL that turns on SSL and specifies the location of the security certificates.

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<!DOCTYPE hibernate-configuration PUBLIC
        "-//Hibernate/Hibernate Configuration DTD 3.0//EN"
        "http://www.hibernate.org/dtd/hibernate-configuration-3.0.dtd">
<hibernate-configuration>
    <session-factory>

        <!-- Database connection settings -->
        <property name="hibernate.connection.driver_class">org.postgresql.Driver</property>
        <property name="hibernate.dialect">org.hibernate.dialect.PostgreSQLDialect</property>
        <property name="hibernate.connection.url"><![CDATA[jdbc:postgresql://localhost:26257/bank?ssl=true&sslmode=require&sslrootcert=certs/ca.crt&sslkey=certs/client.maxroach.pk8&sslcert=certs/client.maxroach.crt]]></property>
        <property name="hibernate.connection.username">maxroach</property>

        <!-- Required so a table can be created from the 'Account' class in Sample.java -->
        <property name="hibernate.hbm2ddl.auto">create</property>

        <!-- Optional: Show SQL output for debugging -->
        <property name="hibernate.show_sql">true</property>
        <property name="hibernate.format_sql">true</property>
    </session-factory>
</hibernate-configuration>

build.gradle

The Gradle build file specifies the dependencies (in this case the Postgres JDBC driver and Hibernate):

group 'com.cockroachlabs'
version '1.0'

apply plugin: 'java'
apply plugin: 'application'

mainClassName = 'com.cockroachlabs.Sample'

repositories {
    mavenCentral()
}

dependencies {
    compile 'org.hibernate:hibernate-core:5.2.4.Final'
    compile 'org.postgresql:postgresql:42.2.2.jre7'
}

Step 2. Create the `maxroach` user and `bank` database

Start the built-in SQL client:

$ cockroach sql --insecure

In the SQL shell, issue the following statements to create the maxroach user and bank database:

> CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS maxroach;

> CREATE DATABASE bank;

Give the maxroach user the necessary permissions:

> GRANT ALL ON DATABASE bank TO maxroach;

Exit the SQL shell:

> \q

Step 3. Run the Java code

Download and extract hibernate-basic-sample.tgz, which contains a Java project that includes the following files:

File	Description
`Sample.java`	Uses Hibernate to map Java object state to SQL operations. For more information, see Sample.java.
`hibernate.cfg.xml`	Specifies how to connect to the database and that the database schema will be deleted and recreated each time the app is run. For more information, see hibernate.cfg.xml.
`build.gradle`	Used to build and run your app. For more information, see build.gradle.

In the hibernate-basic-sample directory, build and run the application:

$ gradle run

Toward the end of the output, you should see:

1 1000
2 250

To verify that the table and rows were created successfully, start the built-in SQL client:

$ cockroach sql --insecure --database=bank

To check the account balances, issue the following statement:

> SELECT id, balance FROM accounts;

+----+---------+
| id | balance |
+----+---------+
|  1 |    1000 |
|  2 |     250 |
+----+---------+
(2 rows)

Sample.java

The Java code shown below uses the Hibernate ORM to map Java object state to SQL operations. Specifically, this code:

Creates an accounts table in the database based on the Account class.
Inserts rows into the table using session.save(new Account()).
Defines the SQL query for selecting from the table so that balances can be printed using the CriteriaQuery<Account> query object.

package com.cockroachlabs;

import org.hibernate.Session;
import org.hibernate.SessionFactory;
import org.hibernate.cfg.Configuration;

import javax.persistence.Column;
import javax.persistence.Entity;
import javax.persistence.Id;
import javax.persistence.Table;
import javax.persistence.criteria.CriteriaQuery;

public class Sample {
    // Create a SessionFactory based on our hibernate.cfg.xml configuration
    // file, which defines how to connect to the database.
    private static final SessionFactory sessionFactory =
            new Configuration()
                    .configure("hibernate.cfg.xml")
                    .addAnnotatedClass(Account.class)
                    .buildSessionFactory();

    // Account is our model, which corresponds to the "accounts" database table.
    @Entity
    @Table(name="accounts")
    public static class Account {
        @Id
        @Column(name="id")
        public long id;

        @Column(name="balance")
        public long balance;

        // Convenience constructor.
        public Account(int id, int balance) {
            this.id = id;
            this.balance = balance;
        }

        // Hibernate needs a default (no-arg) constructor to create model objects.
        public Account() {}
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        Session session = sessionFactory.openSession();

        try {
            // Insert two rows into the "accounts" table.
            session.beginTransaction();
            session.save(new Account(1, 1000));
            session.save(new Account(2, 250));
            session.getTransaction().commit();

            // Print out the balances.
            CriteriaQuery<Account> query = session.getCriteriaBuilder().createQuery(Account.class);
            query.select(query.from(Account.class));
            for (Account account : session.createQuery(query).getResultList()) {
                System.out.printf("%d %d\n", account.id, account.balance);
            }
        } finally {
            session.close();
            sessionFactory.close();
        }
    }
}

hibernate.cfg.xml

The Hibernate config (in hibernate.cfg.xml, shown below) specifies how to connect to the database. Note the connection URL that turns on SSL and specifies the location of the security certificates.

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<!DOCTYPE hibernate-configuration PUBLIC
        "-//Hibernate/Hibernate Configuration DTD 3.0//EN"
        "http://www.hibernate.org/dtd/hibernate-configuration-3.0.dtd">
<hibernate-configuration>
    <session-factory>
        <!-- Database connection settings -->
        <property name="connection.driver_class">org.postgresql.Driver</property>
        <property name="dialect">org.hibernate.dialect.PostgreSQL94Dialect</property>
        <property name="connection.url">jdbc:postgresql://127.0.0.1:26257/bank?sslmode=disable</property>
        <property name="connection.username">maxroach</property>

        <!-- Required so a table can be created from the 'Account' class in Sample.java -->
        <property name="hibernate.hbm2ddl.auto">create</property>

        <!-- Optional: Show SQL output for debugging -->
        <property name="hibernate.show_sql">true</property>
        <property name="hibernate.format_sql">true</property>
    </session-factory>
</hibernate-configuration>

build.gradle

The Gradle build file specifies the dependencies (in this case the Postgres JDBC driver and Hibernate):

group 'com.cockroachlabs'
version '1.0'

apply plugin: 'java'
apply plugin: 'application'

mainClassName = 'com.cockroachlabs.Sample'

repositories {
    mavenCentral()
}

dependencies {
    compile 'org.hibernate:hibernate-core:5.2.4.Final'
    compile 'org.postgresql:postgresql:42.2.2.jre7'
}

What's next?

Read more about using the Hibernate ORM, or check out a more realistic implementation of Hibernate with CockroachDB in our examples-orms repository.

You might also be interested in using a local cluster to explore the following CockroachDB benefits:

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Build a Java App with CockroachDB

Before you begin

Step 1. Install the Gradle build tool

Step 2. Create the `maxroach` user and `bank` database

Step 3. Generate a certificate for the `maxroach` user

Step 4. Convert the key file for use with Java

Step 5. Run the Java code

Sample.java

hibernate.cfg.xml

build.gradle

Step 2. Create the `maxroach` user and `bank` database

Step 3. Run the Java code

Sample.java

hibernate.cfg.xml

build.gradle

What's next?

Build a Java App with CockroachDB

Before you begin

Step 1. Install the Gradle build tool

Step 2. Create the maxroach user and bank database

Step 3. Generate a certificate for the maxroach user

Step 4. Convert the key file for use with Java

Step 5. Run the Java code

Sample.java

hibernate.cfg.xml

build.gradle

Step 2. Create the maxroach user and bank database

Step 3. Run the Java code

Sample.java

hibernate.cfg.xml

build.gradle

What's next?

Step 2. Create the `maxroach` user and `bank` database

Step 3. Generate a certificate for the `maxroach` user

Step 2. Create the `maxroach` user and `bank` database