java - can someone please explain me @MapsId in hibernate?

Question

Can someone please explain to me @MapsId in hibernate? I'm having a hard time understanding it.

It would be great if one could explain it with an example and in what kind of use cases is it most applicable?

Answer 1

Here is a nice explanation from Object DB.

Designates a ManyToOne or OneToOne relationship attribute that provides the mapping for an EmbeddedId primary key, an attribute within an EmbeddedId primary key, or a simple primary key of the parent entity. The value element specifies the attribute within a composite key to which the relationship attribute corresponds. If the entity's primary key is of the same Java type as the primary key of the entity referenced by the relationship, the value attribute is not specified.

// parent entity has simple primary key

@Entity
public class Employee {
   @Id long empId;
   String name;
   ...
} 

// dependent entity uses EmbeddedId for composite key

@Embeddable
public class DependentId {
   String name;
   long empid;   // corresponds to primary key type of Employee
}

@Entity
public class Dependent {
   @EmbeddedId DependentId id;
    ...
   @MapsId("empid")  //  maps the empid attribute of embedded id
   @ManyToOne Employee emp;
}

Read the API Docs here.