Java Persistence API (JPA)

The Java Persistence API (JPA) is a standard Java specification that provides a powerful framework for managing relational data in enterprise applications through Object-Relational Mapping (ORM). It allows developers to map, store, retrieve, and manage plain old Java objects (known as entities) directly to tables in a relational database, effectively bridging the gap between object-oriented domain models and relational database schemas. By defining a standard set of interfaces and annotations, JPA abstracts away the complexities of low-level JDBC and SQL, simplifying data access logic and promoting portability across different persistence providers, such as Hibernate or EclipseLink, which implement the specification.