Comparison of DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded vs Hibernate with PostgreSQL server

Each of the following tables focuses on a specific database operation, where the last table presents average results comparison.

Speed comparison of JPA database persistence operations (normalized score, higher is better)

Transaction Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	DataNucleus HSQLDB embedded	Hibernate PostgreSQL server	DataNucleus HSQLDB embedded	Hibernate PostgreSQL server	DataNucleus HSQLDB embedded	Hibernate PostgreSQL server
Basic Person Test	14.2	7.1	4.8	3.4	9.5	5.2
Element Collection Test	6.6	2.9	2.1	1.7	4.3	2.3
Inheritance Test	13.6	7.0	4.6	3.6	9.1	5.3
Indexing Test	24.6	9.3	11.1	6.1	17.8	7.7
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	6.8	3.0	4.5	2.9	5.7	2.9
Multithreading Test	38.5	31.7	8.5	13.9	23.5	22.8
All Tests	17.4	10.2	5.9	5.3	11.7	7.7

The results above show that in general DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded is more efficient than Hibernate with PostgreSQL server in persisting JPA entity objects to the database.

A large performance gap has been detected when using database indexes with small transaction size. Comparing the normalized speed of Hibernate with PostgreSQL database server (9.3) to the normalized speed of DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded database (24.6) reveals that in that case, DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded is 2.6 times faster than Hibernate with PostgreSQL server.

Speed comparison of JPA database retrieval operations (normalized score, higher is better)

Retrieval Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	DataNucleus HSQLDB embedded	Hibernate PostgreSQL server	DataNucleus HSQLDB embedded	Hibernate PostgreSQL server	DataNucleus HSQLDB embedded	Hibernate PostgreSQL server
Basic Person Test	6.6	5.5	10.2	11.5	8.4	8.5
Element Collection Test	3.6	0.025	8.1	0.017	5.8	0.021
Inheritance Test	5.7	5.2	8.8	14.0	7.2	9.6
Indexing Test	5.1	4.6	9.5	13.3	7.3	8.9
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	7.2	0.61	9.3	0.78	8.3	0.70
Multithreading Test	8.1	11.3	9.5	17.0	8.8	14.2
All Tests	6.0	4.5	9.2	9.4	7.6	7.0

The results above show that in general DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded is slightly more efficient than Hibernate with PostgreSQL server in retrieving JPA entity objects from the database.

A huge performance gap has been detected when using JPA element collections with large retrieval size. Comparing the normalized speed of Hibernate with PostgreSQL database server (0.017) to the normalized speed of DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded database (8.1) reveals that in that case, DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded is 476 times faster than Hibernate with PostgreSQL server.

Speed comparison of JPA database query operations (normalized score, higher is better)

Retrieval Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	DataNucleus HSQLDB embedded	Hibernate PostgreSQL server	DataNucleus HSQLDB embedded	Hibernate PostgreSQL server	DataNucleus HSQLDB embedded	Hibernate PostgreSQL server
Basic Person Test	1.4	55.5	0.48	6.1	0.95	30.8
Element Collection Test	1.3	11.0	0.67	0.016	1.0	5.5
Inheritance Test	1.6	52.3	0.61	8.7	1.1	30.5
Indexing Test	0.0016	0.050	0.63	8.8	0.32	4.4
Multithreading Test	0.40	55.2	failed	9.2	0.40	32.2
All Tests	0.96	34.8	0.60	6.6	0.80	20.7

DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded has failed in 1 tests (see exceptions).

The results above show that in general Hibernate with PostgreSQL server is much more efficient than DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded in executing the tested JPA queries. Comparing the normalized speed of DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded database (0.80) to the normalized speed of Hibernate with PostgreSQL database server (20.7) reveals that in these tests, Hibernate with PostgreSQL server is 25.9 times faster than DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded.

A huge performance gap has been detected when using multithreading with small retrieval size. Comparing the normalized speed of DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded database (0.40) to the normalized speed of Hibernate with PostgreSQL database server (55.2) reveals that in that case, Hibernate with PostgreSQL server is 138 times faster than DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded.

On the other hand, Hibernate with PostgreSQL server is slower, for instance, when using JPA element collections with large retrieval size. Comparing the normalized speed of Hibernate with PostgreSQL database server (0.016) to the normalized speed of DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded database (0.67) reveals that in that case, Hibernate with PostgreSQL server is 41.9 times slower than DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded.

Speed comparison of JPA database update operations (normalized score, higher is better)

Transaction Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	DataNucleus HSQLDB embedded	Hibernate PostgreSQL server	DataNucleus HSQLDB embedded	Hibernate PostgreSQL server	DataNucleus HSQLDB embedded	Hibernate PostgreSQL server
Basic Person Test	11.5	5.3	2.7	2.7	7.1	4.0
Element Collection Test	6.9	0.067	2.7	0.026	4.8	0.046
Inheritance Test	10.3	5.4	3.6	3.8	6.9	4.6
Indexing Test	11.4	5.4	4.4	4.3	7.9	4.8
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	3.5	1.1	1.5	0.58	2.5	0.82
Multithreading Test	failed	29.6	failed	6.3	failed	18.0
All Tests	8.7	7.8	3.0	2.9	5.8	5.4

DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded has failed in 2 tests (see exceptions).

The results above show that in general DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded is slightly more efficient than Hibernate with PostgreSQL server in updating JPA entity objects in the database.

A huge performance gap has been detected when using JPA element collections with large transaction size. Comparing the normalized speed of Hibernate with PostgreSQL database server (0.026) to the normalized speed of DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded database (2.7) reveals that in that case, DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded is 104 times faster than Hibernate with PostgreSQL server.

Speed comparison of JPA database removal operations (normalized score, higher is better)

Transaction Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	DataNucleus HSQLDB embedded	Hibernate PostgreSQL server	DataNucleus HSQLDB embedded	Hibernate PostgreSQL server	DataNucleus HSQLDB embedded	Hibernate PostgreSQL server
Basic Person Test	4.2	5.3	1.3	4.2	2.8	4.8
Element Collection Test	4.9	0.020	1.6	stopped	3.2	0.0098
Inheritance Test	4.0	5.1	1.3	4.2	2.7	4.6
Indexing Test	7.5	9.5	1.9	6.3	4.7	7.9
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	2.9	0.012	2.0	0.012	2.5	0.012
Multithreading Test	40.1	23.3	13.7	21.8	26.9	22.5
All Tests	10.6	7.2	3.7	6.1	7.1	6.6

The results above show that in general DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded is slightly more efficient than Hibernate with PostgreSQL server in deleting JPA entity objects from the database.

A huge performance gap has been detected when using JPA element collections with small transaction size. Comparing the normalized speed of Hibernate with PostgreSQL database server (0.020) to the normalized speed of DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded database (4.9) reveals that in that case, DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded is 245 times faster than Hibernate with PostgreSQL server.

On the other hand, DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded is slower, for instance, when using database indexes with large transaction size. Comparing the normalized speed of DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded database (1.9) to the normalized speed of Hibernate with PostgreSQL database server (6.3) reveals that in that case, DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded is 3.3 times slower than Hibernate with PostgreSQL server.

Comparison of JPA/Database speed - the averages (normalized score, higher is better)

Transaction/Retrieval Size	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	DataNucleus HSQLDB embedded	Hibernate PostgreSQL server	DataNucleus HSQLDB embedded	Hibernate PostgreSQL server	DataNucleus HSQLDB embedded	Hibernate PostgreSQL server
Basic Person Test	7.6	15.7	3.9	5.6	5.7	10.7
Element Collection Test	4.7	2.8	3.0	0.35	3.8	1.6
Inheritance Test	7.1	15.0	3.8	6.9	5.4	10.9
Indexing Test	9.7	5.8	5.5	7.8	7.6	6.8
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	5.1	1.2	4.3	1.1	4.7	1.1
Multithreading Test	21.8	30.2	10.6	13.6	17.0	21.9
All Tests	9.0	12.1	4.8	6.0	7.0	9.1

The results above show that in general Hibernate with PostgreSQL server is more efficient than DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded in performing JPA database operations.

A large performance gap has been detected when using class inheritance in the object model with small transaction/retrieval size. Comparing the normalized speed of DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded database (7.1) to the normalized speed of Hibernate with PostgreSQL database server (15.0) reveals that in that case, Hibernate with PostgreSQL server is 2.1 times faster than DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded.

On the other hand, Hibernate with PostgreSQL server is slower, for instance, when using JPA element collections with large transaction/retrieval size. Comparing the normalized speed of Hibernate with PostgreSQL database server (0.35) to the normalized speed of DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded database (3.0) reveals that in that case, Hibernate with PostgreSQL server is 8.6 times slower than DataNucleus with HSQLDB embedded.

JPA Performance Benchmark (JPAB)