Comparison of OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded vs OpenJPA 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
	OpenJPA HSQLDB embedded	OpenJPA PostgreSQL server	OpenJPA HSQLDB embedded	OpenJPA PostgreSQL server	OpenJPA HSQLDB embedded	OpenJPA PostgreSQL server
Basic Person Test	13.3	5.2	6.9	4.8	10.1	5.0
Element Collection Test	8.6	2.8	5.3	2.2	7.0	2.5
Inheritance Test	12.2	4.6	5.8	3.2	9.0	3.9
Indexing Test	16.7	7.4	9.1	6.9	12.9	7.1
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	6.1	0.98	7.3	0.81	6.7	0.89
Multithreading Test	26.8	23.4	7.0	9.1	16.9	16.2
All Tests	13.9	7.4	6.9	4.5	10.4	5.9

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

A large performance gap has been detected when using graphs of objects with large transaction size. Comparing the normalized speed of OpenJPA with PostgreSQL database server (0.81) to the normalized speed of OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded database (7.3) reveals that in that case, OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded is 9.0 times faster than OpenJPA with PostgreSQL server.

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

Retrieval Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	OpenJPA HSQLDB embedded	OpenJPA PostgreSQL server	OpenJPA HSQLDB embedded	OpenJPA PostgreSQL server	OpenJPA HSQLDB embedded	OpenJPA PostgreSQL server
Basic Person Test	21.8	5.8	30.1	16.1	25.9	10.9
Element Collection Test	0.0068	0.013	4.5	8.7	2.2	4.4
Inheritance Test	0.0025	5.2	2.0	17.6	0.98	11.4
Indexing Test	22.1	4.8	43.6	18.7	32.9	11.8
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	2.1	0.27	2.1	0.35	2.1	0.31
Multithreading Test	20.9	11.9	23.5	23.3	22.2	17.6
All Tests	11.1	4.7	17.6	14.1	14.4	9.4

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

A large performance gap has been detected when using graphs of objects with small retrieval size. Comparing the normalized speed of OpenJPA with PostgreSQL database server (0.27) to the normalized speed of OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded database (2.1) reveals that in that case, OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded is 7.8 times faster than OpenJPA with PostgreSQL server.

On the other hand, OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded is slower, for instance, when using class inheritance in the object model with small retrieval size. Comparing the normalized speed of OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded database (0.0025) to the normalized speed of OpenJPA with PostgreSQL database server (5.2) reveals that in that case, OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded is 2,080 times slower than OpenJPA with PostgreSQL server.

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

Retrieval Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	OpenJPA HSQLDB embedded	OpenJPA PostgreSQL server	OpenJPA HSQLDB embedded	OpenJPA PostgreSQL server	OpenJPA HSQLDB embedded	OpenJPA PostgreSQL server
Basic Person Test	2.8	failed	0.91	failed	1.9	failed
Element Collection Test	1.4	failed	0.95	failed	1.2	failed
Inheritance Test	2.4	failed	1.3	failed	1.8	failed
Indexing Test	15.4	failed	34.3	failed	24.9	failed
Multithreading Test	1.4	failed	0.53	failed	0.95	failed
All Tests	4.7	failed	7.6	failed	6.1	failed

OpenJPA with PostgreSQL server has failed in 10 tests (see exceptions).

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

Transaction Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	OpenJPA HSQLDB embedded	OpenJPA PostgreSQL server	OpenJPA HSQLDB embedded	OpenJPA PostgreSQL server	OpenJPA HSQLDB embedded	OpenJPA PostgreSQL server
Basic Person Test	12.0	4.9	5.3	3.9	8.6	4.4
Element Collection Test	0.017	0.033	3.7	4.6	1.8	2.3
Inheritance Test	0.0098	4.8	2.0	4.9	0.99	4.9
Indexing Test	9.3	5.1	5.5	6.0	7.4	5.6
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	2.5	0.57	1.6	0.31	2.1	0.44
Multithreading Test	20.0	22.2	3.7	7.4	11.8	14.8
All Tests	7.3	6.3	3.6	4.5	5.5	5.4

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

A large performance gap has been detected when using graphs of objects with large transaction size. Comparing the normalized speed of OpenJPA with PostgreSQL database server (0.31) to the normalized speed of OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded database (1.6) reveals that in that case, OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded is 5.2 times faster than OpenJPA with PostgreSQL server.

On the other hand, OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded is slower, for instance, when using class inheritance in the object model with small transaction size. Comparing the normalized speed of OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded database (0.0098) to the normalized speed of OpenJPA with PostgreSQL database server (4.8) reveals that in that case, OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded is 490 times slower than OpenJPA with PostgreSQL server.

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

Transaction Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	OpenJPA HSQLDB embedded	OpenJPA PostgreSQL server	OpenJPA HSQLDB embedded	OpenJPA PostgreSQL server	OpenJPA HSQLDB embedded	OpenJPA PostgreSQL server
Basic Person Test	21.3	4.6	15.7	5.3	18.5	5.0
Element Collection Test	0.011	0.032	2.9	2.8	1.5	1.4
Inheritance Test	0.0070	4.3	3.5	4.6	1.8	4.4
Indexing Test	28.8	8.0	15.2	7.1	22.0	7.5
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	2.9	0.53	3.6	0.55	3.2	0.54
Multithreading Test	26.0	17.4	19.6	9.1	22.8	13.3
All Tests	13.2	5.8	10.1	4.9	11.6	5.4

The results above show that in general OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded is more efficient than OpenJPA with PostgreSQL server in deleting JPA entity objects from the database. Comparing the normalized speed of OpenJPA with PostgreSQL database server (5.4) to the normalized speed of OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded database (11.6) reveals that in these tests, OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded is 2.1 times faster than OpenJPA with PostgreSQL server.

A large performance gap has been detected when using graphs of objects with large transaction size. Comparing the normalized speed of OpenJPA with PostgreSQL database server (0.55) to the normalized speed of OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded database (3.6) reveals that in that case, OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded is 6.5 times faster than OpenJPA with PostgreSQL server.

On the other hand, OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded is slower, for instance, when using class inheritance in the object model with small transaction size. Comparing the normalized speed of OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded database (0.0070) to the normalized speed of OpenJPA with PostgreSQL database server (4.3) reveals that in that case, OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded is 614 times slower than OpenJPA with PostgreSQL server.

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

Transaction/Retrieval Size	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	OpenJPA HSQLDB embedded	OpenJPA PostgreSQL server	OpenJPA HSQLDB embedded	OpenJPA PostgreSQL server	OpenJPA HSQLDB embedded	OpenJPA PostgreSQL server
Basic Person Test	14.3	5.1	11.8	7.5	13.0	6.3
Element Collection Test	2.0	0.72	3.5	4.6	2.7	2.6
Inheritance Test	2.9	4.7	2.9	7.6	2.9	6.2
Indexing Test	18.5	6.3	21.6	9.7	20.0	8.0
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	3.4	0.59	3.7	0.50	3.5	0.55
Multithreading Test	19.0	18.7	10.9	12.2	14.9	15.5
All Tests	10.2	6.0	9.2	7.0	9.7	6.5

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

A large performance gap has been detected when using graphs of objects with large transaction/retrieval size. Comparing the normalized speed of OpenJPA with PostgreSQL database server (0.50) to the normalized speed of OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded database (3.7) reveals that in that case, OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded is 7.4 times faster than OpenJPA with PostgreSQL server.

On the other hand, OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded is slower, for instance, when using class inheritance in the object model with large transaction/retrieval size. Comparing the normalized speed of OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded database (2.9) to the normalized speed of OpenJPA with PostgreSQL database server (7.6) reveals that in that case, OpenJPA with HSQLDB embedded is 2.6 times slower than OpenJPA with PostgreSQL server.

JPA Performance Benchmark (JPAB)