iBATIS is a persistence framework which automates the mapping between SQL databases and objects in Java, .NET, and Ruby on Rails.
The result is a significant reduction in the amount of code that a developer needs to access a relational database using lower level APIs like JDBC and ODBC.
Other persistence frameworks such as Hibernate allow the creation of an object model (in Java, say) by the user, and create and maintain the relational database automatically.
Both approaches have advantages, and iBATIS is a good choice when the developer does not have full control over the SQL database schema.
For example, assume there is a database table PRODUCT (PROD_ID INTEGER, PROD_DESC VARCHAR(64)) and a Java class com.example.Product (id: int, description: String).
The Apache iBator tool is closely related: it connects to your database and uses its metadata to generate iBATIS mapping files and Java classes.
In 2002 Clinton developed an application called JPetStore[3] to demonstrate that Java could be more productive than .NET and could also do so while achieving a better architecture than was used in the Microsoft implementation.