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On delete cascade

As explained in Java Persistence with Spring Data and Hibernate epub

ON DELETE CASCADE is a relational foreign-key action that automatically deletes referencing rows when the referenced row is deleted.

ON DELETE CASCADE makes the database delete dependent rows automatically when their referenced row is deleted. A foreign key such as BID.ITEM_ID can remove every matching BID when its ITEM is deleted, preserving referential integrity without loading dependent entities into application memory. section 8.3.3

Distinguish database cascading from application-managed association operations:

  • Database cascading can replace multiple dependent DELETE statements with one DELETE against the referenced table. section 8.3.3
  • Hibernate's CascadeType.REMOVE performs ORM-managed removal, whereas ON DELETE CASCADE affects database behavior and does not change Hibernate's runtime behavior. section 8.3.3
  • Hibernate can generate the foreign-key action with @OnDelete, but support must be checked for the selected DBMS and configuration. section 8.3.3

How Java Persistence with Spring Data and Hibernate epub covers it

How deep it goes
Defines database-side deletion and schema annotation, but stops short of changing Hibernate runtime behavior.
Examples
Demonstrates Item and Bid deletion with H2, Hibernate @OnDelete, and a generated foreign-key cascade.
What you can do after
Operate/configure Hibernate schema generation with @OnDelete and verify whether the target DBMS supports the resulting foreign-key action.
How it connects
Connects foreign keys with referential integrity, Hibernate schema generation, and ORM cascade removal.
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