Section 3.2.1 of EJB 3.0 Persistence Specs

[Meng Tan]

Hi,

Got a question.
Hope anyone can help me.

Under Section 3.2.1 (Persisting an Entity Instance) of EJB 3.0 Persistence Specs, it says

"If X is a detached object, the EntityExistsException may be thrown when the persist
operation is invoked, or the EntityExistsException or another PersistenceException
may be thrown at flush or commit time."

My understanding is that the "persist" method is for persisting a detached entity.
Why then will the "EntityExistsException" be thrown?

Please help!
Thanks!

[Christophe Verré]

My understanding is that the "persist" method is for persisting a detached entity.
Why then will the "EntityExistsException" be thrown?

Wouldn't you use "merge" instead ?

[Meng Tan]

Hi Christophe,

Yes, to save a detached entity, a "merge" can be used.

But Section 3.2.1 is for the "persist" operation.
It gives the semantics of the operation when performed with a new, preexisting managed, removed and detached entity.

Why is a "detached" entity considered differently from a "new" entity?

Thanks!

[Meng Tan]

Sorry, I have missed the definitions of "new" and "detached" entities early in section 3.2.

A detached entity represents a record that is already in the database but the entity object itself is not associated with any persistence context.

Thanks!