7.2. Unidirectional associations

7.2.1. many to one

A unidirectional many-to-one association is the most common kind of unidirectional association.

<class name="Person">
    <id name="id" column="personId">
        <generator class="native"/>
    </id>
    <many-to-one name="address" 
        column="addressId"
        not-null="true"/>
</class>

<class name="Address">
    <id name="id" column="addressId">
        <generator class="native"/>
    </id>
</class>
create table Person ( personId bigint not null primary key, addressId bigint not null )
create table Address ( addressId bigint not null primary key )
        

7.2.2. one to one

A unidirectional one-to-one association on a foreign key is almost identical. The only difference is the column unique constraint.

<class name="Person">
    <id name="id" column="personId">
        <generator class="native"/>
    </id>
    <many-to-one name="address" 
        column="addressId" 
        unique="true"
        not-null="true"/>
</class>

<class name="Address">
    <id name="id" column="addressId">
        <generator class="native"/>
    </id>
</class>
create table Person ( personId bigint not null primary key, addressId bigint not null unique )
create table Address ( addressId bigint not null primary key )
        

A unidirectional one-to-one association on a primary key usually uses a special id generator. (Notice that we've reversed the direction of the association in this example.)

<class name="Person">
    <id name="id" column="personId">
        <generator class="native"/>
    </id>
</class>

<class name="Address">
    <id name="id" column="personId">
        <generator class="foreign">
            <param name="property">person</param>
        </generator>
    </id>
    <one-to-one name="person" constrained="true"/>
</class>
create table Person ( personId bigint not null primary key )
create table Address ( personId bigint not null primary key )
        

7.2.3. one to many

A unidirectional one-to-many association on a foreign key is a very unusual case, and is not really recommended.

<class name="Person">
    <id name="id" column="personId">
        <generator class="native"/>
    </id>
    <set name="addresses">
        <key column="personId" 
            not-null="true"/>
        <one-to-many class="Address"/>
    </set>
</class>

<class name="Address">
    <id name="id" column="addressId">
        <generator class="native"/>
    </id>
</class>
create table Person ( personId bigint not null primary key )
create table Address ( addressId bigint not null primary key, personId bigint not null )
        

We think it's better to use a join table for this kind of association.