iBATIS is a solution between JDBC and object/relational mapping (ORM). The former is perhaps too low-level, and can be error-prone and hard to maintain, and the latter can be complex and invasive beyond the needs of many applications. In particular, applications sitting between a Web user and a database, without inordinately complex business logic (which, to be honest, is a lot of applications), can benefit enormously from the simplicity and ease of maintenance iBATIS brings to the table. Anyone considering using iBATIS will want to have iBATIS In Action on their bookshelf, even if they do not in the end decide iBATIS is the right solution for them.