title: Neo4j and ORM (Hibernate)
body: <p>I've been using RDBMSes since college and am really <em>struggling</em> with the underlying concepts of NoSQL databases...but I think their concept is really cool.</p>
  
  <p>I <em>believe</em> I understand the following (please correct me if I'm wrong, because these play into my question here!):</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>NoSQL is not some formal specification; it is a concept underlying a new "breed" of databases that are not relational and do not use SQL</li>
  <li>As such, each NoSQL system is different (for instance, MongoDB is JSON-centric)</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>If these are true, then let us redirect our attention to Neo4j, a "graph-based" database.</p>
  
  <p>After perusing the site and the PDF, it seems like Neo4j is not only a database, but it also provides a Java API that essentially replaces the need for traditional ORM tools like Hibernate.</p>
  
  <p>So, my final question is actually a request for clarification/confirmation of that last assertion, specifically:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Is it true that if my backend is entirely Neo4j-based, that I would have no need for Hibernate (which is my usual ORM)? Are these two APIs mutually-exclusive, or is there some way to benefit between using both of them?</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>Thanks in advance!</p>