JPA entity mapping defines how Java objects translate to database tables. Get it right and your schema is clean, performant, and expressive. This article covers every mapping annotation you’ll need. @Entity and @Table @Entity @Table( name = "orders", // table name (default: class name) schema = "commerce", // database schema indexes = { @Index(name = "idx_orders_customer_id", columnList = "customer_id"), @Index(name = "idx_orders_status_created", columnList = "status, created_at") }, uniqueConstraints = { @UniqueConstraint(name = "uq_order_number", columnNames = "order_number") } ) public class Order { // .