[hibernate-dev] HHH-12353: have getReference stick to the Java API it promises?

Issue HHH-12353 was just reported and I have to agree it looks dodgy. Essentially invoking: entityManager.getReference( Person.class ) might not return a type compatible with Person, when Person is final and annotated with @Proxy(proxyClass = AnotherTypeX.class), then AnotherTypeX might be returned and this is not necessarily a subtype of Person. That's ok as I understand we hardly have alternatives, but the EntityManager API for getReference mandates this signature: <T> T getReference(Class<T> entityClass, Object primaryKey) so we're not actually returning the expected type T in all circumstances, confusing compilers and tooling into giving the wrong suggestions. I see some options: a# disallow using @Proxy on a final entity - seems reasonable since the docs warn against pitfalls. b# throw an exception on Person.class being used as parameter, as the user should actually use the proxytype? c# somehow have the proxy still extend the final entity? Option b# seems problematic as it's not obvious to users either, and we would need to return a proxy reference even when there actually is a managed Person instance in the current session. Option c# is probably unrealistic and problematic too, as it would require enhancing of the final class and I guess we can't rely on that consistently. In summary, I believe we should throw a bootstrap exception requiring to remove the `final` modifier on the parent entity. Or challenge the specification :( Thanks, Sanne