In using the Repository design pattern, you can hide the details of how the data is eventually stored or retrieved to and from the data store. This data store can be a database, an xml file, etc.

In-Depth Eliminate Database Dependencies in Test-Driven Development How to avoid the end-to-end integration test problem with the Repository pattern. By Benjamin Day 09/01/2009 Get Code Download Many ...

Get an overview of design patterns, then use what you've learned to evaluate whether the Composite pattern is a good choice for a particular Java use case ...