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# Understanding TopLink Metadata

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The TopLink metadata is the bridge between the development of an application and its deployed run-time environment. Capture the metadata using TopLink Workbench (see "Creating Project Metadata" and "Creating Session Metadata"), and pass the metadata to the run-time environment using deployment XML files (such as `project.xml` and `sessions.xml`). You could also manually code these files using Java and the TopLink API, but this approach is more labor-intensive.

The metadata, encapsulated in deployment XML files, lets you pass configuration information into the run-time environment. The run-time environment uses the information in conjunction with the persistent entities (Java objects or EJB entity beans) and the code written with the TopLink API, to complete the application.

TopLink Metadata

Description of "TopLink Metadata"

This section describes the following:

- Advantages of the TopLink Metadata Architecture

- Creating Project Metadata

- Creating Session Metadata

- Deploying Metadata