Is the buildSessionFactory() Configuration method deprecated in Hibernate

or

public class Hbutil {

    private static SessionFactory sessionFactory;
    private static ServiceRegistry serviceRegistry;

    private static SessionFactory configureSessionFactory() throws HibernateException {
        Configuration configuration = new Configuration();
        configuration.configure();
        serviceRegistry = new ServiceRegistryBuilder().applySettings(configuration.getProperties()).buildServiceRegistry();        
        sessionFactory = configuration.buildSessionFactory(serviceRegistry);
        return sessionFactory;
    }

    public static SessionFactory getSessionFactory() {
        return configureSessionFactory();

    }
}

Yes, it is deprecated. http://docs.jboss.org/hibernate/core/4.0/javadocs/org/hibernate/cfg/Configuration.html#buildSessionFactory() specifically tells you to use the other method you found instead (buildSessionFactory(ServiceRegistry serviceRegistry)) - so use it.

The documentation is copied over from release to release, and likely just hasn't been updated yet (they don't rewrite the manual with every release) - so trust the Javadocs.

The specifics of this change can be viewed at:

• Source code: https://github.com/hibernate/hibernate-core/commit/0b10334e403cf2b11ee60725cc5619eaafecc00b
• Ticket: https://hibernate.onjira.com/browse/HHH-5991

Some additional references:

• http://relation.to/Bloggers/HibernateCore40IsFinal
• http://relation.to/19942.lace
• http://docs.jboss.org/hibernate/core/4.0/devguide/en-US/html/ch07.html#services-registry
• http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/hibernate/index.php?title=Category:Services

Yes it is deprecated. Replace your SessionFactory with the following:

In Hibernate 4.0, 4.1, 4.2

private static SessionFactory sessionFactory;
private static ServiceRegistry serviceRegistry;

public static SessionFactory createSessionFactory() {
    Configuration configuration = new Configuration();
    configuration.configure();
    ServiceRegistry serviceRegistry = new ServiceRegistryBuilder().applySettings(
            configuration.getProperties()). buildServiceRegistry();
    sessionFactory = configuration.buildSessionFactory(serviceRegistry);
    return sessionFactory;
}

UPDATE:

In Hibernate 4.3 ServiceRegistryBuilder is deprecated. Use the following instead.

serviceRegistry = new StandardServiceRegistryBuilder().applySettings(
            configuration.getProperties()).build();