title: How to structure projects when multiple applications use the same database
body: <p>I have a Java web application using Spring, Hibernate and Wicket connecting to a MySQL database that I'd like to refactor and separate into several applications. I started by using Maven's multi-module system but in reality each of the applications would have its own release cycle, so I've ditched that effort now and I'm looking at creating individual projects for each of them. They will all continue to connect to the same database so I was going to move the model classes into a project of their own which can be used as a dependency.</p>
  
  <p>I have a few questions regarding this setup:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><p>Is moving the model classes to their own project a typical solution to the multiple apps/single database problem, or is there another way?</p></li>
  <li><p>Is there a nice way of ensuring all the applications are using the same version of the model dependency?</p></li>
  <li><p>Should I also include any base daos and services in this core project that each application could use or extend, or should I just include my <code>GenericHibernateDao</code> and let each application create its own daos and services? Obviously I will want to avoid changing this project as much as possible as it will require a new release of all the applications depending on it.</p></li>
  <li><p>Is there any Hibernate related config I would need to change, such as connection pooling? Does it matter if each app has its own pool or should they share one? I'm not using caching at the moment, but I understand if I wanted to I would need a distributed cache?</p></li>
  <li><p>How would I share application config such as db params, email host, sms gateway etc. between applications? Is there any way of defining them once somewhere to ensure they are all pointed at the same db?</p></li>
  <li><p>Are there any other gotchas I may encounter further down the road with this setup, either with Maven or during deployment? Any tips or best practises I should follow?</p></li>
  </ol>