17. The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein the application code is application source code, and wherein the mapping metadata is provided as both annotation metadata provided in application source code and as mapping metadata provided in a separate mapping metadata file.
17. The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein the application code is application source code, and wherein the mapping metadata is provided as both annotation metadata provided in application source code and as mapping metadata provided in a separate mapping metadata file. 18. The computer program product of claim 17 , wherein conflicts between annotation metadata provided in the application source code and mapping metadata provided in a separate mapping metadata file are resolved in favor of the mapping metadata provided in the separate mapping metadata file.