Hibernate domain model

When specifying one to many r开发者_运维技巧elationships in the domain model....is it better to initialize the set?

i.e.

private Set<Book> books = new HashSet<Book>();

OR

private Set<Book> books;

Thxs.

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Initializing it in the first place prevents you from null checks all over the place, so my advice would be the first.

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It doesn't matter from hibernate perspective. It basically question of basic java practice.