JPA CascadeType.ALL does not delete orphans

If you are using JPA 2.0, you can now use the orphanRemoval=true attribute of the @xxxToMany annotation to remove orphans.

Actually, CascadeType.DELETE_ORPHAN has been deprecated in 3.5.2-Final.

If you are using JPA with EclipseLink, you'll have to set the @PrivateOwned annotation.

Documentation: Eclipse Wiki - Using EclipseLink JPA Extensions - Chapter 1.4 How to Use the @PrivateOwned Annotation

╔═════════════╦═════════════════════╦═════════════════════╗
║   Action    ║  orphanRemoval=true ║   CascadeType.ALL   ║
╠═════════════╬═════════════════════╬═════════════════════╣
║   delete    ║     deletes parent  ║    deletes parent   ║
║   parent    ║     and orphans     ║    and orphans      ║
╠═════════════╬═════════════════════╬═════════════════════╣
║   change    ║                     ║                     ║
║  children   ║   deletes orphans   ║      nothing        ║
║    list     ║                     ║                     ║
╚═════════════╩═════════════════════╩═════════════════════╝

If you are using it with Hibernate, you'll have to explicitly define the annotation CascadeType.DELETE_ORPHAN, which can be used in conjunction with JPA CascadeType.ALL.

If you don't plan to use Hibernate, you'll have to explicitly first delete the child elements and then delete the main record to avoid any orphan records.

execution sequence

1. fetch main row to be deleted
2. fetch child elements
3. delete all child elements
4. delete main row
5. close session

With JPA 2.0, you can now use the option orphanRemoval = true

@OneToMany(mappedBy="foo", orphanRemoval=true)