The data layer in applications typically talks to the database and/or the external interfaces.
Some of the important Spring modules related to the data layer are listed in the following table:
| Module/Artifact | Use |
| spring-jdbc | Provides abstraction around JDBC to avoid boilerplate code. |
| spring-orm | Provides integration with ORM frameworks and specifications-- JPA and Hibernate, among others. |
| spring-oxm | Provides an object to XML mapping integration. Supports frameworks such as JAXB, Castor, and so on. |
| spring-jms | Provides abstraction around JMS to avoid boilerplate code. |