Pfthb

Spring Data JPA documentation tells us that we can have derived methods for delete functionality. Then the documentation gives example as:

interface UserRepository extends CrudRepository<User, Long> 

 long deleteByLastname(String lastname);

 List<User> removeByLastname(String lastname);

What I found confusing was removeByLastname. The CrudRepository has delete methods which start by delete word and there is no method which starts with remove. Do we have methods starting with remove? If yes, when and how to use them.

Link for the documentation: https://docs.spring.io/spring-data/jpa/docs/2.1.2.RELEASE/reference/html/

They both can be used the same way. You can either name your method to start with remove or delete. See PartTree class for DELETE patterns:

private static final String DELETE_PATTERN = "delete|remove";

When generating the repository implementation, Spring Data examines any methods
in the repository interface, parses the method name, and attempts to understand the
method’s purpose in the context of the persisted object. In
essence, Spring Data defines a sort of miniature domain-specific language (DSL)
where persistence details are expressed in repository method signatures.
There is no difference between remove and delete. You can use any of them. Same
with find get read

I believe they are using List<User> removeByLastname(String lastname); because there is already long deleteByLastname(String lastname); and you can't have a function with the same name and arguments

In modern versions of Spring Data JPA (>=1.7.x) query derivation for delete and remove operations are accessible

https://www.logicbig.com/tutorials/spring-framework/spring-data/jpa-derived-delete-queries.html