This figure shows the recommended, iterative, step-by-step development process to design a TopLink application.
<ol>
  <li><b>Design application</b> </li>
  <ul>
    <li>Define the application requirements.</li>
    <li>Create the object model.</li>
  </ul>
  <li><b>Create class and table information</b> </li>
  <ul>
    <li>Create Java classes, or</li>
    <li>Create database tables or integrate legacy tables.</li>
  </ul>
  <li><b>Create descriptors</b> </li>
  <ul>
    <li>Import classes and tables into the Mapping Workbench project.</li>
    <li>Create descriptors using the Mapping Workbench.</li>
  </ul>
  <li><b>Add database functionality</b> </li>
  <ul>
    <li>Add logic to the Java application to read the Mapping Workbench information.</li>
    <li>Add logic to the Java application to create database sessions, or</li>
    <li>Add logic to the Java application to query the database.</li>
  </ul>
  <li><b>Optimize performance</b> 
    <ul>
      <li>Optimize the application using the TopLink customization techniques.</li>
    </ul>
  </li>
</ol>