Difference between Hibernate createCriteria, createQuery, createSQLQuery

To create query in the Hibernate ORM framework, there is three different types. The following are the three ways to create query instance:

1. session.createQuery()
2. session.createSQLQuery()
3. session.createCriteria()

session.createQuery()
The method createQuery() creates Query object using the HQL syntax.
Query query = session.createQuery("from Student s where s.name like 'k%'");

session.createSQLQuery()
The method createSQLQuery() creates Query object using the native SQL syntax.
Query query = session.createQuery("Select * from Student");

session.createCriteria()
The method createCriteria() creates Criteria object for setting the query parameters. This is more useful feature for those who don't want to write the query in hand.
Criteria criteria = session.createCriteria(Student.class);