Spring Boot Essentials
Introduction to Spring Boot
Setting Up Development Environment
Creating a Simple Spring Boot Application
Dependency Injection and Configuration
RESTful Web Services
Data Access with Spring Data
Error Handling and Validation
Security
Testing
Deployment
Monitoring and Management
Advanced Topics (Optional)
What is Spring Boot?
Spring Boot is a framework for building Java applications quickly and with less configuration. It simplifies development by providing default settings and integrating seamlessly with other Spring projects and libraries.
What is Framework?
A framework is a structure that you can build software on. It serves as a foundation, so you’re not starting entirely from scratch. Frameworks are typically associated with a specific programming language and are suited to different types of tasks.
Spring Vs Spring Boot:
Spring |
Spring Boot |
Avoids boiler plate code. Wraps Dependencies together in a single Unit. |
Specify Each and Every Dependencies Seperately. This take more time. |
Can be packaged as a jar with embedded server by default. |
Will need a lot of configuration to be written to achieve the same. |
Reduces development time and increases productivity so that production ready applications can be build quickly. |
Takes Significantly more time to achieve the same- example of time consuming tasks would be error prone dependency additions where version’s don’t match |
Why Use Spring Boot?
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Features of Spring Boot:
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Spring Boot's @SpringBootApplication annotation enables auto-configuration, which sets up your application based on libraries in the classpath, removing the need for manual bean configuration.
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Spring Boot apps are self-contained and can run independently without external servers, simplifying microservices architecture.
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Built-in tools like the Actuator module provide efficient monitoring and management features for production applications.
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Developers can focus solely on business logic as Spring Boot handles configurations without generating code or requiring XML configurations. |
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Starter POMs offer ready-to-use settings, simplifying build configurations, while still allowing manual dependency additions.
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Spring Boot seamlessly integrates with Spring Cloud for creating lightweight, independent microservices with easy deployment and dynamic service discovery.
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Supports embedded servers like Tomcat, Jetty, and Undertow, allowing applications to run standalone without deploying WAR files.
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Tools like the Spring Boot Maven plugin simplify packaging and starting applications, while web tools aid in quick setup.
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While Spring Boot provides default configurations, developers can easily customize settings, components, and setups as needed.
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Provides extensions for connecting with various tools and libraries, facilitating easy integration through pre-configured starters for technologies like JPA, Thymeleaf, and Security.
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Spring Boot Development Environment Setup:
Step 1:
Setup an IDE (Integrated Development Environment):
using an IDE like IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse, or Spring Tool Suite (STS) can greatly simplify development. These IDEs often come with built-in support for Spring Boot projects.
Step 2:
Create a new Spring Boot Project:
You can create a Spring Boot project using Spring Initializr, either through its web interface (https://start.spring.io/)
When using the web interface, you select the dependencies you need for your project (e.g., Spring Web, Spring Data JPA, Spring Security) and
Download a Zip file containing your project setup.
Step 3:
Import the Project into your IDE:
If you've generated the project using Spring Initializr's web interface, unzip the downloaded file and import the project into your IDE.
Step 4:
Write Your Application Code:
Start writing your Spring Boot application code. Spring Boot follows convention over configuration, meaning it provides sensible defaults that you can override as needed.
Step 5
Run Your Application:
Most IDEs allow you to run Spring Boot applications directly from within the IDE.
Step 6:
Access Your Application:
Once your application is running, you can access it through a web browser or an API client, depending on what type of application you've built.
Project Structure:
The project structure generated by Spring Boot Initializr for a Java-based project typically follows a standard Maven project structure.
src/main/java: Contains Java source files.
src/main/resources: Holds non-Java resources like configuration files.
src/test/java: Houses Java source files for tests.
src/test/resources: Contains test-specific resources.
pom.xml (Maven) or build.gradle (Gradle): Build configuration files.
Create a basic “Hello World!” RESTful API Service:
@SpringBootApplication annotation is used to indicate that this is a Spring Boot application.
@RestController annotation is used to mark the class as a controller where Spring will automatically handle the mapping between HTTP requests and handler methods.
The hello() method is annotated with @GetMapping("/hello"), specifying that it handles GET requests to the /hello endpoint. When accessed, it returns the string "Hello, World!".
Once you run this application, it will start an embedded web server (by default on port 8080),
and you can access the "Hello World" message by making a GET request to http://localhost:8080/hello.