Table of Contents
Introduction
Spring and Spring Boot are frameworks ease up the development process by giving the developers a wide range of tools and convenience. When I started using Springboot it was kind of overwhelming with its myriad features and configurations. Here we will break down the essence of Spring Boot into 20 key concepts. Let’s dive in and conquer Spring Boot together.
1. Convention over Configuration:
Spring Boot follows the principle of convention over configuration. It provides sensible defaults and auto-configuration, reducing the need for extensive manual configurations. This means you can focus more on writing code and less on boilerplate setup.
2. Starter Dependencies:
One of the standout features of Spring Boot is its starter dependencies. These dependencies provide a curated set of libraries, configurations, and transitive dependencies required for specific functionalities. With starters, you can quickly set up projects tailored to your needs without wasting time on tedious dependency management.
3. Embedded Server:
Spring Boot includes an embedded server, such as Tomcat or Jetty, allowing you to run your applications without needing an external server. This simplifies deployment and makes it easier to develop and test your applications. Springboot also gives functionality to change the default server as per users requirement. You can read more about how to change the default Springboot server here.
4. Auto-Configuration:
Spring Boot’s auto-configuration feature is a game-changer. It automatically configures your application based on classpath dependencies, eliminating the need for manual configuration. It intelligently detects the libraries you’re using and configures them accordingly.
5. Actuator:
Spring Boot’s Actuator is a powerful feature that provides your application’s production-ready monitoring and management capabilities. With Actuator, you can expose endpoints to monitor health, metrics, logging, and more. It gives you valuable insights into your application’s internals and helps ensure its smooth operation.
6. Starters:
Spring Boot’s starters are opinionated dependencies that provide a cohesive set of libraries to support specific application types. Whether you’re building a web application, a data-intensive application, or a security-focused application, there’s a starter that simplifies the setup process and brings in the necessary components. This can help the developer a quick Turn around time while developing applications or POC (Proof of Concept).
7. Dependency Injection:
Spring Boot leverages the renowned dependency injection mechanism of the Spring Framework. This powerful feature allows you to easily manage dependencies, promotes modular and testable code, and enables flexible component wiring. DI and IOC plays a huge role in making Springboot a darling to the developers.
8. Spring Data JPA:
Integration with Spring Data JPA simplifies database access through object-relational mapping (ORM). Spring Boot offers convenient CRUD operations and powerful querying capabilities out of the box. With Spring Data JPA, you can focus on your business logic without repetitive database interactions.
9. Spring Security:
Security is a critical aspect of any application, and Spring Boot integrates seamlessly with Spring Security. It provides robust authentication and authorization features, making it easier to secure your application and protect sensitive data.
10. Spring MVC:
Spring’s MVC is a powerful web framework, and Spring Boot fully supports it. Whether you’re building RESTful APIs or serving web pages, Spring MVC simplifies request handling, URL mapping, and data binding. It provides a solid foundation for building scalable and maintainable web applications.
11. Configuration Properties:
Spring Boot allows you to configure your application using properties or YAML files. The configuration properties approach provides strong typing, validation, and easy access to the configured properties. It allows you to tweak your application’s behaviour without modifying the code, promoting flexibility and maintainability.
12. Testing Support:
Spring Boot offers comprehensive testing support, including integration testing and mocking dependencies. You can leverage popular testing frameworks like JUnit and Mockito to write unit tests, integration tests, and end-to-end tests. Spring Boot’s testing support makes it easier to ensure the correctness and reliability of your application.
13. Logging:
Logging is essential for monitoring and troubleshooting applications. Spring Boot comes with logging configurations out of the box, providing sensible defaults. You can easily customize the logging configuration to fit your needs, allowing you to capture the right level of detail for debugging and monitoring purposes.
14. Profiles:
Spring Boot supports profiles, enabling you to define different configurations for different environments. You can have separate settings for development, production, or any custom environment. Profiles make it easier to switch between configurations seamlessly, enhancing the portability and maintainability of your application.
eg: application-dev.properties, application-qa.propeties, application-prod.properties. All these files can co-exist side by side and when changing the profiles, the correct environment specific files will be used.
15. Application Monitoring:
Spring Boot integrates with various monitoring systems, such as Prometheus and Micrometer, allowing you to gather application metrics and monitor performance. Monitoring your application’s health and performance is crucial for maintaining a robust and reliable system.
16. Error Handling:
Spring Boot provides centralized error-handling mechanisms. You can define custom error responses and handle exceptions gracefully, ensuring a better user experience. With Spring Boot’s error handling features, you can capture and communicate errors effectively, making troubleshooting more manageable.
17. Externalized Configuration:
SpringBoot encourages externalizing configuration to make your application more flexible and portable. You can change settings without modifying the application code, enabling easy deployment to different environments. It supports various configuration sources, including environment variables and external files. Using externalized configuration properties is pointing to the good coding standards as mentioned in the 12 Factor Design Pattern.
18. Annotations:
Spring Boot annotations simplify development by configuring controllers, mapping URLs, managing dependencies, enabling security, and more. Annotations like @RestController and @Autowired automate tasks, reducing boilerplate code. With Spring Boot annotations, building robust and scalable applications becomes easier and more efficient.
19. Spring Boot DevTools:
Spring Boot’s DevTools enhance your development experience. It offers features such as automatic application restart, remote debugging, and enhanced hot swapping of code changes. With DevTools, you can iterate quickly, speeding up your development workflow.
20. Community and Ecosystem:
Spring Boot boasts a vibrant community and a vast ecosystem of libraries, tools, and resources. The strong community support ensures that you have access to expert knowledge, guidance, and solutions to challenges you may face during development. The ecosystem provides an extensive collection of libraries and extensions, empowering you to build sophisticated and robust applications.
Conclusion:
Now you have a solid understanding of the core concepts that define Spring Boot. By grasping these key principles, you can navigate the Spring Boot ecosystem with confidence, leveraging its powerful features to build efficient, scalable, and maintainable Java applications. Remember, Spring Boot is designed to simplify your development experience, allowing you to focus on solving business problems rather than wrestling with configurations.
You can read more about Springboot here. Start a new Springboot application from here.
