Spring Boot
Spring Boot is an open-source Java-based framework used to create stand-alone, production-grade Spring applications. It is designed to make it easy to create Spring applications by providing a set of default configurations and features. Spring Boot is based on the Spring Framework, but it takes an opinionated approach to configuration. This means that Spring Boot makes certain assumptions about what you need in your application, and it automatically configures those things for you. This can save you a lot of time and effort, especially if you are new to Spring.
5 key features of Spring Boot
- Autoconfiguration
- Starter dependencies
- Embedded servers
- Production-ready features
- Configuration via properties files
Autoconfiguration
- Spring Boot automatically configures many Spring features based on the dependencies that you have added to your project.
- This can save you a lot of time and effort in configuring your application. For example, if you add the Spring Web dependency to your project, Spring Boot will automatically configure a Tomcat server for you.
Starter dependencies
- Spring Boot provides a number of starter dependencies that you can add to your project to get the most common Spring features.
- This can save you a lot of time and effort in setting up your project. For example, if you want to build a web application, you can add the Spring Web Starter dependency to your project. This dependency will automatically add the Spring Web, Spring MVC, and Tomcat dependencies to your project.
Embedded servers
- Spring Boot can automatically configure an embedded server, such as Tomcat or Jetty, so you don't need to worry about deploying your application to a separate server.
- This can make it easier to develop and test your application locally.
Production-ready features
- Spring Boot provides a number of production-ready features, such as health checks, metrics, and logging. This can help you to ensure that your application is reliable and scalable.
Configuration via properties files
- Spring Boot allows you to externalize your configuration so that you can work with the same application in different environments.
- This can be done by using properties files or environment variables.
why Spring Boot for building web applications ?
01. Quick and easy development
Spring Boot autoconfiguration can save you a lot of time and effort in configuring your application. Spring Boot autoconfiguration works by inspecting the dependencies that you have added to your project and automatically configuring the Spring features that are needed by those dependencies. For example, if you add the Spring Web dependency to your project, Spring Boot will automatically configure a Tomcat server for you.
02. Production-ready
Spring Boot provides a number of production-ready features that can help you to ensure that your application is reliable and scalable. These features include health checks, metrics, and logging. Health checks can be used to monitor the health of your application, metrics can be used to collect data about your application, and logging can be used to record events that occur in your application.
03. Scalable
Spring Boot is designed to be scalable, so you can easily add more features and users to your web application as needed. Spring Boot uses a number of techniques to make it scalable, such as using an embedded server and using a non-blocking I/O framework.
04. Easy to maintain
Spring Boot is easy to maintain, as the default configurations and features make it easy to understand how your application works. Spring Boot also uses a number of conventions that make it easy to find and fix problems.
05. Popular
Spring Boot is a popular framework, so there are a lot of resources available to help you learn and use it. There are many tutorials, books, and articles available online. There are also a number of Spring Boot communities where you can ask questions and get help.
5 Best practices for building modern web applications with Spring Boot
Use dependency management wisely
Spring Boot provides a number of starter dependencies that can help you get started quickly. However, it is important to use dependency management wisely to avoid dependencies that you do not need. This can help to improve the performance and security of your application.
Use a consistent coding style
Using a consistent coding style can make your code easier to read and maintain. There are a number of coding style guides available, such as the Google Java Style Guide.
Use unit testing
Unit testing is a great way to ensure that your code is working as expected. Spring Boot provides a number of tools that can help you with unit testing, such as JUnit and Mockito.
Use continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD)
CI/CD is a process that automates the building, testing, and deployment of your application. This can help to improve the quality and reliability of your application.
Use a cloud-native approach
Cloud-native applications are designed to be scalable, resilient, and easy to deploy. Spring Boot can be used to build cloud-native applications by using features such as embedded servers and cloud-native build packs.
