Spring Boot: Core Concepts Overview
grok.com/c/d92c3ecb-7802-43d5-bcf0-94b7b25f8d09
Spring Boot Concepts – A Clear Overview
Spring Boot is an opinionated framework built on top of the Spring Framework that makes it
extremely easy to create stand-alone, production-grade Spring-based applications with
minimal configuration.
1. Core Idea: "Just Run"
java
@SpringBootApplication
public class MyApp {
public static void main(String[] args) {
SpringApplication.run(MyApp.class, args);
}
}
No XML, no web.xml, no complex setup.
Embed Tomcat/Jetty/Undertow → run as a JAR.
2. Key Annotations
Annotation Purpose
@SpringBootApplication = @Configuration + @EnableAutoConfiguration +
@ComponentScan
@RestController @Controller + @ResponseBody → REST endpoints
@RequestMapping / Map HTTP requests
@GetMapping
@Autowired Dependency injection
@Bean Define beans in @Configuration classes
@Value("${prop}") Inject properties
@Profile("dev") Environment-specific beans
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3. Auto-Configuration (The Magic)
Spring Boot inspects classpath and auto-configures beans.
Sees spring-webmvc → configures DispatcherServlet.
Sees HikariCP → configures DataSource.
Sees spring-boot-starter-data-jpa → configures EntityManager.
You can exclude auto-config:
java
@SpringBootApplication(exclude = {DataSourceAutoConfiguration.class})
4. Starters (Dependency Management)
Instead of adding 10+ dependencies, use one starter:
xml
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
</dependency>
Common Starters:
spring-boot-starter-web → MVC + Tomcat
spring-boot-starter-data-jpa → Hibernate + JPA
spring-boot-starter-security
spring-boot-starter-test → JUnit, Mockito, etc.
spring-boot-starter-actuator → Monitoring
5. Application Properties
src/main/resources/application.yml or .properties
yaml
server:
port: 8080
spring:
datasource:
url: jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/mydb
username: root
jpa:
show-sql: true
myapp:
title: Demo App
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Inject with @Value or @ConfigurationProperties
java
@ConfigurationProperties(prefix = "myapp")
@Component
public class AppConfig {
private String title;
// getters/setters
}
6. Profiles
yaml
# application-dev.yml
spring.datasource.url: jdbc:h2:mem:testdb
# application-prod.yml
spring.datasource.url: jdbc:mysql://prod-db:3306/app
Activate:
bash
--spring.profiles.active=dev
or in code: @Profile("dev")
7. Actuator (Production Ready)
xml
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-actuator</artifactId>
</dependency>
Exposes endpoints:
/actuator/health
/actuator/metrics
/actuator/env
/actuator/info
Customize:
yaml
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management:
endpoints:
web:
exposure:
include: health,info,metrics
8. Spring Boot CLI (Optional)
bash
spring init --dependencies=web,data-jpa myapp
spring run App.groovy
Write apps in Groovy with zero boilerplate.
9. DevTools (Hot Reload)
xml
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-devtools</artifactId>
<scope>runtime</scope>
</dependency>
Auto restart on classpath change
LiveReload in browser
10. Testing Support
java
@SpringBootTest
class MyServiceTest {
@Autowired
MyService service;
@Test
void shouldDoSomething() {
assertThat(service.doIt()).isTrue();
}
}
@WebMvcTest – only MVC layer
@DataJpaTest – only JPA
@MockBean – mock dependencies
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Summary: Why Spring Boot?
Feature Benefit
Auto-configuration Less boilerplate
Embedded server No WAR, no external server
Starters Easy dependency management
Actuator Built-in monitoring
Profiles Environment-specific config
DevTools Fast feedback loop
Quick Start Example
java
@RestController
@SpringBootApplication
public class DemoApplication {
@GetMapping("/")
String home() {
return "Hello Spring Boot!";
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SpringApplication.run(DemoApplication.class, args);
}
}
Run: mvn spring-boot:run → http://localhost:8080
Learn more:
Official: https://spring.io/projects/spring-boot
Guide: https://start.spring.io
Let me know if you want a full project structure, Docker setup, or microservices with
Spring Boot!
1.1s
Fast
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