Introduction
Spring Boot is a framework for building web applications using the Spring framework. It provides a pre-configured set of features and dependencies that allow developers to quickly create and run a new application.
Spring Boot automatically configures your application based on the dependencies that are included in the classpath, so you don’t have to manually configure each component.
It also provides a command-line tool that can be used to create a new project and run it.
Additionally, Spring Boot includes an embedded web server, so you can run your application as a standalone JAR file without the need to deploy it to a separate web server.
Overall, Spring Boot is designed to make it easier to build and run Spring-based applications, with less configuration and setup required.
Starter dependencies
One of the key features of Spring Boot is its use of “starter dependencies”. These are pre-configured sets of dependencies that can be included in your application to enable specific functionality, such as web development, data access, or security.
For example, by including the “spring-boot-starter-web” dependency, your application will automatically have the necessary dependencies for building web applications, such as Spring MVC and Tomcat.
This makes it very easy to add new functionality to your application without having to manually configure it.
Auto-configuration
Another important feature of Spring Boot is its ability to use “auto-configuration”. This means that, based on the dependencies that are included in your classpath, Spring Boot will automatically configure the necessary components for your application.
For example, if you include the “spring-boot-starter-data-jpa” dependency, Spring Boot will automatically configure a connection to a database, and set up the necessary beans for working with data using the Java Persistence API (JPA).
This means that you don’t have to manually write the configuration for these components, which can save a lot of time and effort.
Tools
Finally, Spring Boot also provides a number of tools for running and deploying your application. The Spring Boot CLI is a command-line tool that can be used to create a new project and run it.
The Spring Boot Maven plugin can be used to package your application as a standalone JAR file, which can then be run using the “java -jar” command.
Additionally, the Spring Boot Actuator provides a number of endpoints that can be used to monitor and manage your application, such as viewing metrics, configuring logging, and accessing application-specific information.