Spring Boot and what its Benefits

Spring Boot is an extension of the Spring framework designed to simplify the development of Spring applications. It aims to reduce the complexity of setting up and configuring Spring applications by providing default configurations and a range of tools.

Purpose:

To make it easier to create production-ready applications quickly and efficiently with minimal configuration.

Benefits of Spring-Boot

1. Auto-Configuration:

• Explanation: Automatically configures Spring applications based on the dependencies and settings present in the project.
• Benefit: Saves time and effort by reducing manual configuration and setup.

2. Standalone Applications:

• Explanation: Spring-Boot applications can be run as standalone applications with embedded servers like Tomcat, Jetty, or Undertow.
• Benefit: Simplifies deployment and testing by eliminating the need for external servers.

3. Production-Ready Features:

• Explanation: Includes features like metrics, health checks, and externalized configuration to ensure applications are ready for production.
• Benefit: Enhances monitoring and management capabilities in production environments.

4. Spring-Boot Starters:

• Explanation: Provides a set of starter dependencies that simplify the inclusion of commonly used libraries and frameworks.
• Benefit: Reduces the complexity of dependency management.

5. Spring-Boot Actuator:

• Explanation: Offers built-in endpoints for monitoring and managing applications.
• Benefit: Facilitates the monitoring and health-checking of applications.

6. Easy Integration:

• Explanation: Simplifies the integration of databases, message brokers, and other systems.
•  Benefit: Streamlines the process of connecting and interacting with various external systems.

Features of Spring Boot

1. Embedded Servers:

1.  Explanation: Supports embedded servers, allowing applications to run independently.
2.   Example: Using Tomcat as an embedded server to run a Spring application.

2. Auto-Configuration:

• Explanation: Automatically configures beans and settings based on the classpath and properties.
• Example: Automatically configuring a data source if a database dependency is present.

3. Spring-Boot Starters:

• Explanation: Predefined sets of dependencies for specific functionalities.
• Example: `spring-boot-starter-web` for building web applications.

4. Spring-Boot Actuator:

• Explanation: Provides endpoints for monitoring and managing the application.
• Example: Exposing endpoints to check application health and metrics.

5. Externalized Configuration:

• Explanation: Allows configuration through properties files, YAML files, or environment variables.
• Example: Configuring database credentials in an `application.properties` file.

6. Spring-Boot CLI:

•  Explanation: Command-line tool to quickly build and run Spring Boot applications.
•  Example: Running a Groovy script with Spring-Boot CLI to test an application.

SpringBootApplication.java
```java
import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;

@SpringBootApplication
public class SpringBootApplication {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SpringApplication.run(SpringBootApplication.class, args);
    }
}
```

In this example:

• @SpringBootApplication: Combines @Configuration, @EnableAutoConfiguration, and @ComponentScan annotations.

application.properties
```properties
server.port=8081
```

In this example:

• Embedded Tomcat Server: Configured to run on port 8081 instead of the default 8080.

pom.xml
```xml
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
</dependency>
```

In this example:

• spring-boot-starter-web: Includes all necessary dependencies for building a web application.

application.properties
```properties
management.endpoints.web.exposure.include=health,info
```

HealthController.java
```java
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api")
public class HealthController {

    @GetMapping("/health")
    public String health() {
        return "Application is up and running";
    }
}
```

In this example:

• Actuator Endpoints: Configured to expose health and info endpoints for monitoring

application.properties
```properties
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/mydb
spring.datasource.username=root
spring.datasource.password=pass
```

In this example:

• External Configuration: Database credentials are configured in an external properties file.

Summary

• Spring-Boot: Simplifies application development with auto-configuration, embedded servers, and production-ready features.
• Benefits: Includes auto-configuration, standalone execution, production readiness, and easy integration.
• Features: Embedded servers, auto-configuration, starters, actuators, externalized configuration, and CLI.

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