Description #
Spring Boot is a powerful, convention-over-configuration Java framework designed to simplify the development of production-ready Spring-based applications. It eliminates much of the boilerplate code required to set up a Spring application and offers built-in tools for web development, data access, and security.
History #
Spring Boot was introduced by Pivotal Software in 2014 as part of the broader Spring ecosystem. It was created to simplify Spring’s complex setup and enable fast microservice development. Today, it is widely used in enterprise Java environments for building robust backend systems and RESTful APIs.
Hello World Code #
import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.*;
@SpringBootApplication
@RestController
public class HelloWorldApplication {
public static void main(String[] args) {
SpringApplication.run(HelloWorldApplication.class, args);
}
@GetMapping("/")
public String hello() {
return "Hello, World!";
}
}How to Run #
Option 1: Online
- Spring Initializr – Generate a starter project
- Gitpod – Open in cloud IDE
Option 2: Local
- Use Spring Initializr to generate a project:
https://start.spring.io- Add “Spring Web” dependency
- Import into your IDE (e.g., IntelliJ, Eclipse)
- Run the application class (
HelloWorldApplication.java) - Visit:
http://localhost:8080
Key Concepts #
- Convention over configuration
- Embedded Tomcat web server
- REST API development
- Auto-configuration
- Dependency injection with Spring
- Microservice ready
- Annotation-based syntax
- Externalized configuration (YAML/Properties)
- Spring Boot Actuator for monitoring
- Seamless integration with Spring Cloud, JPA, and Security
Try It Online #
Fun Facts #
- Spring Boot powers many enterprise Java applications around the world.
- It significantly reduces setup time and boilerplate.
- It has built-in tools for health checks, metrics, and service monitoring.
