Getting Started with Spring Boot

Spring Boot has revolutionized Java application development by providing a powerful and flexible framework for building enterprise-grade applications. It offers auto-configuration, standalone applications, and a rich ecosystem of starter dependencies.

Key Features

1. Auto-configuration: Spring Boot automatically configures your application based on dependencies you've added.

2. Standalone: Create standalone Spring applications that can be run directly with embedded servers.

3. Opinionated: Spring Boot provides opinionated 'starter' dependencies to simplify build configuration.

4. Production-ready: Built-in features like health checks, metrics, and externalized configuration.

Getting Started

To create a new Spring Boot project, you can use Spring Initializer:

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

Creating RESTful APIs

Spring Boot makes it simple to create RESTful APIs:

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api")
public class UserController {
    @GetMapping("/users")
    public List<User> getUsers() {
        return userService.findAll();
    }
}

Key Components

1. Spring MVC: For building web applications and RESTful services
2. Spring Data: Simplified data access and persistence
3. Spring Security: Comprehensive security framework
4. Spring Actuator: Production-ready features for monitoring and management

Best Practices

1. Use appropriate project structure
2. Implement proper error handling
3. Follow RESTful conventions
4. Write comprehensive tests
5. Use dependency injection

Spring Boot's powerful features and extensive documentation make it an excellent choice for building modern Java applications.