Spring Boot
Spring Boot is a module of the Spring Framework, a popular enterprise-level Java framework that provides comprehensive infrastructure support for developing Java applications. Spring Boot simplifies the process of setting up and developing Spring applications. It is designed to get you up and running as quickly as possible, with minimal upfront configuration of Spring. It achieves this through several key features:
- Autoconfiguration: Spring Boot can automatically provide configuration based on the jar dependencies you have added. For example, if you add Spring Web as a dependency, Spring Boot assumes that you're developing a web application and sets up default configuration accordingly.
- Standalone Applications: Spring Boot applications can be started and run from the command line and do not need to be deployed to a web server or application server. This is facilitated through an embedded servlet container (like Tomcat or Jetty).
- Opinionated Defaults: Spring Boot has a narrow view of the Spring platform and third-party libraries, making confident default choices to reduce configuration and aid quicker development. These defaults are designed around everyday use cases and can be overridden.
- Production-Ready Features: It comes with non-functional, out-of-the-box features like health checks, metrics, auditing, etc., making it easier to move into production.
- Spring Initializr. This web-based interface allows developers to generate and download a basic project template that can serve as a starting point for a Spring Boot project.
These features and many others make Spring Boot a popular choice for developing enterprise-level Java applications.