What is Spring Boot?
Spring Boot is a framework built on top of the Spring framework that makes it fast to create production ready Java applications. It removes most of the manual configuration through auto configuration, ships with an embedded server so you can run a jar directly, and offers starter dependencies that bundle common libraries. In short, it lets you build Spring apps with far less setup.
- Spring Boot is a framework that makes building Spring applications faster with less configuration.
- It offers auto configuration, starter dependencies, and an embedded server.
- You can run a Spring Boot app as a standalone jar with no external server needed.
What it gives you
- Auto configuration: sensible defaults set up automatically based on what is on the classpath.
- Starters: dependency bundles like spring boot starter web that pull in everything you need.
- Embedded server: a built in Tomcat so you run the app as a simple jar.
- Production features: health checks and metrics through Actuator.
Plain Spring is powerful but needs a lot of XML or Java configuration. Spring Boot keeps that power while removing most of the boilerplate.
The clean one liner is Spring Boot is Spring with auto configuration, starters, and an embedded server, so you write less setup. Mentioning that it favours convention over configuration signals you understand its philosophy.
Frequently asked questions
What is an embedded server in Spring Boot?
It is a web server like Tomcat bundled inside the application, so you can run the app directly as a jar without deploying to a separate server.
What are starter dependencies?
Starters are curated dependency bundles, such as spring boot starter web, that pull in everything needed for a feature so you avoid manual version juggling.
Common follow up questions
Related interview questions
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