Spring Vs SpringBoot

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In this blog, we are going to learn about the difference between the Spring and SpringBoot.

A few years Back, the Spring framework has become quite complex due to added functionalities.

As a result, it takes enormous time and lengthy processes to start a new Spring project.

However, to save the extra time and effort, Spring Boot was introduced. Using the Spring framework as a foundation, Spring Boot is becoming the most preferred framework lately. 

Now the question arises What exactly are the spring and spring-boot are?

What do you mean by Spring?

Before understanding Spring let’s understand what is a Framework?

The framework is a re-usable design platform for software systems, which provides support for code libraries and various scripting languages.

In simple words, a framework is something that makes core programming easy.

There are frameworks for PHP, Perl, Java, Python, Ruby, and many other languages.

The Spring Framework is one of the most popular application development frameworks for Java.

One of the best features of Spring is that it has the Dependency Injection (DI) or Inversion Of Control (IOC), which allows us to develop loosely coupled applications.

Uses of Spring Framework

Spring framework is a java EE framework that is used to build applications.

Spring framework is an open-source Java platform. Initially written by Rod Johnson and was first released under the Apache 2.0 license in June 2003.

Its goal is to make Java EE (Enterprise Edition) development easier, allowing developers to be more productive.

In the Spring framework to test the Spring Project, we need to set up the servers explicitly.

Features

The Spring Framework has many other features:

  • Lightweight: The Spring Framework is very lightweight with respect to its size and functionality. It is due to its POJO implementation which doesn’t force to inherit any class or implement any interfaces.
  • Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP): Used for separating cross-cutting concerns from the business logic of the application.
  • Transaction Management: Used to unify several transaction management APIs and used to coordinate transactions for Java objects. 
  • Container: The Spring Framework designs and manages the lifecycle and configurations of application objects.
  • Dependency Injection: A feature of Spring Framework allows you to develop loosely coupled applications. 
  • Integration with other frameworks: A great thing about this framework is that it doesn’t try to solve the problems already solved. It just tries to integrate them with its framework which provides a solution to greater problems.

What is Spring-Boot?

Spring Boot is basically an extension of the Spring framework, which eliminates the boilerplate configurations required for setting up a Spring application.

The microservice defines an approach to the architecture that divides an application into a pool of loosely coupled services that implement business requirements.

Spring Boot helps to build a stand-alone application with almost zero configuration.

Developers simply need to use accurate configuration to use certain functionality.

Spring Boot means something that lets you bootstrap a spring application from the scratch.

Spring Boot focuses on shortening the code length, providing you with the easiest method to build a Web application

Uses and benefits of Spring-Boot

Used to develop REST API. Spring Boot provides the RAD(Rapid Application Development) feature to the Spring framework for faster application development.

Spring Boot offers built-in or embedded servers such as Tomcat and jetty.

No need for XML configuration in Spring Boot.

Spring Boot provides a CLI tool for developing and testing Spring Boot applications.

SpringBoot provides build tool plugins for Maven and Gradle.

Compared to Spring, Spring Boot is easier to launch.

SpringBoot does not ask you to deploy WAR files.

Features

  • It provides an Auto-configuration feature to set up the application environment
  • It is a standalone framework means you don’t need an additional web server or environment to deploy your application.
  • Spring Boot project is opinionated which means it chooses the required things for itself.
  • It provides rapid web development.
  • It provides embedded servers to run the applications.
  • The Spring Boot Starter module is very useful for starting and running applications quickly.
  • Provides an externalized configuration (YAML file) to work with the same application in different environments.
  • Provides a strong type-safe configuration to control and validate the configuration of the application.
  • It uses common logging for all internal logging.
  • It provides security for the applications

Key Difference: SpringBoot Over Spring

Eliminates manual work that includes annotations, complicated XML configurations, and boilerplate code.

Features embedded HTTP serves such as Tomcat and Jetty to test applications.

Simplifies the dependency.

SpringBoot does not require a deployment descriptor like the Spring framework.

Integration of SpringBoot with the spring ecosystem is easy.

No need to write the dependencies manually also it saves the time for developers.

Conclusion

 Spring Boot is a project Initializer that is based on Spring.

When eliminating the excess configuration, the Spring framework used with Spring Boot is an excellent option and highly advantageous for developers. I

t is as simple as that. Spring Framework requires manual changes in every configuration, whereas Spring Boot readily offers limited or zero stand-alone applications.

Reference Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch163VfHtvA, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq4S-ovWVlM,https://spring.io/projects/spring-boot

Written by 

Pratibha Yadav is a Software consultant at Knoldus and started her beautiful journey of a career in an environment where she able to sharp - up her skills day by day by learning and earning new opportunities. She completed her Post-graduation from Sharda University, Greater Noida. She is passionate about her work and has knowledge of various programming languages. She is recognized as a quick learner, problem solver, public speaker, dedicated and responsible professional employee. Her hobbies are Writing, Reading, and spending some time with nature.