Chapter 3: Spring Boot Key Features | Spring Boot Course

Ramesh Fadatare

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Jan 11, 2025

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Introduction

Spring Boot is designed to simplify the development of Spring-based applications by reducing boilerplate code and configuration. In this chapter, we’ll walk through the top 10 key features of Spring Boot that make it a favorite among Java developers for building web apps, REST APIs, and microservices.

1. ⚙️ Auto-Configuration

Spring Boot automatically configures your application based on the dependencies present in the classpath.

• Smart Defaults: Pre-configured settings reduce manual setup.
• No XML Required: Avoids writing repetitive bean definitions.
• Customizable: You can override defaults using application.properties or application.yml.

2. 📦 Starter Dependencies

Spring Boot offers a set of pre-defined dependency packages that you can plug into your project.

Consistency: Ensures version compatibility between libraries.

Convenience: Avoids searching for individual library versions.

Examples:

• spring-boot-starter-web – Web & REST APIs
• spring-boot-starter-data-jpa – JPA & Hibernate
• spring-boot-starter-security – Authentication & authorization

3. 🚀 Embedded Servers

Spring Boot includes embedded servers like Tomcat, Jetty, and Undertow.

• No WARs Required: Package as a JAR and run it directly.
• Self-contained: Apps run without installing an external server.
• Ease of Deployment: Great for cloud and container-based environments.

4. 📊 Production-Ready with Spring Boot Actuator

The Actuator module provides endpoints to monitor and manage your app in production.

• Health checks: /actuator/health
• Metrics: /actuator/metrics, memory usage…