What is the difference between Spring Framework vs. Spring Boot?

When it comes to building Java-based applications, the Spring Framework and Spring Boot are two popular options. Both frameworks are developed and maintained by the Spring community and provide a powerful set of tools and features for building enterprise applications. However, they are designed for different purposes and have some key differences. This post will take a closer look at the Spring Framework and Spring Boot, highlighting their main differences.

What Is The Spring Framework?

The Spring Framework is an open-source application framework and inversion of a control container for the Java platform. It provides a comprehensive programming and configuration model for modern Java-based enterprise applications – on any deployment platform. Spring provides a consistent approach to building and deploying applications and services, and its modules can be used in various combinations to solve different types of problems. Some of the key features of Spring include dependency injection, aspect-oriented programming, data access, and support for web applications.

A most significant aspect of the Spring System is Dependency Injection (DI) or Inversion of Control (IoC), and it is the cornerstone of all Spring Modules. These design patterns help us develop loosely coupled applications that can easily be tested and maintained. 

Strictly speaking, this configuration environment level allows components to be loosely coupled and transfers the responsibility for managing components to the container.

Let’s see why these dependency injections are so important.

Example Without  Dependency Injection

Here’s an example of a simple Java class that does not use dependency injection:

class EmailService { private SmtpServer smtpServer;
public EmailService() { this.smtpServer = new SmtpServer("smtp.example.com", 25); }
public void sendEmail(String to, String subject, String body) { // Code to send email using the smtpServer instance variable } }

In this example, the EmailService class has a dependency on a SmtpServer object. However, instead of the dependency being injected, it is created within the class’s constructor. This tightly couples the EmailService to a specific implementation of SmtpServer, making it difficult to change or test.

With Dependency Injection, the dependencies are passed as arguments to the class; this way, the class does not need to create or instantiate the dependencies. This makes the class more flexible and easier to test.

Using The Dependency Injection

Here’s an example of the same EmailService class, but this time using dependency injection:

class EmailService {
private SmtpServer smtpServer;
public EmailService(SmtpServer smtpServer) {
this.smtpServer = smtpServer;
}
public void sendEmail(String to, String subject, String body) {
// Code to send email using the smtpServer instance variable
}
}

In this example, the SmtpServer dependency is passed as an argument to the EmailService class’s constructor. This allows for the SmtpServer to be easily swapped out with a different implementation or for a mock version to be used during testing.

You may use a framework like Spring to manage the instantiation and injection of the SmtpServer dependency. The framework would take care of creating the object and passing it to the constructor of the EmailService class.

@Service
class EmailService {
private SmtpServer smtpServer;
@Autowired
public EmailService(SmtpServer smtpServer) {
this.smtpServer = smtpServer;
}
public void sendEmail(String to, String subject, String body) {
// Code to send email using the smtpServer instance variable
}
}

Here, the @Autowired annotation tells Spring to automatically inject the SmtpServer dependency when it creates an instance of the EmailService class.

This is a simple example; in a real-world scenario, you would use a more advanced way of managing dependencies such as XML or annotation-based configuration, and more advanced features like scope management, life-cycle management, and more, depending on the needs of your application.

Other Features Of Spring Framework

The Spring Framework provides many features for building enterprise Java applications. Here are a few additional features:

• Data Access: Spring provides a consistent approach to data access, making it easy to work with different data access technologies such as JDBC, Hibernate, and JPA.
• Transactions: Spring provides a declarative transaction management that can be easily configured and used across different types of data access technologies.
• Web Applications: Spring provides a powerful and flexible web framework, Spring MVC, that can be used to build web applications and RESTful web services.
• Security: Spring Security is a powerful and flexible security framework that can secure web applications and RESTful web services.
• Messaging: Spring provides messaging and event-driven architecture support through the Spring Integration and Spring Cloud Stream modules.
• Caching: Spring provides caching support through the Spring Cache module, which can be used to cache data in various ways, including in-memory, on disk, or in a distributed cache.
• Scheduling: Spring provides scheduling support through the Spring Task module, which can be used to schedule tasks to run at specific times or intervals.
• Testing: Spring provides a comprehensive testing framework that makes testing Spring-based applications and services easy.
• These are just a few examples of the features provided by the Spring Framework, and it also has many other features that can be used to build robust and scalable Java applications.

How Did Spring Boot Come To Exist?

Spring Boot is a project within the Spring Framework that was created to make it easier to build and run Spring-based applications. The idea behind Spring Boot is to provide a set of tools and conventions that allow developers to quickly and easily create and run Spring-based applications with minimal configuration.

Spring Boot was first released in April 2014, an evolution of the Spring Framework.
It was developed to address developers’ common challenges and problems when building and deploying Spring-based applications. Developers were facing a lot of boilerplate code and configuration when using Spring, and it wasn’t easy to set up a new Spring-based project quickly.

Spring Boot was created to address these issues and to provide a more opinionated and streamlined way of building and deploying Spring-based applications. It provides pre-configured options and conventions that allow developers to quickly set up and run a Spring-based application with minimal effort.

Spring Boot also introduced a new way of packaging and deploying Spring-based applications, using executable JARs and WARs, allowing easy deployment to different environments, including cloud platforms.

In summary, Spring Boot is a way to streamline and simplify the development process of Spring-based applications by providing a set of conventions and pre-configured options that make it easy to set up and run Spring-based applications with minimal effort.

How Does Spring Boot Solve The Main Issues Of The Spring Framework?

Spring Boot solves the main issues of the Spring Framework by providing a set of conventions and pre-configured options that make it easier to build and run Spring-based applications.

• Minimal Configuration: Spring Boot provides a set of conventions and default configurations that allow developers to quickly set up and run a Spring-based application with minimal effort. This eliminates the need for a lot of boilerplate code and configuration required when using the Spring Framework alone.
• Auto-configuration: Spring Boot provides auto-configuration that automatically configures the application based on the dependencies it finds in the classpath. This eliminates the need for manual configuration and allows for faster development.
• Opinionated: Spring Boot is opinionated, providing a set of conventions and default configurations designed to work well together. This eliminates the need for developers to make many decisions about configuring their applications and allows them to focus on writing business logic.
• Production-ready features: Spring Boot provides a set of production-ready features, such as embedded servers, metrics, and health checks, that are commonly needed for production-ready applications.
• Easy deployment: Spring Boot allows for easy deployment of Spring-based applications using executable JARs and WARs, eliminating the need for a separate application server. This allows for easy deployment to different environments, including cloud platforms.
• Testability: Spring Boot provides support for testing through Spring Test and Spring Boot Test, which makes it easy to test Spring-based applications and services.
• CLI: Spring Boot also provides a command-line interface (CLI) that allows developers to scaffold and run Spring-based applications with minimal effort quickly.

Overall, Spring Boot makes it easier and faster to develop, test and deploy Spring-based applications by providing a set of conventions and pre-configured options. It eliminates the need for a lot of boilerplate code and configuration and provides a set of production-ready features commonly needed for production-ready applications.

Other Features Of Spring Boot

Spring Boot provides a wide range of features that make it easy to build and run Spring-based applications. Here are a few additional features:

• Embedded servers: Spring Boot provides support for embedded servers such as Tomcat, Jetty, and Undertow, which allows for easy deployment of Spring-based applications without the need for a separate application server.
• Actuator: Spring Boot includes an Actuator module that provides a set of production-ready features such as metrics, health checks, and application monitoring, which allows developers to monitor and manage their applications in production.
• CLI: Spring Boot provides a command-line interface (CLI) that allows developers to scaffold and run Spring-based applications with minimal effort quickly.
• Starter POMs: Spring Boot provides a set of starter POMs (Parent Object Models) that allow developers to add the dependencies they need for their applications easily.
• Externalized Configuration: Spring Boot allows developers to externalize their applications’ configuration, making it easier to manage and maintain the configuration.
• Profiles: Spring Boot provides profile support, allowing developers to define different configurations for different environments.
• Spring Data: Spring Boot provides integration with Spring Data, a set of libraries that make it easy to work with databases and data access technologies such as JDBC, JPA, and MongoDB.
• Spring Security: Spring Boot provides integration with Spring Security, a powerful and flexible security framework that can be used to secure web applications and RESTful web services.
• Spring MVC: Spring Boot provides integration with Spring MVC, a powerful and flexible web framework that can be used to build web applications and RESTful web services.
• Spring Cloud: Spring Boot provides integration with Spring Cloud, a set of libraries that make it easy to build distributed systems and microservices.
• These are just a few examples of the many features provided by Spring Boot, and it’s a great tool that makes it easy to build and run Spring-based applications with minimal effort.

Key Differences

Spring and Spring Boot are frameworks for building Java-based applications, but they have some key differences.

• Configuration: Spring requires a lot of configuration and boilerplate code to set up and run a Spring-based application. On the other hand, Spring Boot provides a set of conventions and default configurations that allow developers to quickly set up and run a Spring-based application with minimal effort.
• Auto-configuration: Spring Boot provides a feature called auto-configuration that automatically configures the application based on the dependencies it finds in the classpath. This eliminates the need for a lot of manual configuration and allows for faster development.
• Opinionated: Spring Boot is opinionated, meaning it provides a set of conventions and default configurations that are designed to work well together. This eliminates the need for developers to make a lot of decisions about how to configure their application and allows them to focus on writing business logic.
• Production-ready features: Spring Boot provides a set of production-ready features such as embedded servers, metrics, and health checks, that are commonly needed for production-ready applications.
• Easy deployment: Spring Boot allows for easy deployment of Spring-based applications using executable JARs and WARs, which eliminates the need for a separate application server. This allows for easy deployment to different environments, including cloud platforms.
• Testability: Spring Boot provides support for testing through Spring Test and Spring Boot Test, which makes it easy to test Spring-based applications and services.
• CLI: Spring Boot also provides a command-line interface (CLI) that allows developers to scaffold and run Spring-based applications with minimal effort quickly.
• In summary, Spring Boot is a way to streamline and simplify the development process of Spring-based applications by providing a set of conventions and pre-configured options that make it easy to set up and run Spring-based applications with minimal effort, it also provides production-ready features, easy deployment and testability and more.

Summary – What is the difference between Spring Framework vs. Spring Boot?

In conclusion, the Spring Framework and Spring Boot are powerful tools for building Java-based applications. The Spring Framework provides a comprehensive programming and configuration model for modern Java-based enterprise applications but requires a lot of configuration and boilerplate code. On the other hand, Spring Boot is a way to streamline and simplify the development process of Spring-based applications by providing a set of conventions and pre-configured options that make it easy to set up and run Spring-based applications with minimal effort. Spring Boot also provides production-ready features, easy deployment, testability, and more. Both frameworks have advantages and disadvantages, and the choice between them will depend on the specific needs of your project. Spring Boot could be a great choice if you are looking for a more opinionated, streamlined, and easy way to develop, test and deploy Spring-based applications. Otherwise, Spring Framework can be a good option.

How to find performance issues and bugs in the Spring Framework and Spring Boot

Monitoring the Spring Framework and Spring Boot with an Application Performance Management (APM) tool such as FusionReactor can provide several benefits, including:

• Performance monitoring: An APM tool can monitor the performance of your Spring-based application and provide insights into how it is performing. This can help you identify and troubleshoot performance issues like slow response times or high error rates.
• Resource usage monitoring: An APM tool can monitor the usage of resources such as CPU, memory, and network bandwidth, which can help you identify bottlenecks and optimize resource usage.
• Transaction tracing: An APM tool can trace the flow of transactions through your application and provide detailed information on how long each transaction component takes to execute. This can help you identify the root cause of performance issues and optimize the performance of your application.
• Error tracking: An APM tool can monitor for errors in your application and provide detailed information about the error, including the stack trace, which can help you quickly identify and fix bugs.
• Monitoring and debugging of Spring Boot specific features: An APM tool can provide monitoring and debugging capabilities for Spring Boot-specific features such as auto-configuration, actuator, and embedded servers, which is impossible with traditional monitoring tools.
• Compliance and security monitoring: APM tool can monitor the application for compliance and security standards, which can help you identify and remediate security vulnerabilities and meet regulatory requirements.
• Scalability and reliability monitoring: APM tool can monitor the scalability and reliability of your application, which can help you identify and resolve issues before they affect your users.

Overall, using an APM tool to monitor the Spring Framework and Spring Boot can provide valuable insights into the performance and behavior of your application and help you identify and resolve issues quickly. Also, it can help you ensure that your application is running at peak performance and help you identify and remediate security vulnerabilities and meet regulatory requirements.