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LAST UPDATED: AUGUST 6, 2022

Difference Between Spring and Spring Boot

Introduction

Spring is the most widely used Java application development framework. Spring, on the other hand, has gotten more sophisticated in recent years as new features have been introduced. Starting a new project normally entails a long procedure that consumes a significant amount of time.

Spring Boot was created to prevent having to start from scratch and save time. Spring Boot's base layer is Spring, and it enables developers to create independent applications with little or minimum setup. It is geared on the development of web applications and microservices.

What Exactly is Spring?

Spring is a Java programming framework that is open-source and lightweight. It gives you a complete programming and configuration paradigm for creating corporate Java applications. Its goal is to make corporate Java development easier for developers and to enable them create more effective and efficient apps.

Spring focuses on a variety of application development domains and offers a diverse set of capabilities.


Dependency injection is one of Spring's most important features, since it enables the development of loosely linked applications. It also comes with the following modules pre-installed:

Spring MVC is a framework for creating web applications.

  • Spring MVC
  • Spring JDBC
  • Spring Web Flow
  • Spring Security
  • Spring ORM
  • Spring AOP
  • Spring Test

These modules improve the functionality of web apps while cutting development time in half.

What Exactly is a Spring Boot?

Spring Boot is a Spring plugin that removes the boilerplate settings that are necessary to start up a Spring application. Spring Boot allows a quicker and more efficient development environment by providing default codes and annotation-based setup.

Because Spring Boot is built on top of Spring, it has all of Spring's features and advantages. Spring Boot promises to minimise code length and make it easier for developers to create applications.

Main Features of Spring Boots
The following are some of the characteristics of Spring Boot:

  • WAR files for Tomcat, Jetty, and Undertow embedded servers
  • Starter dependency with strong opinions
  • Spring functionality auto-configuration
  • Check-ups, metrics, and other reports

As a result, Spring Boot is a Spring-based project initializer. It saves developers time by using capabilities such as auto-configuration. While opinionated configuration reduces development time and avoids superfluous setup, it does so at the expense of some of Spring's flexibility.

Comparison Table Between Spring and Spring Boot

Spring Spring Boot
  • It's widely utilised in the development of corporate Java applications.
  • It's often used to create REST APIs.
  • Its goal is to make corporate Java development easier.
  • The goal is to reduce code length and make it easier to create web apps.
  • Allows for the creation of loosely linked applications.
  • Allows you to create stand-alone apps.
  • The dependency injection feature is the main feature.
  • Auto-configuration is the main feature.
  • It necessitates the creation of a large amount of boilerplate code.
  • Boilerplate code is reduced.
  • Dependencies must be explicitly specified.
  • Dependencies are taken care of by starters.
  • It entails manually setting up the server.
  • Tomcat and Jetty are examples of embedded servers.

Conclusion

Spring is a fantastic framework for creating corporate Java applications. It is, however, very advantageous when used in conjunction with Spring Boot.

While Spring provides developers with flexibility and variety, Spring Boot focuses on decreasing code length and setup, allowing developers to create applications quickly and easily. Spring Boot's additional benefits are very valuable since they significantly save development time and effort.



About the author:
Adarsh Kumar Singh is a technology writer with a passion for coding and programming. With years of experience in the technical field, he has established a reputation as a knowledgeable and insightful writer on a range of technical topics.