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2.1 Why Spring Boot?

Learn the background and overwhelming advantages that led developers to shift to 'Spring Boot' despite the powerful features of the original Spring Framework.

Version Baseline

  • Spring Boot: 3.2.x or higher (Based on Spring Framework 6.1)
  • Java: 17 or higher recommended
  • Official Documentation: Spring Boot Documentation

1. Limitations of the Original Spring Framework​

The Spring Framework provides numerous capabilities (DI, AOP, MVC, transactions, etc.) for enterprise-level development. However, to use these vast features, the initial configuration was incredibly complex.

  1. Complex XML/Java Configuration: Dozens of lines of configuration files were required to decide which libraries to use and how to connect the Beans.
  2. The Pain of Dependency Management: Developers had to manually match the version compatibility of interrelated libraries (e.g., web, database connection, logging).
  3. Cumbersome Web Server Setup: After writing code, it was necessary to install an external web server (WAS) like Tomcat separately and deploy the application (WAR) to execute it.

This led to the saying, "I'm exhausted from configuring."

2. The Emergence of Spring Boot​

"Let's make Spring easier and faster, minimize the configuration steps, and make the application "Just Run"!"

This is the philosophy of Spring Boot. Spring Boot is an extension tool built around the Spring Framework (Wrapping). It is not a completely different framework; it is a powerful supporter designed to make Spring very comfortable to use.

3. Top 3 Core Advantages of Spring Boot​

1) Auto-Configuration​

Spring Boot recognizes the libraries (JARs) added to the project and automatically sets up the most commonly used default configurations.

  • Example: If a database library exists, it automatically creates a DB connection (DataSource) Bean.

2) Dependency Management via Starters​

There is no longer a need to worry about dozens of library versions. By just adding spring-boot-starter-web, everything needed for web service development (Tomcat, JSON converter, Spring MVC, etc.) is installed as a set with perfectly verified compatible versions.

3) Embedded Web Server​

The separate Tomcat installation or deployment process has disappeared. Tomcat is already embedded inside Spring Boot. Therefore, the web server starts up in just 3 seconds by simply executing the Java main() method.

note

In the modern field, setting up a new project with only the pure Spring Framework is extremely rare. Spring Boot is the standard for Java backend development.

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