DEV Community

Jotty John
Jotty John

Posted on • Edited on

Write your first Spring Boot application

Creating a Spring Boot application involves several steps. Below is a guide to help you get started with a simple Spring Boot application:

Prerequisites
Java Development Kit (JDK): Ensure you have JDK 8 or later installed.
IDE: An Integrated Development Environment like IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse, or VSCode.
Maven/Gradle: Build tools for managing project dependencies.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Set Up Your Project
You can set up your project using Spring Initializr or manually.

Using Spring Initializr:

  • Go to Spring Initializr.

  • Select the following options:

    1. Project: Maven Project
    2. Language: Java
    3. Spring Boot: Latest stable version
    4. Project Metadata: Fill in Group, Artifact, and other details.
    5. Dependencies: Add dependencies like Spring Web, Spring Data
    JPA, H2 Database, etc.

  • Click on Generate to download the project as a zip file.

  • Unzip the file and open it in your IDE.

Manually:

  • Create a directory for your project.
  • Create a pom.xml file (for Maven) or build.gradle file (for Gradle).
  • Add the necessary Spring Boot dependencies.

Example pom.xml for Maven:

<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
    <groupId>com.demo</groupId>
    <artifactId>demo</artifactId>
    <version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
    <packaging>jar</packaging>

    <parent>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
        <version>3.0.0</version>
        <relativePath/> <!-- lookup parent from repository -->
    </parent>

    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-data-jpa</artifactId>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>com.h2database</groupId>
            <artifactId>h2</artifactId>
            <scope>runtime</scope>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>

    <build>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
                <artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>

</project>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

2. Create the Main Application Class
Create a main class annotated with @SpringBootApplication. This class will serve as the entry point for your application.

package com.demo.app;

import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;

@SpringBootApplication
public class SpringBootApp{
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SpringApplication.run(SpringBootApp.class, args);
    }
}
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

3. Create a REST Controller
Create a simple REST controller to handle HTTP requests.

package com.demo.controller;

import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;

@RestController
public class HelloController {

    @GetMapping("/hello")
    public String sayHello() {
        return "Hello, World!";
    }
}
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

4. Configure Your Application
Configure your application properties. Open src/main/resources/application.properties and add any necessary configurations.

For example, to configure the H2 database:

spring.datasource.url=jdbc:h2:mem:testdb
spring.datasource.driverClassName=org.h2.Driver
spring.datasource.username=sa
spring.datasource.password=password
spring.h2.console.enabled=true
spring.jpa.database-platform=org.hibernate.dialect.H2Dialect
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

5. Run Your Application
You can run your application in several ways:

  • Using your IDE's run configuration.
  • Running the main method in DemoApplication.
  • Using Maven from the command line: mvn spring-boot:run.

6. Access Your Application
Once the application is running, you can access the REST endpoint in your browser or via curl/Postman:

http://localhost:8080/hello

Additional Features
Database Interaction: You can create entities and repositories to interact with a database.
Service Layer: Add services to handle business logic.
Exception Handling: Implement global exception handling using @ControllerAdvice.

Example of Adding a JPA Entity

package com.demo.model;

import javax.persistence.Entity;
import javax.persistence.GeneratedValue;
import javax.persistence.GenerationType;
import javax.persistence.Id;

@Entity
public class User {

    @Id
    @GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.AUTO)
    private Long id;
    private String name;

    // getters and setters
}
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example of a Repository

package com.demo.repo;

import org.springframework.data.repository.CrudRepository;

public interface UserRepository extends CrudRepository<User, Long> {
}
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example of a Service

package com.demo.service;

import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;

import java.util.Optional;

@Service
public class UserService {

    @Autowired
    private UserRepository userRepository;

    public Iterable<User> getAllUsers() {
        return userRepository.findAll();
    }

    public Optional<User> getUserById(Long id) {
        return userRepository.findById(id);
    }

    public User saveUser(User user) {
        return userRepository.save(user);
    }

    public void deleteUser(Long id) {
        userRepository.deleteById(id);
    }
}
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example of a Controller Using the Service

package com.demo.controller;

import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.*;

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/users")
public class UserController {

    @Autowired
    private UserService userService;

    @GetMapping
    public Iterable<User> getAllUsers() {
        return userService.getAllUsers();
    }

    @GetMapping("/{id}")
    public User getUserById(@PathVariable Long id) {
        return userService.getUserById(id).orElseThrow(() -> new UserNotFoundException(id));
    }

    @PostMapping
    public User createUser(@RequestBody User user) {
        return userService.saveUser(user);
    }

    @DeleteMapping("/{id}")
    public void deleteUser(@PathVariable Long id) {
        userService.deleteUser(id);
    }
}
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

By following these steps, you can create a basic Spring Boot application. You can then extend it with more features as needed.

Top comments (3)

Collapse
 
tantess2023 profile image
Joseph

This post is very good for beginners! It provides a clear, step-by-step guide to setting up a Spring Boot application from scratch. The detailed explanations and examples make it easy to follow along and understand the basics. Great job!

Collapse
 
jottyjohn profile image
Jotty John

Thanks!!

Collapse
 
jjkaduppil profile image
HighThinker

Good!