There are several ways to initialize your Spring Boot application. You may be able to create the file structure manually or by using your IDE’s Initializr. Spring’s Initializr web-based tool is the best option.
Initializr is a tool that allows you to create the basic file structure of any Spring application. The Initializr tool offers several customization options.
Initializr is a tool that allows you to create any Spring Boot application.
Selecting the Project Type and Programming language
Initializr is in the following state:
You’ll first need to select a project type. Spring initializr offers three options: Gradle – Groovy, Gradle – Kotlin, and Maven.
- Gradle-Groovy : This option allows you build projects following Gradle conventions by using Groovy as a programming language.
- Gradle-Kotlin : This option allows you build projects following Gradle conventions by using the Kotlin language.
- Maven: This option allows you build projects following Maven conventions. Maven is primarily used to build projects in Java.
You’ll then need to choose the programming languages that corresponds with your project type (Groovy or Kotlin).
Spring Boots: Different Options
Spring Boot is available in six different versions, and you can choose the version that suits your needs. The latest Spring Boot is 3.0.6 as of April 2023.
Spring Boot version is based on the Java option metadata, since you need Java 17 or higher to use version 3.x. If the Java version on your device falls below 17, you can choose Spring Boot version 2.x.
Populating Metadata for Projects
The metadata of your project is important because it will help you generate either the Maven build.gradle or Gradle pom.xml files (depending on which project type you choose). These files contain information that will describe your application and affect its functionality.
- This field specifies the name of the group.
- This field specifies the application name.
- Name: When you enter the name of the application into the field for the artifact, it populates the field automatically with the same text.
- Description: This field explains what the application does.
- This field contains the application and package name. This field is automatically filled with the group and artifact fields.
Selecting Dependencies
Spring Initializr provides a section for dependencies that allows you to select from a variety of options. Initializr’s dependency section will provide you with many options when you click on the button to add a dependency.
To add a dependency, you can scroll through the list of dependencies or type in the name into the search box. A dependency is an additional library for your application. Some of the most common dependencies are:
- Spring Web: This library allows you build web applications using Spring ( model-view-controller architecture). It is a dependency for Spring Boot.
- Spring Session : This library allows you manage user session information.
- Spring Security is a library that allows you to secure applications by controlling access.
- Spring Integration allows you to integrate Spring Boot applications with external systems. This library also allows lightweight messaging to be sent from your applications.
- Spring Data is available in different forms depending on which database you intend to use. Spring Data JPA and Spring Data JDBC are available for SQL databases. Spring Data MongoDB and Azure Cosmos DB are suitable for NoSQL databases.
- Spring Boot DevTools : This library allows for live reloading of your application and also provides fast restarting when necessary.
Create a new Spring Boot application with ease
Clicking the generate button is the next step to create a boilerplate application for Spring Boot. This will download a war or jar file on your device, depending on what you chose previously.
Now you can import the jar file or war into your preferred IDE to start developing your Spring application.
