Spring Framework-tutorial
Before the Spring Framework came into existence, developing enterprise applications in Java was a complex and painful process.
Back in the early 2000s, developers used J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) a powerful but heavy framework.
However, it came with several problems:
- Too much XML configuration
- Repetitive and boilerplate code
- Complex servlet handling and transaction management
- Difficult setup for even simple web applications
For example, creating a basic web app required multiple layers of configuration, deployment descriptors, and manual dependency management which often led to slow development and frequent errors.
Developers started looking for something lightweight, flexible, and easy to work with and that is when Spring was born.
What Is the Spring Framework?
The Spring Framework, created by Rod Johnson in 2002, was designed with a simple goal to simplify enterprise Java development.
Spring introduced two game-changing ideas:
- Inversion of Control (IoC) - the framework controls object creation and lifecycle, not the developer.
- Dependency Injection (DI) - objects get their dependencies automatically instead of creating them manually.
These concepts made Java code cleaner, testable, and modular.
Over time, Spring evolved into a complete ecosystem with multiple modules:
- Spring Core – the foundation of IoC and DI
- Spring MVC – for web applications
- Spring Security – for authentication and authorization
- Spring Data – for database integration
- Spring Boot – to simplify configuration and setup
- Spring Cloud – for building scalable, cloud-native microservices
Together, they form one of the most powerful and complete Java ecosystems ever built.
Example: Before and After Spring
Without Spring (Old J2EE)
Developers had to manually create objects and manage dependencies:
UserService userService = new UserService();userService.setRepository(new UserRepository());
With Spring (Using Dependency Injection)
Spring automatically handles dependencies via configuration or annotations:
This simple change removed the need for XML-heavy setups and made the code cleaner, modular, and easier to maintain.
Spring Vs Other Frameworks
Despite new frameworks emerging, Spring remains dominant due to its balance of productivity, flexibility, and maturity, backed by an active community and regular updates.
Two Minute Drill
@Autowiredprivate UserService userService;This simple change removed the need for XML-heavy setups and made the code cleaner, modular, and easier to maintain.
Spring Vs Other Frameworks
| Framework | Key Features | Limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Jakarta EE | Official Java standard, stable | Heavy configuration, slower updates |
| Spring | Developer-friendly, huge ecosystem | Slighlty more memory usage |
| Micronaut | Lightweight, built for microservices | Smaller community |
| Quarkus | Cloud & GraaIVM optimized | Still growing ecosystem |
Despite new frameworks emerging, Spring remains dominant due to its balance of productivity, flexibility, and maturity, backed by an active community and regular updates.
Two Minute Drill
- Before Spring: Complex XML, heavy configurations and manual dependecy handling.
- After Spring: Clean, modular and easy to test Java applications.
- Key Advantage: IoC + DI simplified enterprise development.
- Spring Ecosystem: Core, MVC, Security, Data, Boot, Cloud.
- Why Still Popular: Flexibility, maturity and a massive developer community.