As a Java developer starting my journey with Spring Boot, I want to share my experience setting up my first project. This guide will walk you through the essential steps, from project creation to implementing your first entity.
Why I Chose Spring Boot?
Spring Boot simplifies the development of stand-alone, production-grade Spring applications. It takes an opinionated view of the Spring platform, which means less boilerplate code and faster development.
Prerequisites:
1.)JDK 23
2.)IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate Edition - I used student membership
3.)Basic understanding of Java like basic syntax, if -else loops,oops concepts..etc
4.)MySQL installed on your system
Creating Your First Project
Step 1: Using Spring Initializer
Navigate to start.spring.io
Configure your project:
Project: Maven
Language: Java
Spring Boot Version: 3.4.2 (Latest Stable Version) as of now .
Group: com.example
Artifact: demo
Packaging: Jar
Java Version: 23
Step 2: Adding Essential Dependencies
I added these dependencies for a basic web application with database support:
Spring Web: For building RESTful applications
Spring Data JPA: For database operations
MySQL Driver: To connect with MySQL database
Spring Security: For authentication and authorization (optional)
Pro tip: Hover over each dependency in Spring Initializer to understand its purpose!
Understanding Project Structure
The pom.xml File
The pom.xml is your project's configuration file. Here's what mine looked like:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0">
<groupId>com.example</groupId>
<artifactId>demo</artifactId>
<version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
<name>demo</name>
<description>Demo project for Spring Boot</description>
<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>mysql</groupId>
<artifactId>mysql-connector-java</artifactId>
</dependency>
</dependencies>
</project>
Configuring application.properties
This file contains your application's configuration. Here's my basic setup for MySQL:
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/your_database_name
spring.datasource.username=your_username
spring.datasource.password=your_password
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=update
spring.jpa.show-sql=true
Creating Your First Entity
I created a simple User entity:
@Entity
@Table(name = "users")
public class User {
@Id
@GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.IDENTITY)
private Long id;
private String name;
@Column(unique = true)
private String email;
private String password;
// Getters and Setters
}
Key Points About the Entity:
1.@Entity: Marks this class as a JPA entity.
2.@Table: Specifies the table name in database.
3.@id: Marks the primary key
4.@GeneratedValue: Configures auto-increment
5.@column(unique = true): Ensures email uniqueness
Running the Application:
1.Open the project in IntelliJ IDEA
2.Wait for Maven to download dependencies
3.Run the main application class (has 4.@SpringBootApplication annotation)
5.Check the console for "Started Application" message
Common Issues I Faced:
1.Database connection errors: Double-check your MySQL service is running
2.Port conflicts: Default port is 8080, change it in application.properties if needed
3.Maven dependencies not downloading: Check your internet connection and Maven settings. reload the project . IntelliJ basically will help you in such things .
Next Steps:
Create a Repository interface for database operations
Build REST controllers
Add service layer business logic
Implement basic CRUD operations
Conclusion
Setting up a Spring Boot project might seem overwhelming at first, but once you understand the basic structure, it becomes much clearer. In my next post, I'll cover how to implement CRUD operations with our User entity.
Happy coding!
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