Spring vs spring-boot

Spring and Spring Boot are two related frameworks in the Java ecosystem used for building enterprise-level applications, particularly web and microservices applications. Here's a brief comparison:

1. Spring:
   • Core Framework: Spring is a comprehensive framework that provides various modules for different aspects of Java application development, such as dependency injection, aspect-oriented programming, data access, and more.
   • Configuration: Spring relies on XML-based or Java-based configuration for setting up application components and their dependencies.
   • Flexibility: It offers a high degree of flexibility and customization, allowing developers to pick and choose the components they need for their application.
2. Spring Boot:

• Microservices and Opinionated Defaults: Spring Boot is built on top of the Spring framework and is designed to simplify the setup and development of Spring applications, especially microservices. It provides a set of opinionated defaults and auto-configuration to reduce the need for extensive configuration.
• Embedded Servers: Spring Boot includes embedded servers like Tomcat, Jetty, or Undertow, making it easier to create self-contained executable JAR files for deploying applications.
• Auto-Configuration: It automatically configures many common components, reducing the need for explicit configuration. Developers can override these configurations as needed.
• Production-Ready Features: Spring Boot includes features like health checks, metrics, and externalized configuration, making it well-suited for production use.

In summary, Spring provides a versatile framework for Java application development with more control over configuration, while Spring Boot is an opinionated framework that simplifies the setup of Spring applications, especially for microservices, by providing defaults and auto-configuration. The choice between them depends on your project's requirements and your preference for configuration complexity. Spring Boot is often preferred for rapid development and microservices, while Spring may be chosen for more customized, complex applications.