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Gowtham Kalyan
Gowtham Kalyan

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Difference Between Spring and Spring Boot

Spring and Spring Boot are popular frameworks used for building Java applications. Spring Boot is actually built on top of the Spring Framework and simplifies its configuration and development process.


🔹 What is Spring Framework?

The Spring Framework is a comprehensive framework that provides infrastructure support for developing Java applications. It offers features like Dependency Injection, MVC architecture, transaction management, and security.

However, Spring requires manual configuration and setup.


🔹 What is Spring Boot?

Spring Boot is an extension of Spring that reduces configuration complexity by providing auto-configuration, embedded servers, and ready-to-use starter dependencies.

It helps developers create production-ready applications quickly.


🔹 Key Differences

Feature Spring Spring Boot
Configuration Requires manual configuration Auto-configuration available
Setup Time More setup required Quick setup
Server Deployment Needs external server Embedded server (Tomcat, Jetty)
XML Configuration Commonly used Minimal or no XML
Dependency Management Manual Starter dependencies
Development Speed Slower Faster
Microservices Support Possible but complex Designed for microservices

🔹 Example Difference

Spring:
Requires configuring dispatcher servlet, view resolver, and server manually.

Spring Boot:
Application runs using a single main class.


✅ Conclusion

Spring provides the core framework features, while Spring Boot simplifies development by reducing configuration and enabling faster application creation. Most modern Java applications prefer Spring Boot for rapid development.


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