Building a Robust REST API with Java Spring Boot and MongoDB 🚀🍃📦

In the ever-evolving world of web development, creating a robust and scalable RESTful API is a fundamental skill. Rest api java spring boot and mongodb is a powerful combination that allows developers to build efficient APIs quickly. In this article, we'll walk you through the process of creating a REST API using these technologies, so grab your coding gloves and let's get started! 🧤👨‍💻

What is Spring Boot and MongoDB?

Spring Boot 🍃
Spring Boot is a Java-based framework that simplifies the development of web applications and microservices. It provides an environment for building production-ready applications with minimal configuration and boilerplate code. Spring Boot's convention-over-configuration approach allows you to focus on the business logic of your application rather than dealing with infrastructure concerns.

MongoDB 🍃
MongoDB is a popular NoSQL database that stores data in a flexible, JSON-like format called BSON. It is known for its scalability and ability to handle large volumes of data. MongoDB is a great choice for building APIs as it can adapt to the changing data structures typically found in modern applications.

Prerequisites 🛠️
Before we dive into the coding, make sure you have the following prerequisites in place:
• Java Development Kit (JDK)
• Spring Boot IDE (such as Spring Tool Suite or IntelliJ IDEA)
• MongoDB installed and running
• Basic understanding of RESTful APIs
Setting up your Spring Boot project 🏗️

1. Create a new Spring Boot project using your preferred IDE or the Spring Initializer. You can use Maven or Gradle as the build tool.
2. Add the necessary dependencies, including spring-boot-starter-web and spring-boot-starter-data-mongodb, to your pom.xml or build.gradle file.
3. Configure your MongoDB connection in application.properties or application.yml. You can specify the connection URL, database name, and authentication details.

*Creating a Model *📦
Next, you need to define the data model that your API will work with. For demonstration purposes, let's create a simple "Task" model:
@Entity
public class Task {
@id
private String id;
private String title;
private String description;
private boolean completed;
// getters and setters
}

Building the Controller 🎮
Now, let's create a controller to handle HTTP requests. This controller will define the REST endpoints for your API:
@RestController
@RequestMapping("/tasks")
public class TaskController {
@Autowired
private TaskRepository taskRepository;

@GetMapping
public List<Task> getAllTasks() {
    return taskRepository.findAll();
}

@GetMapping("/{id}")
public ResponseEntity<Task> getTaskById(@PathVariable String id) {
    Task task = taskRepository.findById(id).orElse(null);
    if (task == null) {
        return ResponseEntity.notFound().build();
    }
    return ResponseEntity.ok(task);
}

@PostMapping
public Task createTask(@RequestBody Task task) {
    return taskRepository.save(task);
}

@PutMapping("/{id}")
public ResponseEntity<Task> updateTask(@PathVariable String id, @RequestBody Task updatedTask) {
    Task existingTask = taskRepository.findById(id).orElse(null);
    if (existingTask == null) {
        return ResponseEntity.notFound().build();
    }
    existingTask.setTitle(updatedTask.getTitle());
    existingTask.setDescription(updatedTask.getDescription());
    existingTask.setCompleted(updatedTask.isCompleted());
    taskRepository.save(existingTask);
    return ResponseEntity.ok(existingTask);
}

@DeleteMapping("/{id}")
public ResponseEntity<Void> deleteTask(@PathVariable String id) {
    taskRepository.deleteById(id);
    return ResponseEntity.noContent().build();
}

}

*Building the Repository *📂
To interact with your MongoDB database, create a repository interface for your model:
public interface TaskRepository extends MongoRepository {
}

*Running the Application *🚀
You're almost there! Run your Spring Boot application and ensure that MongoDB is up and running. You can now start making HTTP requests to your API endpoints using tools like Postman or by creating a front-end application.
Here's a quick summary of the API endpoints:
• GET /tasks: Retrieve all tasks
• GET /tasks/{id}: Retrieve a specific task by ID
• POST /tasks: Create a new task
• PUT /tasks/{id}: Update an existing task
• DELETE /tasks/{id}: Delete a task

Conclusion 🎉
Creating a RESTful API with Java Spring Boot and MongoDB is a powerful combination for building modern web applications. You've just scratched the surface of what you can achieve with these technologies. As you continue your development journey, you can explore additional features such as authentication, validation, and pagination to make your API even more robust.
So, go ahead, experiment, and build your REST API with Spring Boot and MongoDB! Happy coding! 🚀🌍🛠️