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Krishnamohan Yagneswaran
Krishnamohan Yagneswaran

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What is the difference between Spring and Spring Boot?

Spring is a Java application framework that provides features such as dependency injection, inversion of control, web development, transaction management, and data access.

Spring Boot is built on top of Spring and makes Spring applications easier to create and configure.

The main difference is that Spring traditionally requires more explicit configuration, while Spring Boot provides auto-configuration, starter dependencies, embedded servers, and production-ready features.

For example, a Spring Boot application can start an embedded web server simply by adding the appropriate web starter:


org.springframework.boot
spring-boot-starter-web

You can then run the application directly without manually installing and configuring Tomcat.

In simple terms:

Spring = framework
Spring Boot = easier way to build Spring applications
Spring Boot uses Spring internally
Spring Boot reduces configuration and setup work

Interview answer: Spring provides the core application framework, while Spring Boot simplifies Spring development through auto-configuration, starters, embedded servers, and sensible defaults.

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