Spring Framework vs. Spring Boot: What’s the difference?

The Spring Framework is a modular and comprehensive Java framework that provides features for dependency injection, security, transaction management, and AOP (Aspect-Oriented Programming). However, it requires extensive configuration, making it complex to set up.

Spring Boot is a streamlined version of Spring that simplifies development by providing auto-configuration, embedded servers (like Tomcat), and opinionated defaults. With Spring Boot, developers can quickly create standalone, production-ready applications with minimal setup.

While Spring is flexible and allows customization, Spring Boot is optimized for rapid development and is widely used in microservices and cloud-native applications.

Key Takeaways:

• Spring Framework is a complete Java framework for enterprise applications.

• Spring Boot is a simplified version with auto-configuration.

• Spring Boot makes it easier to build microservices.

• Spring requires manual setup, while Spring Boot reduces boilerplate code.