Microservices · Frameworks / Platforms
Spring Boot — Free Learning Resources
Free, printable resources for Spring Boot — practice problems, quick-reference cheatsheet, and an interview prep sheet. No sign-up required.
Spring Boot — Practice Worksheet
Structured exercises and problems to build hands-on Spring Boot skills. Work through key concepts step by step.
Spring Boot — Cheatsheet
One-page quick-reference for Spring Boot — key syntax, commands, patterns, and best practices at a glance.
Spring Boot — Interview Sheet
Top Spring Boot interview questions with concise answers. Get ready for any technical round with this focused prep sheet.
About Spring Boot
Spring Boot is an opinionated extension of the Spring Framework that eliminates boilerplate configuration so you can go from code to running application in minutes. It provides auto-configuration, embedded servers (Tomcat, Jetty, Undertow), and production-ready features like metrics and health checks out of the box. Spring Boot is the de-facto standard for Java microservices.
Spring BootCheat Sheet — What's Covered
- ✓Auto-configuration mechanics and @SpringBootApplication anatomy
- ✓Spring Boot Actuator endpoints for monitoring and health checks
- ✓Externalized configuration with application.properties / YAML and profiles
- ✓Spring Data JPA integration — repositories, queries, and transactions
- ✓Embedded server configuration and packaging as a self-contained JAR
Frequently Asked Questions — Spring Boot
What is Spring Boot auto-configuration?
Auto-configuration automatically sets up Spring beans based on JAR dependencies on the classpath. If spring-boot-starter-data-jpa is present, Spring Boot configures a DataSource, EntityManagerFactory, and transaction management with no XML needed.
How do I create a REST endpoint in Spring Boot?
Annotate a class with @RestController, then annotate methods with @GetMapping, @PostMapping, etc. Spring Boot's embedded Tomcat and Jackson auto-configuration handle routing and JSON serialization automatically.
What is the difference between @Component, @Service, and @Repository?
All three are specializations of @Component and are auto-detected by component scanning. @Service marks business logic, @Repository marks data-access layers and adds exception translation, @Component is the generic stereotype.
How do you externalize configuration in Spring Boot?
Use application.properties or application.yml for defaults, override with profile-specific files (application-prod.yml). Inject values with @Value or bind an entire prefix to a POJO with @ConfigurationProperties.
What does Spring Boot Actuator expose?
Actuator adds HTTP endpoints for observability: /actuator/health, /actuator/metrics, /actuator/info, /actuator/env. Most are disabled by default and must be explicitly enabled via management.endpoints.web.exposure.include.
Who Is This For?
Java developers building REST APIs, microservices, or enterprise applications who want to move fast without wrestling XML configuration.