Spring is an open-source framework developed for Java. It provides features and modules that facilitate application development with Java.

What is Spring?

Spring is one of the most popular frameworks among Java developers. Over time, Spring has evolved into an umbrella framework encompassing various projects, including Spring Boot, Spring Cloud, Spring Data, and Spring Security, among others. You can consider the Spring Framework as the core of this structure, which can be extended with various frameworks to address specific needs.

The modular structure of Spring caters to the infrastructure needs of various applications, such as web applications, big data, and security. Some of the projects under the Spring umbrella are:

Spring Framework:

The Spring Framework accelerates and simplifies developing modern applications with Java. It offers various modules to meet software development needs.The core technologies that form the backbone of the Spring Framework include Dependency Injection (DI), Inversion of Control (IoC), Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP), internationalization (i18n), and validation. It also includes web frameworks like Spring MVC and Spring WebFlux.Spring Framework supports Test-Driven Development (TDD) with various modules designed to facilitate testing, such as Spring MVC Test and TestContext framework.For data access, Spring Framework provides a range of tools and technologies, including transaction management, DAO support, JDBC, R2DBC, ORM, and XML marshalling.Its modular structure allows integration with JMS, JCA, JMX, email, tasks, scheduling, and caching tools. In addition, Spring Framework supports Kotlin and Groovy languages.

Spring Boot

This module allows for creating standalone Spring applications. It enables the creation of local applications without requiring an internet connection or platform dependency. It facilitates Spring application development with minimal code and additional configurations. Tomcat, Undertow, and Jetty can be integrated as internal servers.

Spring Cloud

Spring Cloud contains tools for developing applications that work in distributed environments. It provides solutions for common needs in distributed applications, such as load balancing, routing, and service-to-service calls.

Spring Security

Spring Security is designed to ensure the security of Spring applications, offering features like authentication and access control.

Spring Data

Spring Data simplifies access to relational and non-relational databases and cloud-based data services. It hosts sub-projects that work with different data technologies, such as Spring Data JDBC, Spring Data MongoDB, and Spring Data REST.

Advantages of Spring

Since its release in 2003, Spring has become almost synonymous with Java. The advantages it offers developers are key to its widespread adoption. The primary advantages of the Spring Framework include:

• Its modular and library support allows developers easy access to necessary tools.
• It provides tools to facilitate database management and simplify data access.
• Spring has a vast developer community.
• Spring Security can be used to address security concerns in Spring projects.
• Different Spring applications can be used together, enhancing flexibility and functionality.