Spring Boot: From Novice to Expert

This repository serves as a structured learning path for mastering Spring Boot. It includes step-by-step projects, real-world examples, and resources designed to build your expertise in Spring Boot from the ground up.

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Learning Plan

1. Fundamentals of Spring Boot (Novice)

• Goals:
  • Understand the basics of Spring Boot and its ecosystem.
  • Learn how to create and run your first Spring Boot application.
• Projects:
  • Hello Spring Boot:
    • A simple REST API returning "Hello, World!"
    • Concepts: @RestController, @RequestMapping, and @SpringBootApplication
    • Code Link
  • Configuration Basics:
    • A project exploring application.properties and YAML configuration.
    • Code Link
• Topics:
  • Dependency Injection (DI)
  • Application Context and Beans
  • Maven and Gradle integration
• Resources:
  • Official Docs: Getting Started

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2. Building RESTful APIs (Intermediate)

• Goals:
  • Design and implement REST APIs using Spring Boot.
  • Learn error handling, validation, and best practices.
• Projects:
  • Employee Management System:
    • CRUD operations with Spring Data JPA and H2 database.
    • Code Link
  • Library Management API:
    • Explore pagination, sorting, and filtering.
    • Code Link
• Topics:
  • REST principles and HTTP methods
  • Data validation with @Valid
  • Exception handling (@ControllerAdvice)
• Resources:
  • Baeldung: Building a REST API with Spring Boot

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3. Working with Databases (Intermediate)

• Goals:
  • Integrate Spring Boot with relational and NoSQL databases.
  • Master the use of Spring Data JPA.
• Projects:
  • Bookstore Application:
    • Integrating with MySQL for relational data.
    • Code Link
  • MongoDB Example:
    • Working with NoSQL databases using Spring Data MongoDB.
    • Code Link
• Topics:
  • JPA Repositories and Custom Queries
  • Transactions with Spring Boot
  • Database migrations with Flyway and Liquibase
• Resources:
  • Official Docs: Spring Data JPA

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4. Advanced Topics (Advanced)

• Goals:
  • Build robust, secure, and scalable applications.
  • Explore advanced features and integrations.
• Projects:
  • Secure Banking API:
    • Implement authentication and authorization with Spring Security.
    • Code Link
  • Microservices Example:
    • A collection of microservices communicating via REST and messaging.
    • Code Link
• Topics:
  • Spring Security (JWT, OAuth2)
  • Spring Cloud (Eureka, Config Server, Zuul)
  • Event-Driven Architecture with Kafka
• Resources:
  • Spring Security Guide: Securing a Web Application
  • Spring Cloud: Getting Started

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5. Deployment and Monitoring (Expert)

• Goals:
  • Deploy Spring Boot applications in production environments.
  • Set up monitoring and performance tracking.
• Projects:
  • Dockerized Spring Boot App:
    • Containerizing a Spring Boot application with Docker.
    • Code Link
  • Spring Boot on Kubernetes:
    • Deploying to Kubernetes and configuring scaling.
    • Code Link
• Topics:
  • Deploying to AWS, Azure, or GCP
  • Monitoring with Actuator and Prometheus/Grafana
  • CI/CD pipelines with Jenkins/GitHub Actions
• Resources:
  • Docker: Dockerizing a Spring Boot Application
  • Kubernetes: Spring Boot on Kubernetes

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Learning Resources

• Books:
  • Spring in Action by Craig Walls
  • Pro Spring Boot by Felipe Gutierrez
• Courses:
  • Spring Boot on Udemy
  • Spring Framework on Pluralsight
• Communities:
  • Spring Boot Official Forum
  • Stack Overflow

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Repository Structure

spring-boot-learning/
├── poc-projects/                 # All basic projects {in-progress}
   ├── hello-spring-boot/         # Basic project for getting started {in-progress}
├── employee-management-system/ # CRUD project with JPA {TBD}
├── library-management-api/     # REST API with pagination {TBD}
├── secure-banking-api/         # Secure API with Spring Security {TBD}
├── microservices-example/      # Microservices with Spring Cloud {TBD}
├── dockerized-spring-boot/     # Docker container example {TBD}
└── spring-boot-kubernetes/     # Kubernetes deployment example {TBD}

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References

• references.md
• documentation.md
• version-info.md
• key-terminologies.md

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Feedback and Contributions

If you have feedback or suggestions to enhance this repository, feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request. I’m also open to collaborating on exciting Spring Boot projects!