Spring Boot Annotations (with Explanations)
1. Core Annotations
@SpringBootApplication
• Purpose: Marks the main class of a Spring Boot application.
• Explanation: Combines @Configuration, @EnableAutoConfiguration, and
@ComponentScan.
• Usage:
@SpringBootApplication
public class MySpringBootApplication {
public static void main(String[] args) {
SpringApplication.run(MySpringBootApplication.class, args);
}
}
@Configuration
• Purpose: Indicates that the class can be used by Spring IoC container as a source of bean
definitions.
• Usage:
@Configuration
public class AppConfig {
@Bean
public MyService myService() {
return new MyService();
}
}
@ComponentScan
• Purpose: Automatically discovers and registers beans in specified packages.
• Usage:
@ComponentScan(basePackages = "com.example.myapp")
public class AppConfig {}
@EnableAutoConfiguration
• Purpose: Enables Spring Boot’s auto-configuration mechanism.
• Usage:
@EnableAutoConfiguration
public class AppConfig {}
2. Bean Annotations
@Component
• Purpose: Marks a Java class as a Spring-managed component.
• Usage:
@Component
public class MyComponent {}
@Service
• Purpose: Specialized @Component annotation, indicating a service layer.
• Usage:
@Service
public class MyService {}
@Repository
• Purpose: Specialized @Component annotation for the persistence layer.
• Usage:
@Repository
public class MyRepository {}
@Bean
• Purpose: Declares a Spring bean in @Configuration classes.
• Usage:
@Bean
public ModelMapper modelMapper() {
return new ModelMapper();
}
3. Web Layer Annotations
@RestController
• Purpose: Combination of @Controller and @ResponseBody.
• Usage:
@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api")
public class MyController {
@GetMapping("/hello")
public String sayHello() {
return "Hello, World!";
}
}
@RequestMapping
• Purpose: Maps HTTP requests to handler methods.
• Usage:
@RequestMapping("/api")
@GetMapping, @PostMapping, @PutMapping, @DeleteMapping
• Purpose: Specialized annotations for HTTP methods.
• Usage:
@GetMapping("/users")
public List<User> getUsers() {
return userService.getAllUsers();
}
4. Dependency Injection Annotations
@Autowired
• Purpose: Automatically injects dependencies.
• Usage:
@Autowired
private MyService myService;
@Qualifier
• Purpose: Specifies which bean to inject when multiple candidates exist.
• Usage:
@Autowired
@Qualifier("specificBeanName")
private MyService myService;
@Value
• Purpose: Injects values from properties files.
• Usage:
@Value("${app.name}")
private String appName;
5. Conditional Annotations
@ConditionalOnProperty
• Purpose: Configures beans based on environment properties.
• Usage:
@Bean
@ConditionalOnProperty(name = "app.feature.enabled", havingValue = "true")
public MyFeatureBean myFeatureBean() {
return new MyFeatureBean();
}
@ConditionalOnMissingBean
• Purpose: Defines a bean only if another specific bean is missing.
• Usage:
@Bean
@ConditionalOnMissingBean
public MyDefaultBean myDefaultBean() {
return new MyDefaultBean();
}
6. Transaction and Validation Annotations
@Transactional
• Purpose: Marks a method or class as transactional.
• Usage:
@Transactional
public void saveUser(User user) {
userRepository.save(user);
}
@Valid & @Validated
• Purpose: Validates request bodies or method arguments.
• Usage:
@PostMapping("/users")
public ResponseEntity<?> createUser(@Valid @RequestBody User user) {
return ResponseEntity.ok(userService.save(user));
}
7. Spring Boot Testing Annotations
@SpringBootTest
• Purpose: Provides a Spring context for integration testing.
• Usage:
@SpringBootTest
public class MyApplicationTests {
@Test
public void contextLoads() {
}
}
@MockBean & @SpyBean
• Purpose: Create mock or spy beans for unit testing.
• Usage:
