springboot study

Spring Boot Study Guide: From Zero to Mastery

Phase 1: Preparing the Groundwork

1. Java Fundamentals (1-2 weeks)

   • Key Topics:
     • Object-Oriented Programming (OOP): Inheritance, Polymorphism, Encapsulation, and Abstraction.
     • Java 8+ Features: Streams, Lambda expressions, Optional, Functional Interfaces.
     • Exception Handling, Collections Framework, File I/O.
   • Resources:
     • Head First Java by Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates.
     • Online courses: Java Programming Masterclass on Udemy.

2. Basic Web Development (1 week)

   • Key Topics:
     • HTTP protocol, REST APIs.
     • Basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JSON.
   • Resources:
     • FreeCodeCamp’s Introduction to APIs.

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Phase 2: Learning Core Spring Framework (2-3 weeks)

1. Introduction to Spring Framework

   • Learn Dependency Injection (DI) and Inversion of Control (IoC).
   • Understand Spring Beans and their lifecycle.
   • Resources:
     • Spring in Action by Craig Walls (Core Chapters on Spring).

2. Spring Configuration

   • XML Configuration vs. Java-based Configuration (prefer Java-based).
   • Working with Spring Context.
   • Resources:
     • Spring documentation: Core Container.

3. A Simple Spring Application

   • Build a basic console application to inject and manage beans.

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Phase 3: Spring Boot Basics (2 weeks)

1. Understanding Spring Boot

   • What is Spring Boot, and why use it?
   • Key features: Auto-configuration, Starters, Spring Initializr.
   • Creating your first Spring Boot application.
   • Resources:
     • Official Docs: Spring Boot Guide.

2. Spring Boot Annotations

   • @SpringBootApplication, @RestController, @RequestMapping, @GetMapping, etc.

3. Building REST APIs

   • Create basic endpoints.
   • Return JSON responses.

4. Tools Setup

   • Install IntelliJ IDEA (or Eclipse) and configure Maven or Gradle.
   • Install Postman for API testing.

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Phase 4: Adding Depth (3-4 weeks)

1. Data Persistence

   • Introduction to Spring Data JPA.
   • Working with databases (MySQL/PostgreSQL).
   • Use Hibernate for ORM.
   • Key Topics:
     • Entities and Repositories.
     • CRUD operations.
     • Relationships (One-to-One, One-to-Many, Many-to-Many).
   • Resources:
     • Spring Data JPA Guide: Spring.io JPA.

2. Spring Boot DevTools

   • Enabling live reload and faster development cycles.

3. Spring Boot Actuator

   • Monitoring and managing applications in production.

4. Spring Boot Testing

   • Unit Testing with JUnit and Mockito.
   • Test REST APIs with Spring’s @WebMvcTest.

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Phase 5: Intermediate Topics (4-5 weeks)

1. Spring Security

   • Authentication and Authorization.
   • JWT implementation for securing APIs.
   • OAuth basics.
   • Resources:
     • Spring Security Guide: Spring Security.

2. Working with External APIs

   • REST template and WebClient.

3. Spring Boot Microservices

   • Understand Microservices Architecture.
   • Implement inter-service communication using:
     • REST
     • Messaging (Kafka, RabbitMQ).
   • Service Discovery with Eureka.
   • API Gateway with Spring Cloud Gateway.

4. Spring Boot Logging

   • Using SLF4J and Logback.

5. Exception Handling

   • Custom exception handlers with @ControllerAdvice.

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Phase 6: Advanced Topics (6-8 weeks)

1. Deploying Spring Boot Applications

   • Dockerize a Spring Boot application.
   • Deploy to AWS, Azure, or GCP using Kubernetes.

2. Reactive Programming

   • Introduction to Project Reactor.
   • Using WebFlux for non-blocking APIs.

3. Performance Optimization

   • Caching with Spring Cache.
   • Profiling and tuning applications with Actuator.

4. Build Real-World Applications

   • Examples:
     • A user management system.
     • E-commerce backend.
     • Chat application with WebSocket.

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Phase 7: Practice and Mastery (Ongoing)

1. Build Portfolio Projects

   • Showcase 2-3 full-featured projects on GitHub.
   • Add documentation and testing to your projects.

2. Contribute to Open Source

   • Find Spring-related open-source projects to contribute to on GitHub.

3. Stay Updated

   • Follow Spring’s release notes and official blog.
   • Join Spring Boot communities on Reddit, Stack Overflow, or Discord.

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Key Resources Throughout

• Documentation: Spring Boot and Spring Framework.
• Books:
  • Spring Boot in Action by Craig Walls.
  • Pro Spring Boot 3 by Felipe Gutierrez.
• Courses:
  • Spring & Spring Boot Masterclass on Udemy.
  • FreeCodeCamp’s Spring Boot playlist.
• Community:
  • Spring Boot GitHub: spring-projects.

Would you like me to help you plan projects or set up an initial Spring Boot application?