• To understand the problems Spring Boot solves and its core philosophy of convention over configuration.
• To gain proficiency in creating, running, and packaging a stand-alone Spring Boot application.
• To learn how to build a RESTful web service with proper HTTP methods, status codes, and JSON processing.
• To master data access techniques using Spring Data JPA for seamless database integration.
• To implement fundamental application security using Spring Security.
• To develop skills in application configuration, profiling, and testing for building robust and maintainable applications.

Bootstrapping and Building Your First API

Module 1: Introduction to Spring Boot

• The Spring Ecosystem: Spring Framework vs. Spring Boot
• Key Features: Auto-Configuration, Stand-Alone Applications, Opinionated Defaults
• Understanding the @SpringBootApplication annotation

Module 2: Creating Your First Project

• Hands-On: Using Spring Initializr (start.spring.io)
• Exploring the Project Structure: Maven/Gradle, Source Code, Resources
• The pom.xml (or build.gradle) File: Understanding Starter Dependencies
• Running the Application: IDE vs. Command Line

Module 3: Building a Simple RESTful Web Service

• The DispatcherServlet: Front Controller Pattern
• Creating a @RestController
• Mapping HTTP Requests: @GetMapping, @PostMapping, @PathVariable, @RequestParam
• Returning JSON Responses
• Understanding HTTP Status Codes (ResponseEntity)

Day 1 Hands-On Lab:

• Create a new Spring Boot project for a simple "Book Catalog" API.
• Implement a controller with endpoints to GET a list of books and GET a book by ID.
• Test the API using a REST client (Postman/Insomnia).

Data Access & Management

Module 4: Introduction to Spring Data JPA

• Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) Concepts
• Defining JPA Entities: @Entity, @Id, @GeneratedValue
• Configuring a Data Source (H2 In-Memory Database for development)

Module 5: CRUD Operations with Repositories

• The Repository Pattern: CrudRepository vs. JpaRepository
• Creating a Repository Interface
• Inherited Methods: save(), findById(), findAll(), deleteById()
• Introduction to Query Methods

Module 6: Connecting the Services & Data Layers

• Introduction to the Service Layer (@Service)
• Dependency Injection: @Autowired (Constructor Injection)
• Building a complete flow: Controller -> Service -> Repository

Day 2 Hands-On Lab:

• Define a Book JPA entity.
• Create a BookRepository interface.
• Implement a BookService to handle business logic.
• Refactor the Day 1 controller to use the service and persist data to the H2 database.
• Add POST, PUT, and DELETE endpoints to complete the CRUD API.

Security, Configuration & Beyond

Module 7: Application Configuration & Profiles

• Application.properties vs. application.yml
• Custom Configuration Properties (@ConfigurationProperties)
• Using Profiles (@Profile): Separating Dev, QA, and Prod configurations
• Connecting to a Real Database (e.g., PostgreSQL) using a Profile

Module 8: Introduction to Application Security

• Overview of Spring Security
• Adding Spring Security Starter Dependency
• Default Security Configuration: Form Login & Basic Auth
• Configuring In-Memory Authentication for API Endpoints
• Securing Endpoints: HttpSecurity configuration

Module 9: Testing in Spring Boot

• Testing Fundamentals: @SpringBootTest (Integration Tests)
• Testing Web Layer: @WebMvcTest and MockMvc
• Testing Data Layer: @DataJpaTest
• Mocking Dependencies with @MockBean

Module 10: Course Recap and Next Step

• Review of Key Concepts
• Building the Application for Production: The Executable JAR
• Overview of Advanced Topics: Actuator, Monitoring, Microservices, Docker
• Resources for Continued Learning

Day 3 Hands-On Lab:

• Create a prod profile and configure a connection to a different database (e.g., PostgreSQL via Docker).
• Secure all API endpoints with HTTP Basic Authentication.
• Write a basic integration test for your Controller using @WebMvcTest.
• Build the final application into an executable JAR file.

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Explain the role of Spring Boot within the broader Spring ecosystem.
• Use Spring Initializr to bootstrap a new project with the required dependencies.
• Develop a RESTful API controller that handles HTTP requests and returns appropriate responses.
• Define JPA entities and create Spring Data repositories to perform CRUD operations on a database.
• Configure application properties for different environments (development, production).
• Write basic unit and integration tests for Spring Boot components.
• Add and configure basic authentication security to protect API endpoints.