What is Spring?
In today’s world of software development for the Java platform, it is hard to imagine a technology stack without a Spring framework. This framework has become an integral part of the Java ecosystem thanks to its versatility, flexibility, and ability to adapt to any task — from simple REST services to complex distributed applications with high loads and strict security requirements.
In this article, we will look at what Spring is, how it’s built, where and why it’s used, which key principles are underlying its architecture, and what benefits it gives to developers and businesses. PNN Soft provides Spring software development services. We help customers to implement reliable projects based on one of the most popular Java technologies.
The Spring framework appeared in the early 2000s as a response to the complexity and bulkiness of Java EE. Originally developed by Rod Johnson, Spring offered an alternative to strict and overloaded architecture, offering a simple and flexible approach to design. The philosophy idea “make it as simple as possible, but not as simple as necessary” made Spring so popular: developers got a tool that allows them to focus on business logic rather than infrastructure.
Many people ask: what is the feature of Spring architecture in Java? The answer is in modularity. Spring consists of many components that can be used independently or combined as needed.
This approach allows collecting the solution as a «designer» — adapting the architecture to specific business tasks. The Spring framework enables developers access to a robust set of tools and libraries that help with security, testing, database administration, dependency management, and business logic, among other things. Spring enables you to create scalable, supported, and simple-to-develop applications with low infrastructure expenses because of its modular architecture and extensive connectors. In addition to new architectural concepts like management inversion (IoC), dependency introduction (DI), aspect-oriented programming (AOP), and reactive programming, it promotes the fundamentals of object-oriented programming.
Basics of Spring Java that make it a powerful and convenient tool:
◈ IoC — the Spring container manages the life cycle of objects and their connections.
◈ DI— dependencies are implemented automatically, which reduces the component’s connection.
◈ AOP — allows carrying out the end-to-end logic (loggings, security, transactions) in individual aspects
These principles form the basis of Spring concepts in Java, creating a solid foundation for scalable applications.
Spring core is the central module that provides the functionality of the whole framework. It includes:
◈ Bean Factory and Application Context are containers for managing binaries.
◈ Context module — advanced configuration and event model functions.
◈ Expression Language (SpEL) is a custom expression language for flexible configuration of components.
This is where every Spring application starts working, and it’s a must-have part of any configuration.
Spring is widely used across various industries due to its flexibility, scalability, and robust ecosystem:
◈ Financial services: building reliable and secure transaction systems.
◈ E-commerce: implementing microservice architectures and integrating with payment gateways.
◈ Healthcare: developing systems for storing and processing medical data.
◈ Education: powering online platforms and LMS based on Spring Java.
With the help of Spring, you can implement REST API, integration with external services, asynchronous processes, data loading, and much more.
While the Spring Framework itself is powerful and flexible, setting up a new project often requires extensive manual configuration: creating numerous XML files, managing dependencies, integrating application servers, and more. This made initial development slower and more complex. To address these challenges, Spring Boot was introduced — a tool designed to streamline the setup and launch of Spring applications with minimal configuration. It offers embedded servers (such as Tomcat and Jetty), autoconfiguration, monitoring, logging, and a wide range of ready-to-use features out of the box. As a result, Spring Boot significantly accelerates the development of microservices, MVP projects, and cloud-based applications.
It’s important to understand that not every application requires the full power of the Spring Framework. In many cases, using the Spring Framework can be excessive. For example, simple one-page websites without complex logic can be built more efficiently with lightweight tools. The same applies to small utilities, command-line tools, or scripts, where using Kotlin with Ktor or lightweight Node.js solutions might be more appropriate. However, as soon as a project starts demanding scalability, stability, and strong security features, the Spring Framework becomes an excellent choice due to its robustness, flexibility, and adherence to industry standards.
The Spring framework is not just a tool, but a whole ecosystem for creating modern applications in Java. It combines flexibility, modularity, scalability and rich functionality. Knowledge of Spring Java and the ability to apply architecture skills is a prerequisite for building modern and reliable software solutions.
We provide professional Spring core and software development services, including:
Our team is made up of experienced architects and developers who are capable of solving problems of any complexity — from MVP to complex distributed solutions. If you are planning to launch a project using Spring or are looking for experts to support an existing solution, our team is ready to help. Contact us to discuss how we can implement your project with maximum efficiency.
