10 Spring Boot Interview Questions and Answers in 2023

Spring Boot icon
As the demand for Spring Boot developers continues to grow, it is important to stay up to date on the latest interview questions and answers. This blog post will provide an overview of 10 of the most common Spring Boot interview questions and answers for the year 2023. Whether you are a seasoned Spring Boot developer or just starting out, this blog post will provide you with the knowledge and confidence you need to ace your next interview.

1. Describe the process of creating a Spring Boot application from scratch.

Creating a Spring Boot application from scratch involves several steps.

1. First, you need to create a project structure. This can be done using the Spring Initializr, which is an online tool that helps you create a project structure with the necessary dependencies. You can also use the Spring Boot CLI to create a project structure.

2. Once the project structure is created, you need to configure the application. This includes setting up the application properties, configuring the logging system, and setting up the database connection.

3. Next, you need to create the application components. This includes creating the controllers, services, and repositories.

4. After the components are created, you need to create the application routes. This includes setting up the routes for the controllers and services.

5. Finally, you need to create the application entry point. This is usually done by creating a main class with a main method.

Once all of these steps are completed, you have a fully functioning Spring Boot application.


2. What is the difference between Spring Boot and Spring MVC?

Spring Boot is a framework that is built on top of the Spring framework and is used to create stand-alone, production-grade applications. It simplifies the process of creating and configuring Spring applications and provides a range of features that make it easier to develop and deploy applications. Spring Boot provides a number of features that make it easier to develop and deploy applications, such as:

- Auto-configuration: Spring Boot automatically configures beans and other components based on the dependencies that are present in the project. This eliminates the need to manually configure components.

- Embedded servers: Spring Boot comes with an embedded web server, which makes it easier to deploy applications without having to install and configure a separate web server.

- Command-line interface: Spring Boot provides a command-line interface that makes it easier to manage and deploy applications.

Spring MVC is a web framework that is built on top of the Spring framework and is used to create web applications. It provides a number of features that make it easier to develop web applications, such as:

- Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture: Spring MVC provides a Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture that makes it easier to separate the application logic from the presentation layer.

- Flexible view resolution: Spring MVC provides a flexible view resolution mechanism that makes it easier to render different views based on the request.

- Annotation-based configuration: Spring MVC provides an annotation-based configuration that makes it easier to configure components without having to write XML configuration files.

In summary, Spring Boot is a framework that is used to create stand-alone, production-grade applications, while Spring MVC is a web framework that is used to create web applications. Both frameworks are built on top of the Spring framework and provide a number of features that make it easier to develop and deploy applications.


3. How do you configure a Spring Boot application to use a specific database?

Configuring a Spring Boot application to use a specific database is a relatively straightforward process.

First, you will need to add the appropriate dependency for the database you are using in your pom.xml file. For example, if you are using MySQL, you would add the following dependency:

mysql mysql-connector-java 8.0.19

Next, you will need to configure the database connection in the application.properties file. This will include the database URL, username, and password. For example, if you are using MySQL, the configuration would look something like this:

spring.datasource.url=jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/mydatabase spring.datasource.username=myusername spring.datasource.password=mypassword

Finally, you will need to create the appropriate entity classes and repository interfaces for the database. This will allow you to interact with the database using the Spring Data JPA framework.

Once all of these steps are complete, your Spring Boot application should be configured to use the specified database.


4. What is the purpose of the @SpringBootApplication annotation?

The @SpringBootApplication annotation is a convenience annotation that combines the functionality of three other annotations: @Configuration, @EnableAutoConfiguration, and @ComponentScan.

@Configuration allows developers to register extra beans in the context or import additional configuration classes.

@EnableAutoConfiguration enables Spring Boot to automatically configure beans based on the dependencies that are present on the classpath.

@ComponentScan tells Spring to look for other components, configurations, and services in the specified package, allowing it to find the controllers.

Together, these annotations provide a convenient way to quickly and easily set up a Spring Boot application.


5. How do you configure a Spring Boot application to use a specific logging framework?

Configuring a Spring Boot application to use a specific logging framework is a relatively straightforward process.

First, you will need to add the appropriate logging framework dependency to your project's pom.xml file. For example, if you are using Log4j2, you would add the following dependency:

org.apache.logging.log4j log4j-core 2.13.3

Next, you will need to create a log4j2.xml configuration file in the src/main/resources directory of your project. This file will contain the configuration settings for your logging framework.

Finally, you will need to add the following property to your application.properties file:

logging.config=classpath:log4j2.xml

This will tell Spring Boot to use the log4j2.xml configuration file when initializing the logging framework.

Once these steps are complete, your Spring Boot application will be configured to use the specified logging framework.


6. What is the difference between a Spring Boot starter and a Spring Boot autoconfiguration?

A Spring Boot starter is a dependency that can be included in a project to provide a collection of common dependencies. It simplifies the process of adding the necessary dependencies to a project, as it provides a single dependency that can be included in the project's build file.

A Spring Boot autoconfiguration is a feature of Spring Boot that automatically configures beans and other components based on the dependencies that are included in the project. It uses the information provided by the starter dependencies to determine which beans and components should be configured. Autoconfiguration can be used to configure components such as data sources, security, and web applications. Autoconfiguration can also be used to customize the configuration of beans and components, allowing developers to customize the behavior of their applications.


7. How do you configure a Spring Boot application to use a specific web server?

To configure a Spring Boot application to use a specific web server, you will need to add the appropriate dependency to your project's pom.xml file. For example, if you want to use Tomcat as your web server, you will need to add the following dependency to your pom.xml file:

org.springframework.boot spring-boot-starter-tomcat 2.3.3.RELEASE

Once the dependency is added, you will need to configure the application to use the web server. This can be done by adding the following configuration to your application.properties file:

server.port=8080 server.servlet.context-path=/myapp server.tomcat.basedir=

Finally, you will need to start the web server. This can be done by running the following command:

java -jar

This will start the web server and your application will be available at the configured context path.


8. How do you configure a Spring Boot application to use a specific security framework?

Configuring a Spring Boot application to use a specific security framework requires a few steps.

First, you need to add the appropriate dependencies to your project. Depending on the security framework you are using, you may need to add a dependency to the framework itself, as well as any additional dependencies it requires.

Next, you need to configure the security framework in your application. This will involve setting up the security configuration, such as authentication and authorization rules, as well as any other settings that are specific to the security framework.

Finally, you need to configure the Spring Boot application to use the security framework. This will involve setting up the appropriate filters and servlets, as well as any other configuration that is specific to the security framework.

Once all of these steps are complete, your Spring Boot application should be configured to use the security framework of your choice.


9. What is the purpose of the @EnableAutoConfiguration annotation?

The @EnableAutoConfiguration annotation is a key component of Spring Boot. It is used to enable auto-configuration of the Spring ApplicationContext. This annotation tells Spring Boot to “guess” how you will want to configure Spring, based on the jar dependencies that you have added. It enables auto-configuration of the Spring ApplicationContext, scanning for classes annotated with @Configuration, @Controller, @Service, and other Spring components. It also looks for certain beans on the classpath and configures them automatically. This annotation is used to quickly and easily set up a Spring application with sensible defaults. It also allows developers to override the default configuration by adding their own configuration classes.


10. How do you configure a Spring Boot application to use a specific messaging system?

Configuring a Spring Boot application to use a specific messaging system requires a few steps.

First, you need to add the appropriate dependencies to your project. For example, if you are using Apache ActiveMQ, you would need to add the following dependency to your pom.xml file:

org.apache.activemq activemq-spring 5.15.9

Next, you need to configure the messaging system in your application.properties file. This will include setting up the connection URL, username, and password for the messaging system. For example, if you are using Apache ActiveMQ, you would need to add the following properties to your application.properties file:

spring.activemq.broker-url=tcp://localhost:61616 spring.activemq.user=admin spring.activemq.password=admin

Finally, you need to create a configuration class to enable the messaging system. This class should be annotated with @EnableJms and should contain the necessary configuration for the messaging system. For example, if you are using Apache ActiveMQ, you would need to add the following configuration class to your project:

@Configuration @EnableJms public class MessagingConfiguration {

@Bean public ActiveMQConnectionFactory connectionFactory(){ ActiveMQConnectionFactory connectionFactory = new ActiveMQConnectionFactory(); connectionFactory.setBrokerURL("tcp://localhost:61616"); connectionFactory.setUserName("admin"); connectionFactory.setPassword("admin"); return connectionFactory; }

}

Once these steps are complete, your Spring Boot application should be configured to use the specified messaging system.


Looking for a remote job? Search our job board for 70,000+ remote jobs
Search Remote Jobs
Built by Lior Neu-ner. I'd love to hear your feedback — Get in touch via DM or lior@remoterocketship.com