Spring Configuration

About

Spring Configuration refers to the way an application defines and wires its components (beans), resources, and settings within the Spring container. It tells Spring how to bootstrap and manage the application's dependencies and infrastructure.

Spring supports multiple types of configuration:

• Java-based configuration using @Configuration and @Bean

• Property-based configuration using @Value and @ConfigurationProperties

• Annotation-driven configuration using @ComponentScan, @Import, etc.

• (Optionally) XML-based configuration for legacy projects

Java-based configuration is now the preferred approach, offering full type safety, refactoring support, and easier testing.

Importance

• Core to Dependency Injection: Configuration enables Spring to manage beans and their dependencies.

• Flexible and Modular: You can split configurations into multiple classes or import them conditionally.

• Environment-aware: Supports profiles and external properties to adapt behavior per environment (e.g., dev, test, prod).

• Foundation for Advanced Features: Understanding configuration is essential before using auto-configuration, conditionals, or Spring Boot enhancements.

• Improves Maintainability: Keeping configuration centralized and explicit makes the application easier to understand and manage.