671 lines
21 KiB
Markdown
671 lines
21 KiB
Markdown
---
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# title: Courses
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weight: 3
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---
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# Prerequisites
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Before diving in, make sure you're comfortable with the following:
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- **Java** — solid understanding of the language
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- **Object-oriented programming** — classes, methods and interfaces
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- **Databases** — tables, primary keys, foreign keys, relationships, etc.
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- **SQL** — ability to write basic SQL statements
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---
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# What is a Spring Framework?
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**Spring** is a popular framework for building Java applications. It has a lot of modules, each designed to handle a specific task. They are combined into a few different layers.
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*Img. 1 — Spring layers*
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| **Layer** | **Purpose** |
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|-----------|-------------|
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| *Core* | Handling dependency injection, managing objects |
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| *Web* | Building web applications |
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| *Data* | Working with databases |
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| *AOP* | Aspect oriented programming |
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| *Test* | Testing spring components |
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---
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While the Spring Framework is powerful, using it often involves a lot of configuration. For example, if you want to build a web app you might need to setup a web server, configure routing and manage dependencies manually. That's when **Spring Boot** comes in.
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> [!NOTE]
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> You can think of Spring Boot as a layer on top of the Spring Framework that takes care of all of the setup. *Spring Boot* simplifies Spring development by providing sensible defaults and ready-to-use features.
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By the way, the Spring Framework is just one part of a larger family of projects in the **Spring ecosystem**.
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*Img. 2 — Spring ecosystem*
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| **Module Name** | **Purpose** |
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|------------------------|-------------|
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| *Spring Data* | Simplifying database access |
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| *Spring Security* | Adding authentication and authorization |
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| *Spring Batch* | Batch processing |
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| *Spring Cloud* | Building microservices and distributed systems |
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| *Spring Integration* | Simplifying messaging and integration between systems |
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---
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# Initialize Spring Boot Project
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To initialize a new Spring Boot project, go to [start.spring.io](https://start.spring.io/) and select the options that suit you.
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*Img. 3 — Spring Boot options*
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After unpacking the `zip` archive, you'll have this template project:
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```bash
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.
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├── HELP.md
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├── mvnw
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├── mvnw.cmd
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├── pom.xml
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├── src
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│ ├── main
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│ │ ├── java
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│ │ │ └── tech
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│ │ │ └── codejava
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│ │ │ └── store
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│ │ │ └── StoreApplication.java
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│ │ └── resources
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│ │ └── application.properties
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│ └── test
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│ └── java
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│ └── tech
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│ └── codejava
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│ └── store
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│ └── StoreApplicationTests.java
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└── target
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├── classes
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│ ├── application.properties
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│ └── tech
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│ └── codejava
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│ └── store
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│ └── StoreApplication.class
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├── generated-sources
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│ └── annotations
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├── generated-test-sources
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│ └── test-annotations
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├── maven-status
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│ └── maven-compiler-plugin
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│ ├── compile
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│ │ └── default-compile
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│ │ ├── createdFiles.lst
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│ │ └── inputFiles.lst
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│ └── testCompile
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│ └── default-testCompile
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│ ├── createdFiles.lst
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│ └── inputFiles.lst
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├── surefire-reports
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│ ├── TEST-tech.codejava.store.StoreApplicationTests.xml
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│ └── tech.codejava.store.StoreApplicationTests.txt
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└── test-classes
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└── tech
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└── codejava
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└── store
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└── StoreApplicationTests.class
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```
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The "heart" of our project is `pom.xml`:
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```xml
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
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<project
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xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
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xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
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xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd"
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>
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<modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
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<parent>
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<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
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<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
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<version>4.0.2</version>
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<relativePath /> <!-- lookup parent from repository -->
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</parent>
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<groupId>tech.codejava</groupId>
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<artifactId>store</artifactId>
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<version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
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<name>store</name>
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<description>Store</description>
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<url />
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<licenses>
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<license />
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</licenses>
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<developers>
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<developer />
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</developers>
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<scm>
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<connection />
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<developerConnection />
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<tag />
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<url />
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</scm>
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<properties>
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<java.version>21</java.version>
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</properties>
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<dependencies>
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<dependency>
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<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
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<artifactId>spring-boot-starter</artifactId>
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</dependency>
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<dependency>
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<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
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<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
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<scope>test</scope>
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</dependency>
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</dependencies>
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<build>
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<plugins>
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<plugin>
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<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
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<artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
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</plugin>
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</plugins>
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</build>
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</project>
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```
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Maven uses this file to download dependencies and build our project.
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In the `src` folder we have the actual code:
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```bash
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src
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├── main
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│ ├── java
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│ │ └── tech
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│ │ └── codejava
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│ │ └── store
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│ │ └── StoreApplication.java
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│ └── resources
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│ └── application.properties
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└── test
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└── java
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└── tech
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└── codejava
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└── store
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└── StoreApplicationTests.java
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```
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`StoreApplication.java` is the entry point to our application:
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```java
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package tech.codejava.store;
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import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
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import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
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@SpringBootApplication
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public class StoreApplication {
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public static void main(String[] args) {
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SpringApplication.run(StoreApplication.class, args);
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}
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}
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```
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In the `main` method we have a call to `SpringApplication.run`.
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Running `mvn clean install` from the root of our project gives us this result *(output partially reduced)*:
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```bash
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...
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[INFO] Tests run: 1, Failures: 0, Errors: 0, Skipped: 0, Time elapsed: 2.542 s -- in tech.codejava.store.StoreApplicationTests
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[INFO]
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[INFO] Results:
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[INFO]
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[INFO] Tests run: 1, Failures: 0, Errors: 0, Skipped: 0
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[INFO]
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[INFO]
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[INFO] --- jar:3.4.2:jar (default-jar) @ store ---
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[INFO] Building jar: /home/fymio/store/target/store-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar
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[INFO]
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[INFO] --- spring-boot:4.0.2:repackage (repackage) @ store ---
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...
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[INFO] BUILD SUCCESS
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[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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[INFO] Total time: 14.787 s
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[INFO] Finished at: 2026-02-19T13:16:47+03:00
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[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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```
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Our application built without errors.
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---
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# Dependency Management
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Dependencies are third-party libraries or frameworks we use in our application. For example, to build a web application we need an embedded web server like *Tomcat*, libraries for handling web requests, building APIs, processing JSON data, logging and so on.
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In Spring Boot applications, instead of adding multiple individual libraries, we can use a **starter dependency**.
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*Img. 5 — Spring Boot Starter Web*
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To use this dependency, copy the following into your `pom.xml`:
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```xml
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<dependency>
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<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
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<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
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<version>4.1.0-M1</version>
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</dependency>
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```
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So the `dependencies` section would look like this:
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```xml
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<dependencies>
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<dependency>
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<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
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<artifactId>spring-boot-starter</artifactId>
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</dependency>
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<dependency>
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<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
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<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
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<scope>test</scope>
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</dependency>
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<dependency>
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<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
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<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
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<!-- <version>4.1.0-M1</version> -->
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</dependency>
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</dependencies>
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```
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> [!IMPORTANT]
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> Notice that the version is commented out. It's a better practice to let Spring Boot decide what version of the dependency to use, as it ensures compatibility across your project.
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---
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# Controllers
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**Spring MVC** stands for *Model View Controller*.
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- **Model** is where our application's data lives. It represents the business logic and is usually connected to a database or other data sources. In Spring Boot, the model can be a simple Java class.
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- **View** is what the user sees. It's the HTML, CSS or JavaScript rendered in the browser. In Spring MVC, views can be static files or dynamically generated.
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- **Controller** is like a traffic controller. It handles incoming requests from the user, interacts with the model to get data and then tells the view what to display.
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Let's add a new Java class called `HomeController` at `src/main/java/tech/codejava/store/HomeController.java`:
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```java
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package tech.codejava.store;
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public class HomeController {}
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```
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To make this a controller, decorate it with the `@Controller` annotation:
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```java
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package tech.codejava.store;
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import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
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@Controller
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public class HomeController {}
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```
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Now let's add an `index` method. When we send a request to the root of our website, we want this method to be called:
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```java
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package tech.codejava.store;
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import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
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import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
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@Controller
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public class HomeController {
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@RequestMapping("/") // this represents the root of our website
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public String index() {
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return "index.html"; // this returns the view
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}
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}
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```
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Now we need to create the view. Add `index.html` at `src/main/resources/static/index.html`:
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```html
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<!doctype html>
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<html lang="en">
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<head>
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<meta charset="UTF-8" />
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<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
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<title>View</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1>Hello world!</h1>
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</body>
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</html>
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```
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Let's build and run our application using `mvn spring-boot:run`. From the logs:
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```bash
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2026-02-19T14:55:23.948+03:00 INFO 36752 --- [store] [ main] o.s.boot.tomcat.TomcatWebServer : Tomcat initialized with port 8080 (http)
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```
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Our app is up and running at [localhost:8080](http://localhost:8080/).
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*Img. 7 — Our app is up and running!*
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---
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# Configuring Application Properties
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Let's take a look at `src/main/resources/application.properties`:
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```properties
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spring.application.name=store
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```
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To use this property in our code, we can use the `@Value` annotation. Let's update `HomeController` to print the application name:
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```java
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package tech.codejava.store;
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import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Value;
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import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
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import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
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@Controller
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public class HomeController {
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@Value("${spring.application.name}")
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private String appName;
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@RequestMapping("/") // this represents the root of our website
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public String index() {
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System.out.println("application name = " + appName);
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return "index.html"; // this returns the view
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}
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}
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```
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After running the application, we can see `store` printed in the terminal:
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```bash
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...
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2026-02-19T15:32:37.507+03:00 INFO 41536 --- [store] [nio-8080-exec-1] o.s.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet : Initializing Servlet 'dispatcherServlet'
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2026-02-19T15:32:37.509+03:00 INFO 41536 --- [store] [nio-8080-exec-1] o.s.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet : Completed initialization in 2 ms
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application name = store
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...
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```
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---
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# Dependency Injection
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Imagine we're building an E-Commerce application that handles placing orders. When an order is placed, the customer's payment needs to be processed — so `OrderService` depends on a payment service like `StripePaymentService`. We can say that `OrderService` is *dependent on* (or *coupled to*) `StripePaymentService`.
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*Img. 8 — Depends On/Coupled To relation*
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Let's talk about the issues that arise when one class is **tightly coupled** to another.
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1. **Inflexibility** — `OrderService` can only use `StripePaymentService`. If tomorrow we decide to switch to a different payment provider like PayPal, we would have to modify `OrderService`. Once we change it, it has to be recompiled and retested, which could impact other classes that depend on it.
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2. **Untestability** — We cannot test `OrderService` in isolation, because `OrderService` is tightly coupled with `StripePaymentService` and we can't test its logic separately from it.
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> [!NOTE]
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> The problem here isn't that `OrderService` *depends* on `StripePaymentService` — dependencies are normal in any application. The issue is about *how* the dependency is created and managed.
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**Analogy:** Think of a restaurant. A restaurant needs a chef — that's a perfectly normal dependency. If the current chef becomes unavailable, the restaurant can hire another one.
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*Img. X — Restaurant — Chef dependency (Normal)*
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Now what if we replace "chef" with a specific person: John? Our restaurant is now dependent on *John specifically*. If John becomes unavailable, we can't replace him — the restaurant is in trouble. This is an example of **tight** or **bad coupling**.
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*Img. X — Restaurant — John dependency (Bad coupling)*
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We don't want `OrderService` to be tightly coupled to a specific payment service like Stripe. Instead, we want it to depend on a `PaymentService` *interface*, which could be Stripe, PayPal, or any other provider. To achieve this we can use the *interface* to decouple `OrderService` from `StripePaymentService`.
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*Img. X — `PaymentService` as `interface`*
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If `OrderService` depends on a `PaymentService` interface, it doesn't know anything about Stripe, PayPal, or any other payment provider. As long as these providers implement `PaymentService`, they can be used to handle payments — and `OrderService` won't care which one is being used.
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**Benefits:**
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1. If we replace `StripePaymentService` with `PayPalPaymentService`, the `OrderService` class is not affected.
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2. We don't need to modify or recompile `OrderService`.
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3. We can test `OrderService` in isolation, without relying on the specific payment provider like Stripe.
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With this setup, we simply give `OrderService` a particular implementation of `PaymentService`. This is called **dependency injection** — we *inject* the dependency into a class.
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*Img. X — Dependency Injection example*
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Let's see how it works in our project. Create `OrderService` at `src/main/java/tech/codejava/store/OrderService.java`:
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```java
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package tech.codejava.store;
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public class OrderService {
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public void placeOrder() {}
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}
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```
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> [!NOTE]
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> In a real project we would need to provide something like `Order order` to this method, but for teaching purposes we won't do that.
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Now create `StripePaymentService` in the same directory:
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```java
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package tech.codejava.store;
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public class StripePaymentService {
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public void processPayment(double amount) {
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System.out.println("=== STRIPE ===");
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System.out.println("amount: " + amount);
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}
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}
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```
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Let's implement `placeOrder` in `OrderService` using `StripePaymentService`:
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```java
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package tech.codejava.store;
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public class OrderService {
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public void placeOrder() {
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var paymentService = new StripePaymentService();
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paymentService.processPayment(10);
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}
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}
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```
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> [!IMPORTANT]
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> This is our *before* setup — before we introduced the interface. In this implementation, `OrderService` is **tightly coupled** to `StripePaymentService`. We cannot test `OrderService` in isolation, and switching to another payment provider would require modifying `OrderService`.
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Let's fix this. Create a `PaymentService` interface in the same directory:
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```java
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package tech.codejava.store;
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public interface PaymentService {
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void processPayment(double amount);
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}
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```
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Modify `StripePaymentService` to implement `PaymentService`:
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```java
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package tech.codejava.store;
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public class StripePaymentService implements PaymentService {
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@Override
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public void processPayment(double amount) {
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System.out.println("=== STRIPE ===");
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System.out.println("amount: " + amount);
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}
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}
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```
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The recommended way to inject a dependency into a class is via its **constructor**. Let's define one in `OrderService`:
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```java
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package tech.codejava.store;
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public class OrderService {
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private PaymentService paymentService;
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public OrderService(PaymentService paymentService) {
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this.paymentService = paymentService;
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}
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public void placeOrder() {
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paymentService.processPayment(10);
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}
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}
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```
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Now let's see this in action. Modify `StoreApplication`:
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```java
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package tech.codejava.store;
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import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
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import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
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@SpringBootApplication
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public class StoreApplication {
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public static void main(String[] args) {
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// SpringApplication.run(StoreApplication.class, args);
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var orderService = new OrderService(new StripePaymentService());
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orderService.placeOrder();
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}
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}
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```
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Running the application *(output intentionally reduced)*:
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```bash
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...
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=== STRIPE ===
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amount: 10.0
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...
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```
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Now let's create a `PayPalPaymentService` in the same directory:
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```java
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package tech.codejava.store;
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public class PayPalPaymentService implements PaymentService {
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@Override
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public void processPayment(double amount) {
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System.out.println("=== PayPal ===");
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System.out.println("amount: " + amount);
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}
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}
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```
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Now we can switch from `StripePaymentService` to `PayPalPaymentService` in `StoreApplication` — without touching `OrderService` at all:
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|
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```java
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package tech.codejava.store;
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import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
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import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
|
|
|
|
@SpringBootApplication
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public class StoreApplication {
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|
|
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public static void main(String[] args) {
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// SpringApplication.run(StoreApplication.class, args);
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|
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// var orderService = new OrderService(new StripePaymentService());
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var orderService = new OrderService(new PayPalPaymentService());
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orderService.placeOrder();
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}
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}
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```
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|
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```bash
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...
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=== PayPal ===
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amount: 10.0
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...
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```
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Notice that we didn't change `OrderService`. In *object-oriented programming* this is known as the **Open/Closed Principle**:
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> A class should be open for extension and closed for modification.
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In other words: we should be able to add new functionality to a class without changing its existing code. This reduces the risk of introducing bugs and breaking other parts of the application.
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---
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## Setter Injection
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Another way to inject a dependency is via a **setter**. In `OrderService`, let's define one:
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```java
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package tech.codejava.store;
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public class OrderService {
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|
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private PaymentService paymentService;
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|
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public void setPaymentService(PaymentService paymentService) {
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this.paymentService = paymentService;
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}
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public OrderService(PaymentService paymentService) {
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this.paymentService = paymentService;
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}
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public void placeOrder() {
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paymentService.processPayment(10);
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}
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}
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```
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We can use it like this in `StoreApplication`:
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|
```java
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package tech.codejava.store;
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|
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import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
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import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
|
|
|
|
@SpringBootApplication
|
|
public class StoreApplication {
|
|
|
|
public static void main(String[] args) {
|
|
// SpringApplication.run(StoreApplication.class, args);
|
|
|
|
// var orderService = new OrderService(new StripePaymentService());
|
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var orderService = new OrderService(new PayPalPaymentService());
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orderService.setPaymentService(new PayPalPaymentService());
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orderService.placeOrder();
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}
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}
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```
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> [!IMPORTANT]
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> If you remove the constructor from `OrderService` and forget to call the setter, the application will crash with a `NullPointerException`. Use setter injection only for **optional** dependencies — ones that `OrderService` can function without.
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