Spring Boot Backend Development Course, Blog Screen Composition Example, Writing Creation Functionality

Introduction

In recent years, the development of web applications has become very active. In particular, blogging systems provide an excellent platform for individuals and companies to share information and promote their brands. In this course, we will explore the process of developing the backend of a blog using Spring Boot, as well as how to design the blog screen. We will also cover how to implement the post creation feature.

1. What is Spring Boot?

Spring Boot is an application development framework based on the Spring framework. It helps you create applications easily without complex setup, making it particularly suitable for REST API development and building microservice architectures. The main features of Spring Boot are as follows:

  • Auto-Configuration: Spring Boot automatically configures the necessary libraries to reduce development time.
  • Embedded Server: It includes web servers such as Tomcat and Jetty, allowing for easy deployment without separate configuration.
  • Starter Dependencies: It provides starter dependencies to easily set up specific features.

2. Setting Up the Development Environment

To develop a blog using Spring Boot, you first need to set up the development environment. Below are the necessary tools and setup methods:

  • Java Development Kit (JDK): JDK 11 or higher is required. You can install Oracle or OpenJDK.
  • IDE: You can use integrated development environments (IDEs) like IntelliJ IDEA or Eclipse.
  • Build Tool: You can use Maven or Gradle; this course will explain using Maven.

3. Creating a Project

To create a Spring Boot project, you can use Spring Initializr. Below are the steps to create a project.

  1. Open a web browser and access Spring Initializr.
  2. Enter the project metadata. Set the project metadata as follows:
    • Group: com.example
    • Artifact: blog
    • Name: blog
    • Package Name: com.example.blog
    • Packaging: Jar
    • Java: 11
  3. Click Next under Dependencies and add the following dependencies:
    • Spring Web
    • Spring Data JPA
    • H2 Database (in-memory database for testing)
    • Thymeleaf (template engine)
  4. Click the Generate button to create the project.
  5. Download the generated ZIP file, unzip it, and open it in the IDE.

4. Designing Package Structure

Good software should have a clear package structure. Below is the recommended package structure for this blog application.


com.example.blog
├── controller
├── model
├── repository
├── service
└── BlogApplication.java

4.1 Controller

The Controller handles client requests. It contains the handler methods for the REST API and screens that will be written in the next steps.

4.2 Model

The Model defines the data structure of the application. It includes entities and DTOs (Data Transfer Objects) for the database.

4.3 Repository

The Repository handles interactions with the database. It contains interfaces for performing CRUD operations using JPA.

4.4 Service

The Service is the layer that handles business logic. It processes data between the Controller and the Repository.

5. Creating the Blog Post Model

First, we need to write the model class to represent blog posts. Write the following code in the model/Post.java file.


package com.example.blog.model;

import javax.persistence.*;
import java.time.LocalDateTime;

@Entity
public class Post {
    @Id
    @GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.IDENTITY)
    private Long id;
    private String title;
    private String content;

    @Column(name = "created_at")
    private LocalDateTime createdAt;

    // getters and setters
}

This model class is linked to the database table using JPA’s @Entity annotation. Each field represents a column in the table.

6. Database Configuration

In this project, we will use H2 Database. Add the following configuration to the src/main/resources/application.properties file:


spring.datasource.url=jdbc:h2:mem:testdb
spring.datasource.driverClassName=org.h2.Driver
spring.datasource.username=sa
spring.datasource.password=
spring.h2.console.enabled=true
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=create

7. Creating the Post Repository

The repository interface performs CRUD operations with the database. Write the following code in the repository/PostRepository.java file.


package com.example.blog.repository;

import com.example.blog.model.Post;
import org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.JpaRepository;

public interface PostRepository extends JpaRepository {
}

8. Writing the Service Class

The service class handles business logic. Write the following code in the service/PostService.java file.


package com.example.blog.service;

import com.example.blog.model.Post;
import com.example.blog.repository.PostRepository;
import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;

import java.time.LocalDateTime;
import java.util.List;

@Service
public class PostService {
    @Autowired
    private PostRepository postRepository;

    public List getAllPosts() {
        return postRepository.findAll();
    }

    public Post createPost(Post post) {
        post.setCreatedAt(LocalDateTime.now());
        return postRepository.save(post);
    }
}

9. Writing the Controller

The controller handles client requests and returns responses. Write the following code in the controller/PostController.java file.


package com.example.blog.controller;

import com.example.blog.model.Post;
import com.example.blog.service.PostService;
import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.*;

import java.util.List;

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api/posts")
public class PostController {
    @Autowired
    private PostService postService;

    @GetMapping
    public List getAllPosts() {
        return postService.getAllPosts();
    }

    @PostMapping
    public Post createPost(@RequestBody Post post) {
        return postService.createPost(post);
    }
}

10. Structuring the HTML Screen

The structure of the blog screen can be written using the Thymeleaf templating engine. Add the HTML file to the src/main/resources/templates directory. Below is a simple HTML to structure a list of blog posts and the creation screen:






    Blog
    



Blog Posts


Post List



    
Post Title

    
Post Content




Create a New Post

11. Running the Web Application

Now that we have written all the components, let’s run the application. Execute the BlogApplication.java file in the IDE to start the application. Once the execution is complete, you can check the blog page by visiting http://localhost:8080 in your browser.

12. Conclusion

In this course, we learned how to set up the backend of a blog application using Spring Boot and how to design the blog screen. We also implemented the functionality to create blog posts, experiencing the process of integrating APIs and models in practice. I hope this course helped you understand the basic usage of Spring Boot and the MVC structure.

Furthermore, I encourage you to explore adding additional features (e.g., comments, user authentication) to enhance your blog. Thank you!