Spring MVC Minimal Project: A Beginner’s Guide

Introduction

Spring MVC is a powerful framework for creating scalable and robust web applications. This guide will take you through
setting up a minimal Spring MVC project and understanding its structure, components, and functionality.

Key Takeaways:

Learn to configure and build a Spring MVC project.
Understand the roles of controller classes, view templates, and XML configurations.
Gain hands-on experience running the application.

Setting Up a Spring MVC Project

Overview of Spring MVC

Spring MVC is based on the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern, ensuring separation of concerns for better maintainability.

Tools and Dependencies

To build this project, use:

IDE: Eclipse or IntelliJ IDEA
Build Tool: Maven
Server: Apache Tomcat
Dependencies: Spring Framework libraries

Exploring the Components

Maven Configuration

The pom.xml file specifies the dependencies:

        org.springframework
        spring-webmvc
        5.3.10
    
    
        javax.servlet
        javax.servlet-api
        provided

org.springframework

spring-webmvc

5.3.10

javax.servlet

javax.servlet-api

provided

Controller Logic

The MainController.java file handles incoming requests:

package org.studyeasy;

import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;

@Controller
public class MainController {

    @RequestMapping("/")
    public String home() {
        return "home";
    }
}

package org.studyeasy;

import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;

import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;

@Controller

public class MainController {

@RequestMapping("/")

public String home() {

return "home";

}

Explanation:

The @Controller annotation marks this class as a controller.
The @RequestMapping(“/”) maps the root URL to the home method.
The method returns the view name (home.jsp).

View Templates

The home.jsp file renders the response:

    <title>Welcome</title>


    <h1>Welcome to Spring MVC!</h1>

<title>Welcome</title>

<h1>Welcome to Spring MVC!</h1>

Spring XML Configuration

The SpringSample-servlet.xml file connects the controller to the view:

Deployment Descriptor

The web.xml file configures the servlet:

        SpringSample
        org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet
    
    
        SpringSample
        /

SpringSample

org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet

SpringSample

Running the Application

Build the Project: Use Maven to install dependencies and compile the code.
Deploy on Tomcat: Copy the WAR file to the webapps directory.
Access the Application: Navigate to http://localhost:8080.

Output:

Welcome to Spring MVC!

1	Welcome to Spring MVC!

Conclusion

This guide introduced you to the foundational elements of Spring MVC, from setting up the project to running it
successfully. Understanding these basics will help you appreciate how Spring Boot builds upon the MVC framework to simplify development.