Spring Framework: Where Can I Find Examples And Resources?
Posted by pramatr on September 3rd, 2008
When ever I’m working with Spring, one of the most common questions I get asked is “where can I find good quality examples and resources?” I hate to disappoint people that I have some secret stash of information, but I get everything I need from the same places as everyone else! Here’s a brief overview of the places I visit:
- Spring Framework reference documentation – I’ve found the reference manual to be the best source of information on the framework. Anytime I have a question, the first place I look is here! It’s constantly updated, and it contains lots of recommendations and best practices from the Spring development team. What better recommendations can you have then the people that wrote it!
- Spring Framework support forum – If you’re still left with questions after looking through the reference documentation, the Spring support forum provides a very active and friendly community. There are thousands of answers already on there, so it really pays to do a quick search before you post. If you do post a question make sure you do it the smart way.
- Spring Source Team Blog – Spring from the source. What better place to get information and updates on what the Spring development team are doing.
- Spring Framework Javadoc – If you want to find details on the API of the Spring classes, the comprehensive JavaDoc is the place to go.
- Spring Hub – An independent site containing lots of links and resources related to Spring.
- Spring Framework JIRA – If you think you’ve found a bug or want to propose an enhancement, JIRA is the place to go.
- Spring Framework Mailing List – If you want to follow the progress of Spring development, you can view the mailing list here or even subscribe.
- Sample Applications – Spring ships with a number of excellent sample applications. Look through them, play with them and understand them. Many people use these examples as a base for their applications, they are an excellent starting point.
- Source code – One of the most over looked resources that Spring has to offer is it’s source code. It’s well structured, well written and easy to follow. It’s also a great place to get answers. The source code for the unit tests is also included with the release. What more information could you be looking for?
- Spring Books – If you are still looking for more information, there are a wide selection of books available. There are several existing threads on Spring forum that discuss the various books and their relative merits.