Full Stack Application Development with Spring Boot and React

Overview

• Objective: Build a complete full stack application using Spring Boot and React, and deploy it to AWS.
• Components: Spring Boot for backend, React for frontend, AWS for deployment.
• Key Learning Points: API creation, database integration, React components, deployment strategies.

Setup and Essentials

• Backend: Spring Boot
  • Create Spring Boot APIs
  • Connect to a database (initially H2, then Postgres for production)
• Frontend: React
  • Learn basics of React and component-based architecture
  • Integrate React with Spring Boot APIs
• Deployment: AWS
  • APIs and database management
  • Host on EC2, S3, and RDS

Web Frameworks and Spring Boot Basics

• Web Frameworks: Purpose and necessity
  • Serve web pages, database communication, security management
• Spring Boot: Key features
  • Inversion of Control (IoC), Dependency Injection (DI)
  • MVC framework for clean separation of concerns
  • Tools for data access and transaction management
  • Built-in server (like Tomcat)

Key Spring Boot Concepts

• Inversion of Control (IoC): Spring manages the lifecycle of objects and dependencies.
• Dependency Injection: Inject dependencies at runtime for loose coupling.
• Spring Boot Components: Starters, autoconfiguration, actuators, embedded server.
• Project Structure: Using IntelliJ, understanding pom.xml, creating controller, service, and repository layers.

Building the Backend

• Controllers: Handle HTTP requests.
• Services: Implement business logic.
• Repositories: Handle database interactions.
• CRUD Operations: Create, read, update, delete challenges.
• JPA Integration: Using Spring Data JPA for database operations.
  • Entity creation, repository configuration, database connection.

React Fundamentals

• Components: Building blocks of a React application.
• JSX: JavaScript XML for component rendering.
• Props and State: Manage component states and pass properties.
• Hooks: useState and useEffect for state management and side effects.

Building the Frontend

• React App Setup: Creating a React app using npx create-react-app.
• Component Design: Modularizing the frontend using components.
• State Management: Use states and props to manage data flow.
• API Calls: Fetch data using axios.
• Form Handling: Capture and submit form data, update challenge list dynamically.
• Styling with Bootstrap: Apply bootstrap classes for responsive design and aesthetics.

Preparing for Deployment

• Environment Configuration: Update API URLs for production.
• Build Process: Generate production builds (npm run build for React, Maven build for Spring Boot).
• Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS): Allow API access across different domains.

AWS Deployment

AWS Services Used

1. Amazon RDS: For database

• Setting up a PostgreSQL database instance

2. Amazon EC2 & Elastic Beanstalk: For backend Spring Boot application

• Automated deployment using Elastic Beanstalk

3. Amazon S3: For static file hosting of React app

• Create bucket, upload build files, configure for static hosting

Step-by-Step

1. Setup RDS: Create an RDS database instance, set up public access.
2. Elastic Beanstalk for Spring Boot: Deploy the Spring Boot JAR file.
3. Configure CORS: Ensure frontend can interact with backend.
4. S3 for React App: Upload production build files to S3, enable static website hosting.
5. Update and Redeploy: Handle changes and redeploy services as necessary.

Testing and Validation

• Check API Endpoints: Ensure all API endpoints work correctly via Postman.
• Validate Frontend Functionality: Ensure React app correctly interacts with the backend.
• Monitor AWS Services: Check the health and logs via AWS console.

Final Outcome

• Live Application: Fully functional full stack application deployed on AWS.
• Features: Add and list challenges, responsive interface, integrated backend and frontend.

Useful Links and Commands

• Spring Initializr: start.spring.io
• Create React App: npx create-react-app my-app
• AWS Console: AWS Management Console
• Maven Build Command: ./mvnw package
• React Build Command: npm run build

Closing Remarks

• Learning Outcomes: Hands-on experience with full stack development and cloud deployment.
• Future Enhancements: Potential updates, scaling strategies, and further integrations.