In the following blog post, I want to take a closer look at the question of whether the application framework Spring Boot is still relevant in modern Java-based application development. I will take a critical look at its architectural concept and compare it against the Jakarta EE framework. I am aware of how provocative the question is and that it also attracts incomprehension. Comparing both frameworks I am less concerned about the development concept but more with the question about runtime environments.
Both – Spring Boot and Jakarta EE – are strong and well-designed concepts for developing modern Microservices. When I am talking about Jakarta EE and Microservices I always talk also about Eclipse Microprofile which is today the de-facto standard extension for Jakarta EE. Developing a Microservice the concepts of Spring Boot and Jakarta EE are both very similar. The reason is, that a lot of technology of today’s Jakarta EE was inspired by Spring and Spring Boot. The concepts of “Convention over Configuration“, CDI, or the intensive usage of annotations were first invited by Spring. And this is proof of the innovative power of Spring and Spring Boot. But I believe that Jakarta EE is today the better choice when looking for a Microservice framework. Why do I come to this conclusion?