Spring Pet Clinic (Sample application provided by Spring) | Spring Boot | Thyme Leaf

Introduction

This tutorial provides a step-by-step guide to building the Spring Pet Clinic application using Spring Boot and Thymeleaf. This sample application is a great way to learn about Spring Boot, a popular Java framework for creating web applications quickly and efficiently. By the end of this tutorial, you will understand how to set up the application, manage dependencies, and create a basic CRUD interface.

Step 1: Setting Up the Development Environment

To get started, you need to set up your development environment.

• Install Java: Make sure you have Java Development Kit (JDK) installed. You can download it from the Oracle website.
• Install Maven: Maven is a build automation tool used for Java projects. Download it from the Maven website.
• IDE: Use an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) like IntelliJ IDEA or Eclipse for coding.

Step 2: Cloning the Spring Pet Clinic Repository

Next, you need to clone the Spring Pet Clinic repository from GitHub.

• Open your terminal or command prompt.
• Run the following command:

  git clone https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-petclinic.git
  

• Navigate into the project directory:

  cd spring-petclinic
  

Step 3: Building the Application

Now, you will build the application using Maven.

• In the terminal, run the command:

  mvn package
  

• This command compiles the code and packages the application into a .jar file.

Step 4: Running the Application

To run the application, follow these steps:

• Use the command:

  mvn spring-boot:run
  

• Once the application starts, you should see output indicating that it's running.

Step 5: Accessing the Application

After starting the application, access it through your web browser.

• Open your browser and go to http://localhost:8080.
• You should see the Spring Pet Clinic homepage.

Step 6: Exploring the Application

Familiarize yourself with the application features:

• Home Page: View general information about the clinic.
• Veterinarians: Navigate to the veterinarians section to see the list of vets.
• Pets: Explore the pets section to manage pet information.

Step 7: Customizing the Application

You may want to modify the application to fit your needs. Here are a few tips:

• Edit Templates: Modify the Thymeleaf templates located in the src/main/resources/templates directory to change the UI.
• Add Features: Extend the application by adding new entities or services in the src/main/java/com/example/petclinic directory.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you learned how to set up, build, and run the Spring Pet Clinic application using Spring Boot and Thymeleaf. This sample application serves as an excellent foundation for understanding web development with Spring. Feel free to expand upon it by adding features or integrating new services. For further learning, explore the official Spring documentation to deepen your understanding of Spring Boot.