// ❌ NEVER: Field injection @Service public class OrderService { @Autowired private OrderRepository repository; }


### Records for DTOs (REQUIRED)

```java
// ✅ ALWAYS: Use records for immutable DTOs
public record UserDTO(
    String id,
    String name,
    String email
) {}

// ❌ NEVER: Mutable POJOs for data transfer
public class UserDTO {
    private String id;
    // ... getters, setters, equals, hashCode
}

Exception Handling (REQUIRED)

// ✅ ALWAYS: Use @ControllerAdvice
@ControllerAdvice
public class GlobalExceptionHandler {
    
    @ExceptionHandler(ResourceNotFoundException.class)
    public ResponseEntity<ErrorResponse> handleNotFound(ResourceNotFoundException ex) {
        return ResponseEntity.status(HttpStatus.NOT_FOUND)
            .body(new ErrorResponse(ex.getMessage()));
    }
}

Decision Tree

Need REST API?          → Use @RestController
Need data validation?   → Use @Valid + Bean Validation
Need database access?   → Use Spring Data JPA
Need async processing?  → Use @Async
Need caching?           → Use @Cacheable
Need config properties? → Use @ConfigurationProperties

Code Examples

REST Controller

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api/users")
public class UserController {
    
    private final UserService userService;
    
    public UserController(UserService userService) {
        this.userService = userService;
    }
    
    @GetMapping("/{id}")
    public ResponseEntity<UserDTO> getUser(@PathVariable String id) {
        return userService.findById(id)
            .map(ResponseEntity::ok)
            .orElse(ResponseEntity.notFound().build());
    }
    
    @PostMapping
    public ResponseEntity<UserDTO> createUser(@Valid @RequestBody CreateUserRequest request) {
        UserDTO created = userService.create(request);
        return ResponseEntity.status(HttpStatus.CREATED).body(created);
    }
}

Bean Validation

public record CreateUserRequest(
    @NotBlank(message = "Name is required")
    String name,
    
    @Email(message = "Invalid email format")
    @NotBlank
    String email,
    
    @Size(min = 8, message = "Password must be at least 8 characters")
    String password
) {}

Commands

mvn clean install              # Build project
mvn spring-boot:run            # Run application
mvn test                       # Run tests
mvn dependency:tree            # View dependencies
./mvnw spring-boot:run         # Run with wrapper

Resources

Spring Boot Docs: https://spring.io/projects/spring-boot

java

Critical Patterns

Constructor Injection (REQUIRED)