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To use Spring MVC without Spring Boot, you need to manually configure the Spring framework, as Spring Boot typically automates much of the setup. Below is a step-by-step guide to create a simple Spring MVC web application using XML-based configuration. This example will set up a basic application with a single controller that displays a “Welcome” message on a JSP page.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Set Up the Project Structure

Create a standard web application structure. You can use an IDE like IntelliJ or Eclipse, or manually create the folders. The structure should look like this:

SimpleSpringMVCApp/
├── src/
│   └── main/
│       └── java/
│           └── com/
│               └── example/
│                   └── controllers/
│                       └── HomeController.java
│       └── webapp/
│           └── WEB-INF/
│               ├── web.xml
│               ├── spring-mvc-config.xml
│               └── views/
│                   └── home.jsp
└── pom.xml  (if using Maven)

2. Add Dependencies

If you’re using Maven, include the required dependencies in your pom.xml. For a simple Spring MVC application, you need the Spring Web MVC library and the Servlet API (provided by the container).

Create or edit pom.xml with the following:

<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
    <groupId>com.example</groupId>
    <artifactId>SimpleSpringMVCApp</artifactId>
    <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
    <packaging>war</packaging>

    <dependencies>
        <!-- Spring Web MVC -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-webmvc</artifactId>
            <version>5.3.10</version>
        </dependency>
        <!-- Servlet API (provided by the container) -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
            <artifactId>javax.servlet-api</artifactId>
            <version>4.0.1</version>
            <scope>provided</scope>
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>

    <build>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-war-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>3.3.1</version>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>
</project>

3. Configure the DispatcherServlet in web.xml

The web.xml file is the deployment descriptor for your web application. It configures the DispatcherServlet, Spring MVC’s front controller, to handle incoming requests.

Create src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/web.xml with the following content:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<web-app xmlns="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee"
         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee/web-app_4_0.xsd"
         version="4.0">

    <!-- Define the DispatcherServlet -->
    <servlet>
        <servlet-name>spring-mvc</servlet-name>
        <servlet-class>org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet</servlet-class>
        <init-param>
            <param-name>contextConfigLocation</param-name>
            <param-value>/WEB-INF/spring-mvc-config.xml</param-value>
        </init-param>
        <load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
    </servlet>

    <!-- Map the DispatcherServlet to handle all requests -->
    <servlet-mapping>
        <servlet-name>spring-mvc</servlet-name>
        <url-pattern>/</url-pattern>
    </servlet-mapping>
</web-app>

4. Create the Spring Configuration File

Create src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/spring-mvc-config.xml to define Spring MVC beans, such as controllers and view resolvers.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
       xmlns:context="http://www.springframework.org/schema/context"
       xmlns:mvc="http://www.springframework.org/schema/mvc"
       xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
       xsi:schemaLocation="
           http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans.xsd
           http://www.springframework.org/schema/context http://www.springframework.org/schema/context/spring-context.xsd
           http://www.springframework.org/schema/mvc http://www.springframework.org/schema/mvc/spring-mvc.xsd">

    <!-- Enable component scanning for controllers -->
    <context:component-scan base-package="com.example.controllers" />

    <!-- Enable annotation-driven MVC -->
    <mvc:annotation-driven />

    <!-- Configure view resolver for JSP files -->
    <bean class="org.springframework.web.servlet.view.InternalResourceViewResolver">
        <property name="prefix" value="/WEB-INF/views/" />
        <property name="suffix" value=".jsp" />
    </bean>
</beans>

5. Create a Simple Controller

Create a controller to handle HTTP requests. Add HomeController.java in src/main/java/com/example/controllers/:

package com.example.controllers;

import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;

@Controller
public class HomeController {

    @GetMapping("/")
    public String home() {
        return "home";
    }
}

6. Create a JSP View

Create a simple JSP file to display the output. Add home.jsp in src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/views/:

<%@ page contentType="text/html;charset=UTF-8" language="java" %>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Home</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Welcome to Spring MVC without Spring Boot</h1>
</body>
</html>

7. Build and Package the Application

If using Maven, run the following command from the project root to build the WAR file:

mvn clean package

This generates SimpleSpringMVCApp-1.0-SNAPSHOT.war in the target directory.

8. Deploy the Application

Deploy the WAR file to a servlet container like Apache Tomcat:

9. Access the Application

Open a browser and navigate to:

http://localhost:8080/SimpleSpringMVCApp-1.0-SNAPSHOT/

You should see:

Welcome to Spring MVC without Spring Boot

Summary

To use Spring MVC without Spring Boot:

  1. Set up a web project with a standard structure.
  2. Add dependencies for Spring MVC and the Servlet API.
  3. Configure the DispatcherServlet in web.xml.
  4. Define Spring configuration in an XML file (e.g., spring-mvc-config.xml).
  5. Create a controller to handle requests.
  6. Add a JSP view for the response.
  7. Build and deploy the WAR file to a servlet container.

This approach gives you full control over the configuration, making it a great way to learn Spring MVC fundamentals!

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