@GetMapping for GET requests in Spring Boot - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Using @GetMapping for GET requests in Spring Boot

📖 Scenario: You are building a simple Spring Boot web application that responds to HTTP GET requests. This is like setting up a friendly receptionist who listens for specific questions and gives back answers.

🎯 Goal: Create a Spring Boot controller with a method that handles GET requests at the URL /hello and returns a greeting message.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a Spring Boot controller class named HelloController

Add a method named sayHello that returns a String

Use the @GetMapping annotation to map the method to the URL path /hello

Return the exact string Hello, Spring Boot! from the method

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Web applications often need to respond to user requests by sending back data or messages. Using @GetMapping in Spring Boot helps you create endpoints that listen for GET requests and respond accordingly.

💼 Career

Understanding how to handle GET requests with @GetMapping is essential for backend developers working with Spring Boot to build RESTful APIs.

1

Create the controller class

Create a public class named HelloController and annotate it with @RestController.

Spring Boot

@RestController
public class HelloController {
    // Your code here
}

Need a hint?

Use @RestController to make the class a REST controller.

2

Add the GET mapping method

Inside HelloController, add a public method named sayHello that returns a String. Annotate it with @GetMapping("/hello").

Spring Boot

import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;

@RestController
public class HelloController {
    // Your code here
}

Need a hint?

Use @GetMapping("/hello") above the method to map GET requests to /hello.

3

Return the greeting message

Modify the sayHello method to return the exact string "Hello, Spring Boot!".

Spring Boot

import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;

@RestController
public class HelloController {
    @GetMapping("/hello")
    public String sayHello() {
        // Your code here
    }
}

Need a hint?

Return the greeting message exactly as shown.

4

Complete the controller setup

Ensure the class imports org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping and org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController and that the method and class are properly closed with braces.

Spring Boot

import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;

@RestController
public class HelloController {
    @GetMapping("/hello")
    public String sayHello() {
        return "Hello, Spring Boot!";
    }
    // Your code here
}

Need a hint?

Check your imports and braces to make sure the code is complete and correct.