Why configuration matters in Spring Boot - Test Your Understanding

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to load a property value from application.properties.

Spring Boot

@Value("$[1]")
private String appName;

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aapp.name

Bserver.port

Cspring.datasource.url

Dlogging.level

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using unrelated property keys like server.port or logging.level.

The @Value annotation loads the property named app.name from the configuration file.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to define a configuration property with a default value.

Spring Boot

@Value("${custom.timeout:[1]")
private int timeout;

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A30

Bnull

Ctrue

Ddefault

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using non-numeric default values like 'true' or 'default'.

The default value 30 is used if custom.timeout is not set in the configuration.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the configuration property injection.

Spring Boot

@Value("$[1]")
private String databaseUrl;

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aspring.datasource-url

Bspring.datasource.url

Cspring.datasource_url

Dspring.datasource url

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using dashes or underscores instead of dots in property keys.

The correct property key uses dots to separate words, like spring.datasource.url.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a configuration class with a property prefix.

Spring Boot

@ConfigurationProperties(prefix = "[1]")
public class [2]Config {
    private String url;

    public String getUrl() {
        return url;
    }

    public void setUrl(String url) {
        this.url = url;
    }
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aapp

Bdatabase

CApp

DDatabase

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using uppercase prefix or lowercase class names.

The prefix database matches the property group, and the class name DatabaseConfig follows Java naming conventions.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to bind nested configuration properties.

Spring Boot

@ConfigurationProperties(prefix = "[1]")
public class [2]Config {
    private final [3] security = new [3]();

    public [3] getSecurity() {
        return security;
    }

    public static class Security {
        private boolean enabled;

        public boolean isEnabled() {
            return enabled;
        }

        public void setEnabled(boolean enabled) {
            this.enabled = enabled;
        }
    }
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aserver

BServer

CSecurity

DApplication

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Mismatching prefix and class names or incorrect nested class names.

The prefix server groups related properties, the class ServerConfig matches the prefix, and the nested class Security holds security settings.

Practice

1. Why is configuration important in a Spring Boot application?

easy

A. It allows changing app behavior without modifying the code.

B. It makes the app run faster by skipping code.

C. It automatically fixes bugs in the code.

D. It prevents the app from starting without internet.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the role of configuration

   Configuration controls how the app behaves without changing the source code.

2. Step 2: Identify the benefit in Spring Boot

   Spring Boot uses configuration files to adjust settings easily for different environments.

3. Final Answer:

   It allows changing app behavior without modifying the code. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Configuration changes behavior without code edits [OK]

Hint: Think: config changes settings, not code [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing configuration with code changes
• Believing configuration speeds up app runtime
• Assuming configuration fixes bugs automatically

2. Which of the following is the correct way to specify a property in Spring Boot's application.properties file?

easy

A. server port = 8080

B. server-port: 8080

C. server.port=8080

D. serverPort=8080

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall Spring Boot property syntax

   Spring Boot uses key=value pairs in application.properties files.

2. Step 2: Match the correct syntax

   The correct syntax uses dots to separate words and equals sign to assign values, like server.port=8080.

3. Final Answer:

   server.port=8080 -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Properties use dot notation and equals sign [OK]

Hint: Properties use dot notation and equals sign [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using colon instead of equals sign
• Using camelCase instead of dot notation
• Adding spaces around equals sign

3. Given the following application.properties content:

spring.profiles.active=dev
server.port=9090

What will be the server port when running the app with the dev profile?

medium

A. 9090 (from properties file)

B. 8080 (default port)

C. Random port assigned at runtime

D. Application will fail to start

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify active profile and property

   The active profile is set to dev, and server.port=9090 is defined.

2. Step 2: Understand profile effect on configuration

   Since server.port is set in the active profile, the app uses port 9090.

3. Final Answer:

   9090 (from properties file) -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Active profile sets server.port to 9090 [OK]

Hint: Active profile properties override defaults [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming default port 8080 always applies
• Thinking profile disables server port setting
• Believing app fails without explicit port

4. You have two configuration files: application.properties and application-prod.properties. You want to run the app with the prod profile but the app still uses settings from application.properties. What is the likely cause?

medium

A. Spring Boot does not support multiple configuration files.

B. The application-prod.properties file is missing a required property.

C. The app needs to be restarted twice to apply profiles.

D. The spring.profiles.active property is not set to prod.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check profile activation

   Spring Boot uses spring.profiles.active to select which profile config to load.

2. Step 2: Identify cause of fallback

   If spring.profiles.active is not set to prod, the app uses default application.properties.

3. Final Answer:

   The spring.profiles.active property is not set to prod. -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Profile must be activated to load its config [OK]

Hint: Activate profile with spring.profiles.active [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming file presence auto-activates profile
• Thinking missing properties cause fallback
• Believing multiple config files are unsupported

5. You want to have different database URLs for dev and prod environments in Spring Boot. Which approach correctly manages this using configuration?

hard

A. Hardcode both URLs in the main code and use if-else to select at runtime.

B. Create application-dev.properties and application-prod.properties with respective URLs, then set spring.profiles.active accordingly.

C. Use environment variables only and ignore Spring Boot profiles.

D. Put both URLs in application.properties separated by commas.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand profile-based configuration

   Spring Boot supports multiple config files for different profiles to separate environment settings.

2. Step 2: Apply correct method for environment URLs

   Creating application-dev.properties and application-prod.properties with URLs and activating profiles is the standard way.

3. Final Answer:

   Create application-dev.properties and application-prod.properties with respective URLs, then set spring.profiles.active accordingly. -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Profiles separate environment configs cleanly [OK]

Hint: Use profile-specific properties files for environments [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Hardcoding URLs in code instead of config
• Ignoring profiles and mixing URLs in one file
• Using environment variables without profiles