Test profiles and configuration in Spring Boot - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to specify the active Spring profile in application.properties.

Spring Boot

spring.profiles.active=[1]

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

Adev

Bprod

Cdefault

Dtest

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'prod' or 'dev' instead of 'test' when running tests.

The spring.profiles.active property sets the active profile. Here, test activates the test profile.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the annotation to activate the 'test' profile for a Spring Boot test class.

Spring Boot

@ActiveProfiles([1])
public class MyServiceTest {}

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

A"dev"

B"test"

C"prod"

D"default"

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Omitting quotes around the profile name.

Using the wrong profile name.

The @ActiveProfiles annotation activates the specified profile for the test class. Using "test" activates the test profile.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the YAML configuration to define a 'test' profile property.

Spring Boot

spring:
  profiles: [1]
  datasource:
    url: jdbc:h2:mem:testdb

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

Atest

Binclude: test

Cdefault: test

Dactive: test

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'active: test' under profiles instead of 'test'.

Misplacing colons or indentation.

In YAML, to define properties for a profile, use test after profiles:. So spring.profiles: test defines the 'test' profile section.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to correctly inject a property value from the 'test' profile in a Spring component.

Spring Boot

@Value("$[1]")
private String [2];

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

Aapp.test.value

Bapp.prod.value

CtestValue

DprodValue

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using a production property key when testing.

Variable name not matching the property meaning.

The @Value annotation injects the property named app.test.value. The variable name testValue is a good descriptive name for this property.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a test configuration class that activates the 'test' profile and defines a bean.

Spring Boot

@Configuration
@Profile([1])
public class TestConfig {

  @Bean
  public String sampleBean() {
    return [2];
  }

  public String getProfile() {
    return [3];
  }
}

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

A"test"

B"This is a test bean"

D"prod"

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using the wrong profile name in @Profile.

Returning production strings in test beans.

The @Profile annotation activates the 'test' profile. The bean returns a test string. The method returns the profile name 'test'.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of using test profiles in a Spring Boot application?

easy

A. To run the application with special settings only during testing

B. To improve the application's runtime performance in production

C. To automatically generate test data for the application

D. To disable security features permanently

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand test profiles concept

   Test profiles allow running the app with different settings specifically for testing purposes.

2. Step 2: Compare options

   Only To run the application with special settings only during testing correctly describes the purpose of test profiles as special settings for tests.

3. Final Answer:

   To run the application with special settings only during testing -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Test profiles = special test settings [OK]

Hint: Test profiles isolate test settings from production [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing test profiles with performance tuning
• Thinking test profiles generate test data automatically
• Assuming test profiles disable security permanently

2. Which of the following is the correct way to name a properties file for a test profile named testdb?

easy

A. application.properties.testdb

B. testdb-application.properties

C. application-testdb.properties

D. application_testdb.properties

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall Spring Boot profile file naming

   Spring Boot uses the pattern application-{profile}.properties for profile-specific config files.

2. Step 2: Match the pattern with the profile name

   For profile testdb, the correct file name is application-testdb.properties.

3. Final Answer:

   application-testdb.properties -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Profile file = application-{profile}.properties [OK]

Hint: Use application-{profile}.properties naming [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Placing profile name after .properties
• Using underscores instead of hyphens
• Reversing the order of profile and application

3. Given the following test class annotation:
@ActiveProfiles("test")
and two property files:
application.properties with db.url=prod-db
application-test.properties with db.url=test-db
What will be the value of db.url during this test?

medium

A. prod-db

B. test-db

C. null

D. application.properties

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand @ActiveProfiles effect

   @ActiveProfiles("test") activates the 'test' profile for the test run.

2. Step 2: Determine property file precedence

   Properties in application-test.properties override those in application.properties when 'test' profile is active.

3. Final Answer:

   test-db -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Active profile properties override default [OK]

Hint: Active profile properties override defaults [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming default properties always apply
• Confusing profile name in annotation
• Expecting null if profile is active

4. You have a test annotated with @ActiveProfiles("dev") but the test still uses properties from application.properties instead of application-dev.properties. What is the most likely cause?

medium

A. The test class must extend a special base class to use profiles

B. The @ActiveProfiles annotation is only for production

C. Spring Boot does not support multiple profiles

D. The application-dev.properties file is missing or misnamed

Solution

1. Step 1: Check profile file presence

   If application-dev.properties is missing or named incorrectly, Spring Boot falls back to application.properties.

2. Step 2: Verify annotation usage

   @ActiveProfiles works for tests to activate profiles; it is not limited to production.

3. Final Answer:

   The application-dev.properties file is missing or misnamed -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Missing profile file causes fallback to default [OK]

Hint: Check profile file name and location first [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking @ActiveProfiles is ignored in tests
• Believing Spring Boot lacks profile support
• Assuming inheritance is required for profiles

5. You want to run integration tests with a profile integration that uses a different database URL and disables security. Which combination correctly activates this profile and overrides the default settings?

hard

A. Create application-integration.properties with overrides and annotate tests with @ActiveProfiles("integration")

B. Add spring.profiles.active=integration only in application.properties

C. Use @Profile("integration") on the test class without any properties file

D. Set environment variable SPRING_PROFILE=integration but keep default properties unchanged

Solution

1. Step 1: Use profile-specific properties file

   Create application-integration.properties to override database URL and security settings for the integration profile.

2. Step 2: Activate profile in tests

   Annotate tests with @ActiveProfiles("integration") to activate the profile during test runs.

3. Final Answer:

   Create application-integration.properties with overrides and annotate tests with @ActiveProfiles("integration") -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Profile file + @ActiveProfiles activates test config [OK]

Hint: Use profile file plus @ActiveProfiles to activate [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Setting active profile only in default properties
• Using @Profile instead of @ActiveProfiles on tests
• Relying on environment variable without config changes