Spring is an open source framework created to simplify the complexity of enterprise application development. The Spring framework addresses all tiers of application development in a consistent manner. The Spring framework provides a layered architecture comprised of well defined modules, where each module can be used independently to simplify some area of enterprise development. Spring functionality can be used in a non managed environment, for instance an eclipse-based application running in J2SE environment or in Java EE server.
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To learn more about the latest developments in the Spring framework, visit the Spring website at http://www.springsource.org/about
Understanding all the modules and features provided by the Spring framework is a vast topic in itself and there are numerous books dedicated to Spring. In this appendix chapter our attempt is to cover the basic understanding of Spring framework to get you acquainted with the Spring capabilities used in the context of CXF web services development for this book. The following topics will be covered in this appendix chapter:
Concept of POJO-based development
Understanding Inversion of Control (IoC)
Overview of aspect-oriented programming
Introduction to Spring framework
Creating a Spring IoC application