10 Best Spring Framework Books for Java Developers in 2024
A collection of best Spring Books for Java developers to learn Core Spring, Spring Boot, Spring Security, and Spring MVC in depth
Hello guys, if you are a Java developer and want to master the Spring framework and looking for the best books then you have come to the right place. Earlier, I have shared the best Spring framework courses and in this article, I am going to share the best books to learn Spring Framework in depth. The list includes books on Spring Core, Spring MVC, Spring Boot, and even Spring Security.
If you know, Spring and Spring MVC is one of the most popular Java frameworks, and most of the new Java projects use Spring these days. Java programmer often asks questions like which books are good to learn Spring MVC or What is the best book to learn Spring framework etc.
Actually, there are many books and courses to learn Spring, Spring Boot, and Spring MVC, but only certain books can be considered good because of their content, examples, or the way they explained the concept involved in the Spring framework.
Similar to the Top 10 books on Java programming, we will some good books on Spring in this article, which not only help beginners to start with Spring but also teaches some best practices.
To learn a new technology or a new framework, probably the best way is to start looking for documentation provided, and Spring Framework is no short on this. Spring offers excellent, detailed documentation to use various features of the Spring framework, but despite that, nothing can replace a good book.
Luckily both Spring and Spring MVC got a couple of good titles which not only explain concepts like Dependency Injection and Inversion of Control, which is core to the spring framework but also give coverage to another essential aspect of Spring.
The following are some of the good books available on Spring and Spring MVC, which can help you to learn Spring. Java Developers also often learn Spring and Hibernate together because of the massive demand of Java Web developers with Hibernate and Spring in their CV.
Top 10 Books to Learn Spring Framework, Spring MVC, Spring Boot, and Spring Security in 2024
Here is my list of the top 10 books to learn Spring MVC and Spring framework. Let me know if you come across any other great book in Spring, which is worth adding to this list.
1. Spring in Action(6th Edition)
Lots of my readers suggested Spring in Action from Manning as one of the best books to learn Spring. It seems like a worth reading book. I have seen its content briefly, and it does cover both Spring and Spring MVC.
So if you are looking for a popular book to learn both Spring MVC for web development and Spring core for using Spring framework as DI and IOC container in core Java application, then Spring in Action is definitely the right choice.
For quicker and better learning, you can also combine this book with the Spring Framework 6: Beginner to Guru course which helps you with the initial setup and provide more active learning.
2. Spring Boot in Action
This is simply the best book to learn Spring Boot from none other than Craig Walls, who has taught most Java developers’ Spring Framework through his classic book Spring in Action.
Craig has a wonderful ability to explain complex and tedious concepts in simple language with beautiful analogies. Along with that, you will find many beautiful examples in this book as well.
The book covers almost all the essential topics in Spring Boot, starting from auto-configuration and starter dependencies with a general idea of how Spring Boot simplifies Java development.
The book further explores advanced concepts — like the Spring Boot Actuator — to find out what’s going on inside a Spring Boot application. It also looks at the Spring Boot CLI for even simpler Java Spring development with Groovy.
Just in case you want more active learning, you can combine this book with the Learn Spring Boot in 100 Steps — Beginner to Expert course from Udemy to get the best of both worlds.
3. Spring Microservices in Action
The software development world is increasingly moving towards Microservice architecture as it offers several benefits in terms of development, support, deployment, scalability, and reliability.
Thankfully Spring framework provides tools like Spring Boot and Spring Cloud, which can be used to write microservices in Java.
If you are keen on microservice development with the Spring framework, then this book is for you.
If you want, you can also combine this book with the Master Microservices with Spring Boot and Spring Cloud by Ranga Karnam, a fellow blogger and Udemy best seller. It’s a great course if you are looking for some practical knowledge.
4. Reactive Spring
Reactive programming is the future of Software development and this seems to be another great book on learning Reactive programming using Spring.
This book will cover important concepts in reactive programming including project Reactor and the reactive streams specification, data access, web programming, RPC with protocols like RSocket, testing, integration and composition, and more.
The book is now complete. I haven’t read it yet but going to read it soon and I am including it here because Josh Long(Author) himself suggested this book. You can buy this book on Amazon and it's now available in both paperback and Kindle format.
If you need a course, you can check out this Reactive Programming with Spring Framework course on Udemy. It’s an hands-on course to learn Reactive Programming and WebFlux framework, but if you need more choices, you can also checkout this list of best Spring Boot Reactive and WebFlux courses.
5. Spring Security in Action
This is an excellent book that initially looked boring to me. When I read the first couple of chapters, I was about to put it down, but then the real action begins with deep diving with spring security.
The book has a lot of sample code, and it enforces you not only to read but also to work; I mean, try and test sample application and build along with each new concept, which is excellent.
It also does an excellent job of explaining behind essential details as it tells you what happens when you add <http> tag, what is security context, how the order of intercept-url matters, and the consequence of using security=none for leaving out CSS and JavaScript other URLs.
All in all, it’s a complete book which not only covers basics but also advanced details, and on top of that, it’s also the most up-to-date course as it covers Spring Security 5, if you need a course then you can also combine this book with the Spring Security Core: Beginner to Guru Udemy course.
My big thanks to Laurențiu Spilcă and Manning, the author and publisher of spring security in action for creating this excellent book.
6. ExpertSpring MVC and Web Flow
Expert Spring MVC and Web Flow by Seth Ladd, Darren Davison, Steven Devijver, Colin Yates is one of my favorite books on Spring MVC and arguably one of the best books in Spring MVC. It covers both Spring MVC and web flow in-depth and explains each concept with a simple explanation.
I highly recommend this book to any beginner who is learning the Spring MVC framework. Their chapter on Spring fundamentals is also one of the best ways to learn dependency injection and inversion of control in Spring, and I myself learned DI and IOC from that chapter.
This is the Spring book I recommend to any Java web developer who is familiar with Java web technology or any MVC framework like Struts. Also, in my opinion, their chapter on Spring Fundamentals is one of the best ways to start with the Spring framework.
The only missing point is that this book only covers Spring MVC and web flow and does not cover the whole Spring framework. If you want a comprehensive guide then you can also join Spring Master Class — Beginner to Expert course along with this book to learn both Spring MVC and Spring Core in depth. This course is a perfect companion to this book as it covers areas that are not covered in the book.
7. Spring 5 Recipes — A problem-solution approach
This is another good book on Spring Framework, which I like most. This book is a collection of Spring recipes or How to do it in Spring Framework.
In every Spring recipe, you learn some new concepts, and it also helps to learn Spring fundamentals, like their recipes, help me to learn when to use ApplicationContext and BeanFactory and Constructor vs. Setter Injection.
A key highlight of this book is, It’s a problem solution approach. Since its teaching style is different than any popular book, it’s a good supplement along with Spring documentation.
These books also provide excellent coverage of many spring technologies, like Spring Security, Spring Boot, Microservices, Spring JDBC, Spring and EJB, JMX, Email, and have a chapter on scripting as well.
If you like books on the problem-solution approach, then you will enjoy reading Spring Recipes, not the best book in Spring but still a good one, and will definitely make any list of top 10 books on the Spring framework.
8. Professional Java Development with the Spring Framework
The main highlight of this book is that one of its authors is Rod Johnson, who has also created the Spring framework. So you get his view on Spring and How Spring should be used, what are best practices to follow in Spring, like When to use Setter Injection and Constructor Injection.
This book provides good coverage of the Spring framework, including Spring-core, Spring MVC, Spring ORM support, etc. Also, examples in this book are easy to understand, and it also focuses on Unit tests which are good practice.
Though I don’t rate this book too high as if your focus is Spring MVC then Expert Spring MVC and Web flow is the best Spring book to follow. If you are looking for an overview of Spring features, then Spring Documentation is the best book to read.
As I said, the positive point of this book is knowing Spring from author Rod Johnson himself. Once you have basic knowledge of the Spring framework, you can read this book to get the authors to view it.
9. Pro Spring 5.0
Pro Spring is one of the best books to learn Spring Framework from the start. This book is massive and tries to cover most of the Spring concepts, like Spring fundamentals, JDBC Support, Transaction support, Spring AOP, Spring Web MVC, Spring Testing, etc.
The good point about this book is that it’s conventional and easy to read, it explains the concept, followed by a good example, which is a good way to learn. What is worrying is sheer size; I haven’t completed this book to date and only refer to some topic.
The good point is that this book covers Spring 5.0, which is the latest stable version. As I said, this is one of the most comprehensive books on the Spring framework, and for anyone who wants to learn the Spring framework by following just one book, Pro Spring 5.0 is a good choice.
if you are looking for some great books to learn Hibernate along with Spring, then you can also check out my post 5 Great Books to Learn Hibernate.
10. Spring Boot: Up and Running
This is a great book to learn Spring Boot and created by Mark Heckler, from VMware, the company behind Spring, guides you through Spring Boot’s architecture and approach, along with topics such as debugging, testing, and deployment. I
If you want to develop cloud-native Java or Kotlin applications with Spring Boot rapidly and effectively — using reactive programming, building APIs, and creating database access of all kinds — this book is for you. It’s still a work in progress but worth reading.
For a better learning experience, you can also combine this book with Eugen Paraschiv’s Learn Spring: The Certification Class, which is probably the best course to learn Spring 5 and Spring Boot 2 from scratch, in a guided, code-focused way
11. Spring Documentation
Spring framework documentation is located on the SpringSource website, here is the link for Spring documentation for Spring framework 3.1 in HTML format https://spring.io/docs Though this is not a book, Spring tutorials, and Spring documentation is another two sources of learning Spring framework, which I highly recommend.
The main reason for that is they are free and highly comprehensive and has a lot of examples to support various concept and feature. Also, one of the best parts of reference documentation is that they are updated with the latest Spring release available.
Updating books with every new version of Spring is somewhat tricky than updating documentation. Spring documentation combined with any Spring book is the best way to learn the Spring framework.
For learning Spring MVC, you can connect Spring documentation with earlier spring book, Expert Spring MVC and Web Flow, and Spring Framework : Beginner to Guru courses for practical, hands-on learning.
These are some of the best books to learn Spring framework and Spring MVC. Spring documentation is unique because of updates and new releases of Spring Framework. Given the popularity of the Spring Framework for new Java development work, every Java developer should make an effort to learn the Spring framework.
Other Recommend Books and Courses for Java Programmers
- Spring Fundamentals By Bryan Hansen (course)
- The Complete Java Developer RoadMap (guide)
- Top 10 Spring Boot Courses for Java Developers (courses)
- 5 Great Books to Learn Hibernate for Java Developers (see here)
- Introduction to Spring MVC 4 By Bryan Hansen (see)
- 10 Books Every Programmer Should Read (read more)
- Top 5 Data Structure and Algorithm Books (see here)
- 5 Great Books to Learn Java 8 in Quick time (see here)
- 10 Great books to Learn Programming Algorithms (read more)
- 11 Great FREE Java Programming Books PDF (download)
- Top 5 Courses to learn Spring Cloud (courses)
- Top 5 Courses to learn Spring Framework in-depth (courses)
- 5 Spring Framework Books Experienced Programmer should Read (books)
Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like these Spring framework books then please share them with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions then please drop a note.
P. S. — If you want to learn how to develop RESTful Web Service using Spring MVC in-depth, I suggest you join the REST with Spring certification class by Eugen Paraschiv. One of the best courses to learn REST with Spring MVC.
