pom.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!--
    =============================================
    STEP 1: Project Setup - pom.xml
    =============================================
    This is the Maven build file. It defines:
    - Your project metadata (groupId, artifactId, version)
    - The Spring Boot parent (gives you default configs)
    - All dependencies (libraries) your project needs

    KEY CONCEPTS:
    - Maven manages your project's build lifecycle and dependencies
    - The <parent> tag inherits Spring Boot's default configuration
    - Each <dependency> is a library that Spring Boot will auto-configure for you
-->
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>

    <!-- Spring Boot Parent: provides default dependency versions and plugin configs -->
    <parent>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
        <version>3.2.5</version>
        <relativePath/> <!-- lookup parent from Maven repository -->
    </parent>

    <!-- Your project's identity -->
    <groupId>com.example</groupId>
    <artifactId>springboot-from-zero</artifactId>
    <version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
    <name>springboot-from-zero</name>
    <description>A step-by-step Spring Boot tutorial - learn by building a Product CRUD API</description>

    <properties>
        <!-- We use Java 17 (LTS version, widely supported) -->
        <java.version>17</java.version>
    </properties>

    <dependencies>

        <!--
            spring-boot-starter-web:
            - Adds Spring MVC (for building REST APIs)
            - Includes embedded Tomcat server (no need to install Tomcat separately!)
            - Adds JSON serialization (Jackson) so your objects become JSON automatically
        -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
        </dependency>

        <!--
            spring-boot-starter-data-jpa:
            - Adds JPA (Java Persistence API) for database operations
            - Includes Hibernate as the JPA implementation
            - Lets you use Repository interfaces instead of writing SQL manually
        -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-data-jpa</artifactId>
        </dependency>

        <!--
            mysql-connector-j:
            - The JDBC driver that lets Java talk to MySQL
            - Without this, your app can't connect to a MySQL database
            - "runtime" scope = only needed when the app runs, not at compile time
        -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>com.mysql</groupId>
            <artifactId>mysql-connector-j</artifactId>
            <scope>runtime</scope>
        </dependency>

        <!--
            lombok:
            - Reduces boilerplate code (getters, setters, constructors)
            - @Data = auto-generates getters, setters, toString, equals, hashCode
            - @NoArgsConstructor / @AllArgsConstructor = auto-generates constructors
            - "optional" = other projects depending on this don't inherit Lombok
        -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.projectlombok</groupId>
            <artifactId>lombok</artifactId>
            <optional>true</optional>
        </dependency>

        <!--
            spring-boot-devtools:
            - Auto-restarts your app when you change code (hot reload)
            - Saves you from manually stopping and starting the app
            - "runtime" scope = only active during development
        -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-devtools</artifactId>
            <scope>runtime</scope>
            <optional>true</optional>
        </dependency>

    </dependencies>

    <build>
        <plugins>
            <!-- This plugin lets you run: mvn spring-boot:run -->
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
                <artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
                <configuration>
                    <excludes>
                        <!-- Exclude Lombok from the final JAR (it's only needed at compile time) -->
                        <exclude>
                            <groupId>org.projectlombok</groupId>
                            <artifactId>lombok</artifactId>
                        </exclude>
                    </excludes>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>

</project>