Best of Spring Framework — April 2026

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   Article

   Baeldung·3w

   Introduction to Spring Data AOT Repositories

   Spring Data AOT Repositories is a new feature coming in Spring Boot 4 that shifts repository preparation from runtime to build time. Previously, Spring Data used runtime reflection and dynamic proxies to implement repository interfaces via SimpleJpaRepository. With AOT Repositories enabled, Spring generates concrete repository implementation classes (e.g., UserRepositoryImpl__AotRepository) at compile time, eliminating most runtime reflection and proxy overhead. The article walks through the evolution across three modes: no AOT, AOT without repository optimization, and full AOT Repositories. Performance benchmarks show startup time improvements (10.1s → 9.9s → 8.7s) and faster build times come at the cost of longer compile times (11s → 17s → 25s). A notable benefit is compile-time detection of JPA query errors. The feature is enabled by setting spring.aot.repositories.enabled=true alongside spring.aot.enabled=true.

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2. 2
   Article

   InfoQ·3w

   Java News Roundup: OpenJDK JEPs, Jakarta EE 12, Spring Framework, Micrometer, Camel, JBang

   Weekly Java ecosystem roundup covering: JEP 534 (Compact Object Headers by Default) and JEP 533 (Structured Concurrency 7th Preview) elevated to Candidate status; JDK 27 Build 18 early-access; Jakarta EE 12 milestone timeline through Q1/Q2 2027; Spring Framework 7.0.7 and 6.2.18 with three CVE fixes (DoS vulnerabilities in WebFlux and MVC); Spring Data 2026.0.0 RC1; Apache Grails 7.1.0; Micrometer Metrics 1.17.0 RC1; Eclipse Store/Serializer 4.1.0 beta1; Apache Camel 4.19.0 with Azure Functions, Groovy JSON, Spring AI Image components and quantum-safe TLS; and JBang 0.138.0 with WAR file execution support.

   25

   1
3. 3
   Article

   JetBrains·3w

   IntelliJ IDEA 2026.1.1 Is Out!

   IntelliJ IDEA 2026.1.1 is a bug-fix release addressing several issues: WSL Python SDK setup is restored, Emmet works correctly in remote development, Gradle sync no longer fails with a class cast error, WildFly server connection is fixed, WSL 2 JDK detection is resolved, Ant target double-click now runs correctly, Spring project code completion is faster, WebLogic run configuration creation is fixed, and Find and Replace works properly on Enter.

   22

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4. 4
   Article

   Baeldung·4w

   Getting a Cron Expression From Database for a Spring Boot Scheduled Job

   Two approaches for loading cron expressions from a database in Spring Boot are compared. The first uses a Spring bean (cronLoader) referenced via SpEL in @Scheduled, which is simple but only reads the value once at startup. The second uses SchedulingConfigurer to register a trigger task that re-reads the cron expression from the database before each execution, enabling runtime schedule changes without restarting the application. An H2 in-memory database with JPA is used for demonstration, along with a REST endpoint to update the cron value on the fly.

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