Spring Batch - Overview



Batch processing is a processing mode which involves execution of series of automated complex jobs without user interaction. A batch process handles bulk data and runs for a long time.

Several Enterprise applications require to process huge data to perform operations involving −

  • Time-based events such as periodic calculations.

  • Periodic applications that are processed repetitively over large datasets.

  • Applications that deals with processing and validation of the data available in a transactional manner.

Therefore, batch processing is used in enterprise applications to perform such transactions.

What is Spring Batch

Spring batch is a lightweight framework which is used to develop Batch Applications that are used in Enterprise Applications.

In addition to bulk processing, this framework provides functions for −

  • Including logging and tracing
  • Transaction management
  • Job processing statistics
  • Job restart
  • Skip and Resource management

You can also scale spring batch applications using its portioning techniques.

Features of Spring Batch

Following are the notable features of Spring Batch −

  • Flexibility − Spring Batch applications are flexible. You simply need to change an XML file to alter the order of processing in an application.

  • Maintainability − Spring Batch applications are easy to maintain. A Spring Batch job includes steps and each step can be decoupled, tested, and updated, without effecting the other steps.

  • Scalability − Using the portioning techniques, you can scale the Spring Batch applications. These techniques allow you to −

    • Execute the steps of a job in parallel.

    • Execute a single thread in parallel.

  • Reliability − In case of any failure, you can restart the job from exactly where it was stopped, by decoupling the steps.

  • Support for multiple file formats − Spring Batch provides support for a large set of readers and writers such as XML, Flat file, CSV, MYSQL, Hibernate, JDBC, Mongo, Neo4j, etc.

  • Multiple ways to launch a job − You can launch a Spring Batch job using web applications, Java programs, Command Line, etc.

In addition to these, Spring Batch applications support −

  • Automatic retry after failure.

  • Tracking status and statistics during the batch execution and after completing the batch processing.

  • To run concurrent jobs.

  • Services such as logging, resource management, skip, and restarting the processing.

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