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Apache Tomcat VS Spring

Compare Apache Tomcat VS Spring and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Apache Tomcat logo Apache Tomcat

An open source software implementation of the Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages technologies

Spring logo Spring

The Spring Framework provides a comprehensive programming and configuration model for modern Java-based enterprise applications
  • Apache Tomcat Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-24
  • Spring Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-08

Apache Tomcat features and specs

  • Open Source
    Apache Tomcat is an open-source software, which means it is freely available for use and modifications. This can significantly reduce the cost of ownership and allows for customization.
  • Community Support
    Being a widely-used open-source server, Tomcat has a large and active community of developers and users who contribute to its documentation, plugins, and forums, providing extensive support.
  • Lightweight
    Tomcat is designed to be a lightweight servlet container, making it faster and less resource-intensive compared to full-blown Java EE application servers.
  • Integration with Popular Frameworks
    Tomcat integrates well with popular Java frameworks such as Spring and Hibernate, making it easier for developers to deploy and manage web applications.
  • Easy to Set Up and Configure
    Tomcat is relatively easy to set up and configure, making it suitable for both development and production environments.
  • Frequent Updates
    Regular updates and patches are released to improve performance, security, and compatibility, ensuring the server is up-to-date with the latest web technologies.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Tomcat

  • Limited Functionality
    While Tomcat is a powerful servlet container, it lacks some of the advanced features found in full-fledged Java EE application servers, which might be necessary for complex enterprise applications.
  • Resource Management
    Tomcat's default configuration might not be suitable for high traffic web applications, requiring significant tweaking and tuning to handle heavy loads effectively.
  • Documentation Quality
    The documentation, while extensive, can sometimes be hard to navigate and understand, especially for beginners. This can slow down the learning curve.
  • Limited Built-in Tools
    Compared to other full-stack application servers, Tomcat comes with limited built-in tooling for monitoring, load balancing, and clustering, often requiring third-party solutions.
  • Security Concerns
    As with any open-source project, security vulnerabilities may emerge. It requires constant monitoring and timely updates to ensure security.
  • Lack of EJB Support
    Tomcat does not support Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB), limiting its use in scenarios where EJB is a crucial component of the architecture.

Spring features and specs

  • Comprehensive Ecosystem
    Spring offers a wide range of tools and frameworks to cover almost every aspect of modern web application development, including Spring Boot, Spring Data, Spring Security, and more.
  • Strong Community and Documentation
    The Spring ecosystem has a large, active community and extensive, well-maintained documentation and tutorials which make it easier to find solutions and learn best practices.
  • Flexibility and Modularity
    Spring’s modular architecture allows developers to pick and choose only the components they need, resulting in lightweight applications that avoid unnecessary overhead.
  • Enterprise-level Features
    Spring is designed with enterprise applications in mind, providing features like transaction management, security, and robust data handling out-of-the-box.
  • Integration Capabilities
    Spring integrates well with other technologies and frameworks, such as Hibernate for ORM, Thymeleaf for templating, and various messaging and cloud-based services.
  • Inversion of Control (IoC) and Dependency Injection (DI)
    Spring’s core features IoC and DI make it easier to manage system complexity by handling the creation and management of dependencies, which enhances testability and code quality.

Possible disadvantages of Spring

  • Complexity
    Spring’s extensive set of features and configuration options can introduce complexity, making it challenging for new developers to learn and understand the framework.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    Given its comprehensive nature, the learning curve for Spring can be steep, requiring significant time and effort to master.
  • Configuration Overhead
    Though Spring Boot simplifies configuration, the traditional Spring framework requires extensive XML or Java-based configurations, which can be cumbersome and time-consuming.
  • Performance Overhead
    While Spring Boot is efficient, the base Spring framework can introduce performance overhead due to its extensive feature set and configuration management.
  • Upgrade and Maintenance
    Maintaining and upgrading Spring applications can be challenging, especially with major version changes that might introduce breaking changes or deprecate features.
  • Dependency Management
    Spring projects often have a large number of dependencies, which can lead to issues with conflicting versions and increased project complexity.

Apache Tomcat videos

Introducing Apache Tomcat 8.5

More videos:

  • Review - Webinar: Introduction to Apache Tomcat 8
  • Review - Tcat - The Leading Enterprise Apache Tomcat Application Server

Spring videos

Spring (2015) - Movie Review

More videos:

  • Review - Horror Review Spring (2014) *SPOILER FREE*
  • Review - Spring Movie Review (Horror Movie "Spring")

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache Tomcat and Spring)
Web And Application Servers
Conversions
0 0%
100% 100
Application Server
100 100%
0% 0
Link Management
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Apache Tomcat and Spring

Apache Tomcat Reviews

FOSS | Top 15 Web Servers 2021
Java programs are run using Apache Tomcat. To be more precise, it is a Java servlet – a Java software component that expands the functionality of a web server. Apache Tomcat, released under the Apache License version 2, is used by 0.1% of websites worldwide.
Source: www.zentao.pm
4 Open Source Application Servers (Comparison and Review)
Apache Tomcat is an open-source implementation of several Java technologies. It is the result of a collaboration of the finest developers worldwide. You can get involved with the development in a number of ways.
Source: shadow-soft.com
Top 5 open source web servers
Apache Tomcat is an open source Java servlet container that functions as a web server. A Java servlet is a Java program that extends the capabilities of a server. Although servlets can respond to any types of requests, they most commonly implement applications hosted on Web servers. Such web servlets are the Java counterpart to other dynamic web content technologies such as...
Source: opensource.com
Top 10 Open Source Java and JavaEE Application Servers
It is built upon a modular kernel powered by OSGi, and runs straight on top of the Apache Felix implementation. It is also capable of running with Equinox OSGi or Knopflerfish OSGi runtimes. HK2 abstracts the OSGi module system to provide components, which can also be viewed as services and injected into the run time and uses a derivative of Apache Tomcat as the servlet...

Spring Reviews

We have no reviews of Spring yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Spring should be more popular than Apache Tomcat. It has been mentiond 83 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache Tomcat mentions (17)

  • Java News: WildFly 36, Spring Milestones, and Open Liberty Updates
    Versions 11.0.6 and 9.0.104 of Apache Tomcat deliver new features and improvements. The release notes can be found for both versions. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Artifactory: Centralizing Artifact Management for DevOps Success
    Download and Install Tomcat Before downloading, confirm the latest Tomcat build package from the official website. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • How to Deploy Applications Using Tomcat on a Web Server
    First, download the latest version of Tomcat from the official Apache Tomcat website. Choose the version that suits your needs, typically the latest stable release. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • Spring Boot Monitoring with Open-Source Tools
    Manual instrumentation allows you to define your Spans within the code itself rather than relying on automatic instrumentation finding the entry point for a trace. Manual instrumentation is especially helpful for applications that don’t use an application server such as Tomcat, JBoss, or Jetty. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Issue with chatgpy
    99% is a huge exaggeration. Two essential deployment tools off the top of my head: Https://tomcat.apache.org/ Https://docs.jboss.org/author/display/AS71/Developer%20Guide.html. Source: about 2 years ago
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Spring mentions (83)

  • Year After Switching from Java to Go: Our Experiences
    But Javas has so many of these web frameworks?! * Spring (https://spring.io/) * Spring Boot (https://spring.io/projects/spring-boot) * Helidon (https://helidon.io/) * Micronaut (https://micronaut.io/) * Quarkus (https://quarkus.io/) * JHipster (https://www.jhipster.tech/) * Vaadin (https://vaadin.com/) That's just to mention the bigger ones, there's lots of mini frameworks like Javalin (https://javalin.io/) and... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • I Surveyed the Top 10 Backend Frameworks Here's What I Found
    Spring Boot simplifies Java backend development by providing a pre-configured setup. It's based on Controllers, Services, and Repositories. Controllers handle HTTP requests and routes. Services control the business logic flows. Repositories handle database operations. Check out the official spring documentation at spring.io. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • A tour of CLI tools for installing Java and creating projects
    Two of the most famous Java server frameworks, namely Spring and Quarkus, provide CLIs for improving DX. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • What backend frameworks are you using for your React app?
    Being more specific, our projects are being written with Spring framework. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Query materialized views with Java, Spring, and streaming database
    Order delivery performance is a crucial metric for any business that sells products online. It reflects the efficiency and effectiveness of the order fulfillment process and directly impacts customer satisfaction. To analyze order delivery performance, businesses need to track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as delivery time, order accuracy, and delivery cost. In the scope of this article, we will create a... - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache Tomcat and Spring, you can also consider the following products

Microsoft IIS - Internet Information Services is a web server for Microsoft Windows

Sniply.io - Add a call-to-action to every shortened link you share.

LiteSpeed Web Server - LiteSpeed Web Server (LSWS) is a high-performance Apache drop-in replacement.

Animoto - Animoto turns your photos and video clips into professional video slideshows in minutes. Fast, free and shockingly simple - we make awesome easy.

Apache HTTP Server - Apache httpd has been the most popular web server on the Internet since April 1996

DeepLink - Deeplink is a deep linking platform for native apps, enabling app developers to link to specific pages inside their apps.