This guide is designed to help students learn the basics of building RESTful APIs using Java 17 and Spring Boot, while following a layered architecture.

🎯 Purpose of this Guide

• Introduce students to Spring Boot and its project setup using Spring Initializr.
• Teach the concept of layered architecture (Model, Service, Controller) while skipping the repository for now by using a HashMap as an in-memory database.
• Provide a hands-on exercise in creating, retrieving, updating, and deleting student records through simple GET,POST, PUT and DELETE endpoints.
• Reinforce core OOP concepts such as encapsulation (in the model) and abstraction (in the service interface).
• Explain the purpose of annotations like @Service and @RestController in the Spring ecosystem.
• Practice API testing using Postman.

🌱 GitHub & Version Control

Before starting, make sure you can clone the repository and navigate basic Git operations. 👉 A beginner-friendly Git guide is available here: GitHub Guide

If you’re already comfortable with Git and GitHub, you may skip this part and proceed directly with the activity.