Spring Framework FAQ: Top Questions

Content Negotiation is the mechanism used by Spring MVC to determine the format of the response (e.g., JSON, XML, HTML) based on request headers or path extensions.

📘 Behavior:

• Checks Accept header, URL suffix, or query param.
• Maps content type to appropriate message converter.

📥 Example:

@GetMapping(value = "/data", produces = "application/json")
public Data getData() {
  return new Data("example");
}

🏆 Expected Output:

Returns JSON if requested via Accept: application/json

🛠️ Use Cases:

• Supporting multiple response formats with a single controller method.
• Flexible API endpoint responses based on client needs.