Introduction

The purpose of article is to provide developers and software engineers with a structured guide for converting an application from WildFly formerly known as JBoss AS to Spring Boot

High Level Steps

In this guide, we will cover various aspects of the conversion process steps required to convert your Wildfly application to Spring Boot, including:

• Evaluating the existing Wildfly application architecture and dependencies.
• Identifying and replacing Wildfly-specific dependencies with Spring Boot equivalents.
• Migrating configuration files and settings to Spring Boot's conventions.
• Refactoring enterprise components, such as Enterprise Java Beans (EJBs), to Spring components.
• Rewriting integration points with Wildfly-specific features to use Spring Boot's integration mechanisms.
• Updating the build configuration and deployment process to align with Spring Boot practices.
• Testing, debugging, and deploying the migrated application in a Spring Boot-compatible environment.
• Providing documentation and training resources to ensure a smooth transition for the development team.

Migration Process

Converting an application from Wildfly to Spring Boot involves migrating configurations, dependencies, and codebase to align with Spring Boot's conventions and best practices. Here's a high-level overview of the conversion process:

1. Evaluate Current Application:

• Understand the architecture, dependencies, and configurations of the existing Wildfly application.

2. Identify Dependencies:

• Review and identify dependencies specific to Wildfly, such as JBoss modules or proprietary APIs, and find equivalent libraries or frameworks compatible with Spring Boot.

3. Convert Configuration:

• Migrate Wildfly-specific configuration files (e.g., standalone.xml, persistence.xml) to Spring Boot's configuration format (application.properties or application.yml).

4. Refactor Enterprise Components:

• Convert Enterprise Java Beans (EJBs) to Spring components (e.g., Spring beans, Spring Data repositories) using Spring's annotations and programming model.

5. Rewrite Integration Points:

• If applicable rewrite integration points with Wildfly-specific features (e.g., JMS messaging, JNDI lookup) to use Spring Boot's integration mechanisms (e.g., Spring JMS, Spring Data JPA, Spring Boot Starter for JNDI).

6. Update Build Configuration:

• Update the build configuration (e.g., Maven, Gradle) to include Spring Boot dependencies and plugins required for packaging and running the application as well as removing all of the Wildfly dependencies.

7. Test and Debug:

• Thoroughly test the migrated application to ensure that all functionalities work as expected.
• Debug any issues that arise during the migration process and address them accordingly.

8. Deployment:

• Deploy the migrated application to a Spring Boot-compatible environment (e.g., Tomcat, Jetty) and verify its functionality in the new environment.

9. Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD):

• Integrate the migrated project into your CI/CD pipeline to automate the build, test, and deployment processes.

10. Documentation and Training:

• Document the migration process and any changes made to the project's architecture, configuration, and codebase.
• Provide training or knowledge transfer sessions to team members to familiarize them with the new Spring Boot-based architecture.

Conclusion

By following the outlined steps we are able to migrate an application from one engine (Wildfly) to another (Spring Boot) leveraging the benefits of Spring Boot's lightweight architecture.