The difference between `@RestController` and `@Controller`

The difference between @RestController and @Controller in Spring Framework lies mainly in how they handle HTTP responses. 1. @Controller Used for: Traditional MVC (Model-View-Controller) web applications. Returns: Usually returns a View (like JSP, Thymeleaf, etc.). ResponseBody: If you want to return JSON/XML instead of a view, you must use @ResponseBody on the method. Example: @Controller public class MyController { @GetMapping("/hello") public String hello(Model model) { model.addAttribute("message", "Hello, World!"); return "hello"; // returns a view named "hello" } @GetMapping("/api") @ResponseBody public String api() { return "This is JSON or plain text"; } } 2. @RestController Used for: RESTful web services (APIs). Returns: Automatically returns JSON or XML responses. Behavior: It is a convenience annotation that combines @Controller and @ResponseBody. So every method returns the body directly, not a view. Example: @RestController public class MyRestController { @GetMapping("/hello") public String hello() { return "Hello, REST!"; // returns as JSON or plain text } } Summary: Feature @Controller @RestController Returns View? Yes (by default) No JSON/XML by default? No (@ResponseBody needed) Yes Use case Web UI applications REST APIs Combines with @ResponseBody Already includes @ResponseBody

May 3, 2025 - 05:28

The difference between @RestController and @Controller in Spring Framework lies mainly in how they handle HTTP responses.

1. `@Controller`

Used for: Traditional MVC (Model-View-Controller) web applications.
Returns: Usually returns a View (like JSP, Thymeleaf, etc.).
ResponseBody: If you want to return JSON/XML instead of a view, you must use @ResponseBody on the method.

Example:

@Controller
public class MyController {

    @GetMapping("/hello")
    public String hello(Model model) {
        model.addAttribute("message", "Hello, World!");
        return "hello";  // returns a view named "hello"
    }

    @GetMapping("/api")
    @ResponseBody
    public String api() {
        return "This is JSON or plain text";
    }
}

2. `@RestController`

Used for: RESTful web services (APIs).
Returns: Automatically returns JSON or XML responses.
Behavior: It is a convenience annotation that combines @Controller and @ResponseBody. So every method returns the body directly, not a view.

Example:

@RestController
public class MyRestController {

    @GetMapping("/hello")
    public String hello() {
        return "Hello, REST!";  // returns as JSON or plain text
    }
}

Summary:

Feature	`@Controller`	`@RestController`
Returns View?	Yes (by default)	No
JSON/XML by default?	No (`@ResponseBody` needed)	Yes
Use case	Web UI applications	REST APIs
Combines with	`@ResponseBody`	Already includes `@ResponseBody`