Full CRUD + Student Management System

A Student Management System is a real-world application that performs complete CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete) to manage student records efficiently, securely, and consistently using Spring Boot, Hibernate, and JPA.

Built a full CRUD Student Management System using Spring Boot, Hibernate, and JPA with clean layered architecture and transactional data consistency.

This project demonstrates end-to-end database operations following a clean layered architecture, making it ideal for learning enterprise application development.

What is a Student Management System?

A Student Management System is an application used to:

• Add new students
• View student details
• Update existing student records
• Delete students
• Manage student data efficiently using a database

This project helps you understand:

• Hibernate ORM
• JPA entity mapping
• Transactions
• REST APIs
• Real-world CRUD flow

CRUD Operations

CRUD operations are the core building blocks of any database-driven application.

In a Student Management System, CRUD defines how student records are created, accessed, updated, and deleted in a structured and secure way.

What Does CRUD Mean?

CRUD stands for:

• Create – Add a new student record to the system
• Read – Fetch student details from the database
• Update – Modify existing student information
• Delete – Remove a student record

Each CRUD operation directly maps to REST API HTTP methods and database actions, making CRUD the foundation of modern backend development.

Core Modules

1. Create (Add Student)

The Create operation is used to add a new student into the system.

• Stores student information permanently in the database

Common fields include:

• Student ID
• Name
• Email
• Course
• Age or Academic Year

👉 Uses HTTP POST

👉 Performs an INSERT operation in the database

2. Read (View Students)

The Read operation allows users to retrieve student data.

• View all student records
• Fetch a student by unique ID
• Search and filter students by name, course, or year
• Supports pagination and sorting for large datasets (optional but recommended)

👉 Uses HTTP GET

👉 Performs a SELECT operation in the database

3. Update (Edit Student)

The Update operation modifies existing student details.

• Supports full or partial updates
• Ensures data accuracy and consistency
• Can use locking mechanisms to prevent concurrent update conflicts (advanced feature)

👉 Uses HTTP PUT or PATCH

👉 Performs an UPDATE operation in the database

4. Delete (Remove Student)

The Delete operation removes student records from the system.

• Deletes a student by ID
• Can be a hard delete or soft delete based on business requirements
• Usually includes a confirmation step to avoid accidental data loss

👉 Uses HTTP DELETE

👉 Performs a DELETE operation in the database

CRUD Operations and REST API Mapping

Why CRUD Operations Are Important

• Fundamental concept in Spring Boot, Hibernate, and JPA
• Used in almost every real-world application
• Essential for backend developers
• Common topic in technical interviews
• Helps build scalable and maintainable systems

Project Architecture

A layered architecture is a standard and recommended design pattern in Spring Boot applications.

It separates responsibilities clearly, making the application scalable, maintainable, and testable.

Typical layered architecture:

Layer Responsibilities

• Controller → Handles HTTP requests & responses
• Service → Business logic & transaction management
• Repository → Database interaction using JPA/Hibernate
• Entity → Maps Java objects to database tables

Student Entity

@Entity
@Table(name = "students")
publicclassStudent {

@Id
@GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.IDENTITY)
private Long id;

private String name;
private String email;
private String course;
privateint age;
}

• @Entity → Marks class as a JPA entity
• @Id → Primary key
• @GeneratedValue → Auto-generated ID

Repository Layer

The repository layer interacts directly with the database using Spring Data JPA.

publicinterfaceStudentRepositoryextendsJpaRepository<Student, Long> {
}

Built-in CRUD Methods Provided

• save() → Insert or update a record
• findById() → Fetch student by ID
• findAll() → Fetch all students
• deleteById() → Delete student by ID

Service Layer

The service layer contains the core business logic and ensures transaction management.

@Service
@Transactional
publicclassStudentService {

@Autowired
private StudentRepository repository;

public StudentsaveStudent(Student student) {
return repository.save(student);
    }

public List<Student>getAllStudents() {
return repository.findAll();
    }

public StudentgetStudentById(Long id) {
return repository.findById(id).orElseThrow();
    }

public StudentupdateStudent(Long id, Student updated) {
Studentstudent= getStudentById(id);
        student.setName(updated.getName());
        student.setEmail(updated.getEmail());
        student.setCourse(updated.getCourse());
        student.setAge(updated.getAge());
return repository.save(student);
    }

publicvoiddeleteStudent(Long id) {
        repository.deleteById(id);
    }
}

Why @Transactional Is Important

• Ensures data consistency
• Automatically rolls back on failure
• Prevents partial updates

Controller Layer (REST APIs)

The controller layer exposes RESTful endpoints to handle client requests.

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/students")
publicclassStudentController {

@Autowired
private StudentService service;

@PostMapping
public Studentcreate(@RequestBody Student student) {
return service.saveStudent(student);
    }

@GetMapping
public List<Student>getAll() {
return service.getAllStudents();
    }

@GetMapping("/{id}")
public StudentgetById(@PathVariable Long id) {
return service.getStudentById(id);
    }

@PutMapping("/{id}")
public Studentupdate(@PathVariable Long id,@RequestBody Student student) {
return service.updateStudent(id, student);
    }

@DeleteMapping("/{id}")
publicvoiddelete(@PathVariable Long id) {
        service.deleteStudent(id);
    }
}

CRUD Request Flow

• User sends a request (Create / Read / Update / Delete)
• Controller receives the API call
• Service layer applies business logic
• Repository interacts with the database
• Hibernate converts Entity ↔ SQL
• Response is returned to the user

Where Hibernate Concepts Fit

This project helps understand:

• Entity Mapping
• Hibernate Session & Persistence Context
• Transactions
• First-Level Cache
• Dirty Checking
• Optimistic Locking (@Version)

Additional Features (Optional)

• Optimistic / Pessimistic Locking
• Pagination & Sorting
• Search & Filters
• Auditing (Created / Updated timestamps)
• Validation & Global Exception Handling
• Role-based access (Admin / User)

Tech Stack (Example)

• Backend: Spring Boot
• ORM: Spring Data JPA + Hibernate
• Database: MySQL / PostgreSQL
• API Style: RESTful APIs
• Frontend (Optional): React / Angular
• Tools: Swagger, Postman

Why This Project Is Important

• Real-world enterprise-style application
• Covers 90% of Hibernate/JPA usage
• Common interview & production pattern
• Strong foundation for microservices

Conclusion

The Full CRUD Student Management System is a perfect hands-on project to master:

• Spring Boot
• Hibernate & JPA
• Database transactions
• Clean layered architecture

Once you understand this, you can easily build any enterprise CRUD-based application.