How do you choose among @Component, @Service, @Repository, and @Controller?
PICTURE THIS: HOW TO EXPLAIN IT
Simple meaning
They are all stereotypes on top of @Component.
WHY — Spring Boot instead of guessing?
Why interviewers care about Spring Boot:
question about Spring Boot.
trade-offs, and what you would actually do on a Backend project - not buzzwords.
Name the idea, why it exists, then one short example.
End with when you use it and one common pitfall.
STEPS — What happens step by step?
Before you speak the answer, walk the interviewer through these steps:
- 1They are all stereotypes
on top of @Component.
- 2@Repository adds persistence exception
translation, @Service marks business logic, and @Controller or @RestController marks the web layer.
- 3Functionally scanning treats them
as beans
- 4the names communicate layering
to the team and to AOP pointcuts.
- 5Common mistake
What juniors usually get wrong.
- 6Close
When you pick this over the alternative.
EXAMPLE — See it in action
Here's a short line you can speak, broken into clear beats:
Note: Adapt this scaffold to your own project — keep it under 60–90 seconds.
Key takeaway
They are all stereotypes on top of @Component. @Repository adds persistence exception translation, @Service marks business logic, and @Controller or @RestController marks the web layer.