Increasing complexity in modern enterprise applications is a fact of life. You not only have to deal with complex business logic, but also a myriad of other concerns such as security, auditing, exposing business functionality to external applications, and managing the evolution of that functionality and technologies. The Spring Framework and Spring Portfolio products address these needs by offering a Plain-Old Java Object (POJO) based solution that lets you focus on your business logic.

Complex applications pose problems that go beyond using the right set of technologies. You need to take into account other considerations such as a simplified development process, easy deployment, monitoring deployed applications, and managing changes in response to changing business needs. This is where the SpringSource Application Platform comes into play. It offers a simple yet comprehensive platform to develop, deploy, and service enterprise applications. In this Programmer Guide, we explore the runtime portion of the SpringSource Application Platform, the SpringSource dm Server, and learn how to develop applications to benefit from its capabilities.