Spring - Multi Action Controller with Example

Last Updated : 22 May, 2026

Spring is a lightweight and widely used Java framework that helps developers build scalable and enterprise-level web applications. It simplifies development by providing built-in support for dependency management, MVC architecture, and web request handling.

  • Reduces complexity in Java web application development.
  • Provides built-in support for MVC, dependency injection, and modular design.
  • Improves productivity compared to traditional technologies like JDBC, JSP, and Servlets.

Multi-Action Controller

A Multi-Action Controller in Spring allows a single controller class to handle multiple types of HTTP requests using different methods, making the application more organized and efficient.

  • One controller class can handle multiple URL mappings.
  • Each method inside the controller responds to a different request type.
  • Helps in reducing the number of controller classes and improves code structure.

Note: We are going to use Spring Tool Suite 4 IDE for this project. Please refer to this article to install STS in your local machine How to Download and Install Spring Tool Suite (Spring Tools 4 for Eclipse) IDE? 

Prerequisites

  • Eclipse (EE version)/STS IDE
  • Spring JAR Files
  • Tomcat Apache latest version

Steps To Implements Multi Action Controller

Follow these steps to configure Spring MVC XML with base package scanning with Multi Action Controller.

Step 1: Create Dynamic Web Project

  • Open Eclipse or Spring Tool Suite (STS) IDE
  • Go to File > New > Other
  • Search and select Dynamic Web Project -> Click Next -> Fill Project Details -> Finish

Step 2: Add Spring Libraries

Download the spring JARs file and go to the src > main > webapp > WEB-INF > lib folder and past these JAR files. 

Step 3: Configure Apache Tomcat

Read the article Configuration of Apache Tomcat Server and configure the tomcat server with your application. Now we are ready to go.

Step 4: Configuring Dispatcher Servlet

Configure the DispatcherServlet in web.xml to handle all incoming requests and act as the front controller in the Spring MVC application. Go to the src > main > webapp > WEB-INF > web.xml file and the complete code for web.xml file

<web-app>
<servlet>
<servlet-name>dispatcher</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>dispatcher</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
</web-app>

Step 5: Create Spring Configuration File

Now go to the  src > main > webapp > WEB-INF and create an XML file. Actually, this is a Spring Configuration file like beans.xml file. And the name of the file must be in this format

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:context="http://www.springframework.org/schema/context" xmlns:mvc="http://www.springframework.org/schema/mvc"
xsi:schemaLocation="
http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans https://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans.xsd http://www.springframework.org/schema/context https://www.springframework.org/schema/context/spring-context.xsd http://www.springframework.org/schema/mvc
https://www.springframework.org/schema/mvc/spring-mvc.xsd">

<!-- Enable annotation-based configuration -->
<mvc:annotation-driven/>

<!-- Base package for component scanning -->
<context:component-scan base-package="base package Name"></context:component-scan>
</beans>

Step 6: Create Controller Class

The controller class in Spring MVC is responsible for handling incoming HTTP requests and returning appropriate responses. It acts as an intermediary between the user request and the business logic of the application.

Java 
package com.student.controllers;

// Importing required classes
import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.ResponseBody;

// Annotation
@Controller

// Class
public class DemoController {

    @ResponseBody
    @RequestMapping("/hello")

    public String helloWorld()
    {
        return "Hello World!";
    }

    @ResponseBody
    @RequestMapping("/geeksforgeeks")

    public String welcomeGfgMessage()
    {
        return "Welcome to GeeksforGeeks";
    }

    @ResponseBody
    @RequestMapping("/happycoding")

    public String happyCodingMesage()
    {
        return "Happy Coding Guyz!";
    }
}

 Step 7: Enable Component Scanning

Add the below line inside the frontcontroller-dispatcher-servlet.xml file before running your application. 

<context:component-scan base-package="com.student.controllers"></context:component-scan> 

Step 8: Run Your Application

To run your Spring MVC Application right-click on your project > Run As > Run on Server and run your application as shown in the below image as follows: 

After that use the following URL to run your controller as shown in the below image. All other details are mentioned in the image.

Output:

To run the '/hello' request hit the following URL

http://localhost:8080/myfirst-mvc-project/student.com/hello

Similarly, to run the '/geeksforgeeks' request hit the following URL:

http://localhost:8080/myfirst-mvc-project/student.com/geeksforgeeks

Output on the Browser: 

Welcome to GeeksforGeeks

To run our Last Controller '/happycoding' request hit the following URL as follows: 

http://localhost:8080/myfirst-mvc-project/student.com/happycoding

Output on the Browser:

Happy Coding Guyz!

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