Simplifying and Streamlining API Interactions with Feign in Spring Boot Microservices

Abstract

Traditional approaches to managing API interactions within Spring Boot microservices often involve writing verbose code for handling HTTP requests that lead to potential errors and maintenance challenges. The study explored the use of Feign Client as a solution, a declarative web service client that simplifies API calls by abstracting them into Java interfaces. By implementing Feign, developers can reduce boilerplate code, enhance readability, and improve maintainability. The researchers found that Feign's integration with Ribbon and Hystrix further strengthens microservice resilience through load balancing and circuit-breaking capabilities. The paper concluded by recommending Feign for standardizing API calls, advocating its combination with Spring Cloud for dynamic service discovery, and enabling resilience features with Hystrix fallback methods.