What are configuration beans (@Configuration) used for?

In the Spring Framework, the @Configuration annotation is used to denote a class that contains bean definitions — components managed by the Spring container.

Configurable beans allow:

• Grouping settings and bean definitions in one place.
• Using Java code for application configuration instead of XML.
• Defining methods with the @Bean annotation that return objects created and managed by Spring.

Example:

@Configuration
public class AppConfig {

    @Bean
    public MyService myService() {
        return new MyServiceImpl();
    }
}

Thus, @Configuration helps centralize and structure application setup, providing convenient management of dependencies and component lifecycle.