In which cases is it preferable to use the @Configuration annotation in Spring?

The @Configuration annotation in Spring is used to denote a class that contains bean definitions and application configuration. It is preferable to use @Configuration in the following cases:

• When you need to explicitly define and configure beans using methods annotated with @Bean.
• For creating configuration classes that replace XML configuration.
• If you need to utilize Spring features such as creating proxies for @Bean methods (to ensure singleton beans and dependency management).

Example:

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

Thus, @Configuration is convenient for centralized and type-safe description of Spring application configuration.