In this part of the book, we will introduce the Spring Framework, starting with the steps needed to download the binary and source distributions. We will next explain the Inversion of Control (IoC) pattern and aspect-oriented programming (AOP). IoC and AOP lie at the heart of the Spring Framework. Toward the end of Part 1, we will show you, in full detail, various ways to configure Spring-managed beans. Finally, we will round off Part 1 with a look at some of the most important Spring design patterns.