Difference Between opentelemetry-spring-boot-starter and OpenTelemetry Java Agent?

[shahparthiv]

Description
I am trying to understand the key differences between the opentelemetry-spring-boot-starter and the OpenTelemetry Java Agent.

According to my understanding:

• The main advantage of using the spring-boot-starter is its native image support, making it a good choice for Spring Boot applications that are compiled with tools like GraalVM.

• In terms of instrumentation coverage, both spring-boot-starter and the Java Agent seem to provide similar out-of-the-box support for third-party libraries.

Questions

• Is my understanding correct that the main advantage of opentelemetry-spring-boot-starter lies in native image compatibility?

• Do both approaches (starter vs agent) provide the same level of instrumentation coverage for third-party libraries? Or are there differences in supported frameworks and libraries?

• Are there other significant factors (e.g., performance, customizability, etc.) that I should consider when deciding between these two?

[steverao]

About the differences between them and when to start to use spring starter. You can refer to https://opentelemetry.io/blog/2024/spring-starter-stable/#when-to-use-the-spring-starter