JSP Introduction

In this JSP tutorial, you will learn about JSP, usage of JSP, process of development, independency of layers and simplification of process.

JSP or Java Server Pages, was developed by Sun Microsystems. JSP technology is object-oriented programming language and is based on Java language. In this section you will learn about JSP and some its important features.

Usage of JSP:

• JSP is widely used for developing dynamic web sites.
• JSP is used for creating database driven web applications because it provides superior server side scripting support.

Some of the reasons for the popularity of JSP are

Simplifies the process of development:

It allows programmers to insert the Java code directly into the JSP file, making the development process easier. Although JSP files are HTML files, they use special tags containing the Java source code which provides a dynamic ability.

Portability:

The Java feature of ‘write once, run anywhere’ is applicable to JSP. JSP is platform independent, making it portable across any platform and therefore, mulit-platform. It is possible for the programmer to take a JSP file and move it to another platform, JSP Servlet engine or web server.

Because of Efficiency :

As soon as the request is received, the JSP pages gets loaded into the web servers’ memory. The following transactions are then carried out within a minimal time period, handling JSP pages with efficiency.

Reusability:

JSP allow component reuse by using JavaBeans and EJBs.

Robust:

JSP offers a robust platform for web development

Independency of Layers:

There is a clear separation between presentation and implementation layers. The HTML on the web browser of the client is displayed as a presentation layer. The JSP on the server is displayed in the implementation layer. Programmers who want to work with HTML can work independently without the work of the Java developers’, working in the implementation layer, being affected. Java Server Pages, or JSP, is the way to separate the look of the web page from the corresponding content.

Integration of JSP with Other source like JDBC, Servlet and so on:

The combination of JDBC and JSP works very well. JSP is used for generating dynamic web pages. It is essential that data in these systems be maintained efficiently and securely. The programmer must have a good database and database connectivity. This is achieved by JDBC through its excellent database connectivity in heterogeneous database system. This database system is used for the integration of heterogeneous database management systems presenting a single query interface system.

Simplification of Process:

The JSP language has a simple development and maintenance process. A JSP file that has the extension .jsp is converted into a servlet .java which is dynamically compiled, loaded and executed. Only when there is a change in a JSP file, the Conversion, compilation, and loading process is then performed.

A Servlet is a Java class that is used to handle server side service. Though it is possible to write HTML code in servlet, it would require a great deal of statements for a programmer to achieve the same results as JSP. JSP handles HTML easily and converts to Servlets, enabling the functionality and features of servlet in addition to its own special features. Technically speaking, the source code of JSP runs in the JSP Servlet Engine on the web server. This JSP Servlet engine generates the HTML dynamically, displaying the output directly to the web browser of the client.