The JavaTM Web Services Tutorial
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Web Applications

Stephanie Bodoff

A Web application is a dynamic extension of a Web server. A Web application can consist of dynamic Web pages containing various types of markup language (HTML, XML, and so on) as well as static resources such as images. A Web application can also be the endpoint of a fine-grained Web service that is used by the dynamic Web pages. In the Java 2 Platform, Web components provide the dynamic extension capabilities for a Web server. Web components are supported by the services of a runtime platform called a Web container. In the Java Web Services Developer Pack (Java WSDP), Web components are either Java Servlets or JSP pages and they run in the Tomcat Web container.

Servlets are Java programming language classes that dynamically process requests and construct responses. JSP pages are text-based documents that execute as servlets but allow a more natural approach to creating static content. Although servlets and JSP pages can be used interchangeably, each has its own strengths. Servlets are best suited to managing the control functions of an application, such as dispatching requests and handling nontextual data. JSP pages are more appropriate for generating text-based markup such as HTML, SVG, WML, and XML.

This chapter describes the organization of, configuration of, and installation and deployment procedures for Web applications. Chapters 13 and 14 cover how to develop the Web components. Many features of JSP technology are determined by Java Servlet technology, so you should familiarize yourself with that material even if you do not intend to write servlets.

Most Web applications use the HTTP protocol, and support for HTTP is a major aspect of Web components. For a brief summary of HTTP protocol features see HTTP Overview.

In This Chapter
Web Application Life Cycle
Web Application Archives
WAR Directory Structure
Tutorial Example Directory Structure
Creating a WAR
Configuring Web Applications
Prolog
Alias Paths
Context Parameters
Event Listeners
Filter Mappings
Error Mappings
References to Environment Entries, Resource Environment Entries, or Resources
Installing Web Applications
Deploying Web Applications
Listing Installed and Deployed Web Applications
Running Web Applications
Updating Web Applications
Reloading Web Applications
Redeploying Web Applications
Removing Web Applications
Undeploying Web Applications
Internationalizing and Localizing Web Applications
Accessing Databases from Web Applications
The Examples
Installing and Starting the Database Server
Populating the Database
Configuring the Web Application to Reference a Database
Configuring Tomcat to Map the JNDI Name to a Database
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