1.5 The Role of JSP

A somewhat oversimplified view of servlets is that they are Java programs with HTML embedded inside of them. A somewhat oversimplified view of JSP documents is that they are HTML pages with Java code embedded inside of them.

For example, compare the sample servlet shown earlier (Listing 1.1) with the JSP page shown below (Listing 1.2). They look totally different; the first looks mostly like a regular Java class, whereas the second looks mostly like a normal HTML page. The interesting thing is that, despite the huge apparent difference, behind the scenes they are the same. In fact, a JSP document is just another way of writing a servlet. JSP pages get translated into servlets, the servlets get compiled, and it is the servlets that run at request time.

Listing 1.2 Store.jsp
 <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD><TITLE>Welcome to Our Store</TITLE></HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#FDF5E6"> <H1>Welcome to Our Store</H1> <SMALL>Welcome, <!-- User name is "New User" for first-time visitors --> <%= coreservlets.Utils.getUserNameFromCookie(request) %> To access your account settings, click <A HREF="Account-Settings.html">here.</A></SMALL> <P>  Regular HTML for  rest of online store's Web page  </BODY></HTML> 

So, the question is, If JSP technology and servlet technology are essentially equivalent in power, does it matter which you use? The answer is, Yes, yes, yes! The issue is not power, but convenience, ease of use, and maintainability. For example, anything you can do in the Java programming language you could do in assembly language. Does this mean that it does not matter which you use? Hardly.

JSP is discussed in great detail starting in Chapter 10. But, it is worthwhile mentioning now how servlets and JSP fit together. JSP is focused on simplifying the creation and maintenance of the HTML. Servlets are best at invoking the business logic and performing complicated operations. A quick rule of thumb is that servlets are best for tasks oriented toward processing , whereas JSP is best for tasks oriented toward presentation . For some requests, servlets are the right choice. For other requests , JSP is a better option. For still others, neither servlets alone nor JSP alone is best, and a combination of the two (see Chapter 15, "Integrating Servlets and JSP: The Model View Controller (MVC) Architecture") is best. But the point is that you need both servlets and JSP in your overall project: almost no project will consist entirely of servlets or entirely of JSP. You want both.

OK, enough talk. Move on to the next chapter and get started!



Core Servlets and JavaServer Pages (Vol. 1.Core Technologies)
Core Servlets and Javaserver Pages: Core Technologies, Vol. 1 (2nd Edition)
ISBN: 0130092290
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2002
Pages: 194

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net