Introduction to WebObjects J2EE Programming Guide

JavaServer Pages (JSP) and servlets are important parts of Sun’s J2EE (Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition) architecture. JSP is a specification that defines interfaces that servlet-container vendors can implement to provide developers the ability to create dynamic Web pages, which are files with the extension .jsp. Servlet containers interpret these files and create servlets (also know as workhorse servlets) to process HTTP requests and produce responses. Servlets are server plug-ins that extend the capabilities of your Web server. They provide a straightforward deployment mechanism for your applications. Servlets are deployed inside servlet containers, which are plug-ins to your Web server.

You should read this document if you want to deploy your WebObjects applications inside a servlet container or want to take advantage of WebObjects components (both standard and custom) in your JSP pages.

Deploying WebObjects applications as servlets allows you to take advantage of the features that your servlet container provides. Keep in mind that deployment tools such as Monitor and wotaskd do not work with servlets. WebObjects uses version 2.2 of the Servlet API, and version 1.1 of the JSP specification.

Organization of This Document

The document addresses two major points, each contained in its own chapter:

• Servlets explains how you develop WebObjects applications to be deployed as servlets and how to add servlet capability to existing applications.

• JavaServer Pages tells you how to write JSP-based applications, which can be thought of as JSP applications that use WebObjects technology or hybrids—applications that use JSP pages to accomplish some tasks and WebObjects components or direct actions to perform others.

• Special Issues addresses special issues to consider when you deploy WebObjects applications as servlets or when you develop JSP-based applications.

• Document Revision History lists the revisions made to this document.