JSP Tutorials - Writing First JSP, Learn JSP, JSP Example

JSP Tutorials - Writing First JSP

Java Server Pages or JSP for short is Sun's solution for developing dynamic web sites. JSP provide excellent server side scripting support for creating database driven web applications. JSP enable the developers to directly insert java code into jsp file, this makes the development process very simple and its maintenance also becomes very easy. JSP pages are efficient, it loads into the web servers memory on receiving the request very first time and the subsequent calls are served within a very short period of time.

In today's environment most web sites servers dynamic pages based on user request. Database is very convenient way to store the data of users and other things. JDBC provide excellent database connectivity in heterogeneous database environment. Using JSP and JDBC its very easy to develop database driven web application.

Java is known for its characteristic of "write once, run anywhere." JSP pages are platform independent. Your port your .jsp pages to any platform.

Installing JSP

First of all download JavaServer Web Development Kit (JSWDK1.0.1) from http://java.sun.com/products/servlet/download.html. JSWDK comes with full documentation and it's very easy to install, so the installation process is not mentioned here. The JSWDK is the official reference implementation of the servlet 2.1 and JSP 1.0 specifications. It is used as a small stand-alone server for testing servlets and JSP pages before they are deployed to a full Web server that supports these technologies. It is free and reliable, but takes quite a bit of effort to install and configure.

Other Servers that support JSP

Apache Tomcat.
Tomcat is the official reference implementation of the servlet 2.2 and JSP 1.1 specifications. It can be used as a small stand-alone server for testing servlets and JSP pages, or can be integrated into the Apache Web server.

Allaire JRun.
JRun is a servlet and JSP engine that can be plugged into Netscape Enterprise or FastTrack servers, IIS, Microsoft Personal Web Server, older versions of Apache, O’Reilly’s WebSite, or StarNine WebSTAR.

New Atlanta’s ServletExec.
ServletExec is a fast servlet and JSP engine that can be plugged into most popular Web servers for Solaris, Windows, MacOS, HP-UX and Linux. You can download and use it for free, but many of the advanced features and administration utilities are disabled until you purchase a license.

Gefion's LiteWebServer (LWS). LWS is a small free Web server that supports servlets version 2.2 and JSP 1.1.

GNU JSP. free, open source engine that can be installed on apache web server.

PolyJSP. PolyJsp is based on XML/XSL and has been designed to be extensible. Now supports WebL

JRUN. Available for IIS server.

WebSphere. IBM's WebSphere very large application server now implements JSP.

Java Server Pages are save with .jsp extension. Following code which generates a simple html page.

Execute the example. <html>
<head>
<title>First JSP page.</title>
</head>
<body>
<%="Java Developers Paradise"%>
<%="Hello JSP"%> 
</body>
</html>
In jsp java codes are written between '<%' and '%>' tags. So it takes the following form : <%= Some Expression %> In this example we have use
<%="Java Developers Paradise"%>