Web Apps
Client-server requests for static (unchanging) HTML pages are simple.
- Client requests a page.
- Web Server returns the contents of the page.
But sometimes we need to process user data or generate the HTML content.
Dynamic Web Applications¶
Web applications are programs that the end user can access using a standard web browser. * In a dynamic web application, we can process user data and create content with Java technologies.
A Java web application is a collection of web components and supporting files, including: * Java servlets * JSP files * Java classes * HTML pages * Image files
A web application runs in the environment of a web container.
Web Container¶
A web container is a program that manages Java web applications. Its responsibilities include: * Processing requests. * Mapping requests to specific web applications. * Returning a response (such as HTML) back to the client.
Below, the Web Container knows requests to /app go to a certain Web Application.
Application Server¶
The application server runs the Web Container program.
Practice Exercise¶
The specifications for Java web applications are defined by the Java Platform Enterprise Edition (Java EE).