Name

<welcome-file-list>

Synopsis

A welcome file is a file that the container serves when it receives a request URI that identifies a directory as opposed to a web page or a servlet. The <welcome-file-list> element can define an ordered list of files to look for in the directory and serve if present: 

<welcome-file-list>
  <welcome-file>index.html</welcome-file>
  <welcome-file>index.htm</welcome-file>
  <welcome-file>default.html</welcome-file>
  <welcome-file>default.htm</welcome-file>
</welcome-file-list>

When a directory entry request is received that doesn’t match a servlet mapping, the container appends each welcome filename in the order specified in the deployment descriptor to the request URI and checks whether a resource in the WAR is mapped to the new URI. If it is, the request is forwarded to the resource. If no matching resource is found, the behavior is container-dependent. The container may, for instance, return a directory listing or an HTTP 404 status code (Not Found).

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