Core Servlets and JavaServer Pages™

1.3. JavaServer Pages

JavaServer Pages (JSP) technology enables you to mix regular, static HTML with dynamically generated content from servlets. Many Web pages that are built by CGI programs are primarily static, with the parts that change limited to a few small locations. For example, the initial page at most on-line stores is the same for all visitors, except for a small welcome message giving the visitor's name if it is known. But most CGI variations, including servlets, make you generate the entire page via your program, even though most of it is always the same. JSP lets you create the two parts separately. Listing 1.1 gives an example. Most of the page consists of regular HTML, which is passed to the visitor unchanged. Parts that are generated ...