Servlet basic concepts

Servlets are a key component of Java EE (Enterprise Edition) used to build web applications.
They run on a web server or application server and handle client requests, typically via HTTP.
Here are some basic concepts:

1. What is a Servlet?

A Servlet is a Java class that extends the capabilities of servers hosting applications accessed by
request-response programming models. It essentially acts as a middle layer between requests
from web browsers or other HTTP clients and databases or applications on the HTTP server.

2. Servlet Lifecycle

The lifecycle of a servlet is managed by the servlet container (e.g., Apache Tomcat, Jetty) and
consists of several phases:

 Loading and Instantiation: The servlet container loads the servlet class and creates an
instance.
 Initialization (init method): Called once when the servlet is first loaded, used for one-
time setup.
 Request Handling (service method): Called for each request. Delegates to doGet(),
doPost(), doPut(), etc., depending on the HTTP method.
 Destruction (destroy method): Called before the servlet is taken out of service, used for
cleanup.

3. Servlet Methods

 init(): Initializes the servlet, called only once.

 service(): Core method, handles requests and responses. Generally, you override doGet()
or doPost().
 destroy(): Cleans up resources before the servlet is destroyed.

4. ServletConfig and ServletContext

 ServletConfig: Provides initialization parameters and context-specific information for a

single servlet instance.
 ServletContext: Shared across all servlets in a web application, used for application-
level parameters.

5. Request and Response Objects

 HttpServletRequest: Encapsulates client request information, such as headers,

parameters, and attributes.
 HttpServletResponse: Facilitates constructing and sending a response back to the client.
6. Session Management

 HttpSession: Interface to manage user sessions, allowing you to store and retrieve user
data across multiple requests.

7. Deployment Descriptor (web.xml)

An XML file where servlets are configured. It defines servlet mappings, initialization
parameters, filters, etc.

9. Filters

Filters can be used to intercept requests and responses, allowing preprocessing or modification:

JSP (JavaServer Pages) – Basic Concepts in Web Technology

JavaServer Pages (JSP) is a server-side technology used to create dynamic web pages using Java.
It simplifies web development by allowing developers to embed Java code directly into HTML
pages.

1. What is JSP?

JSP is an extension of Java Servlets that allows the creation of dynamic web content using a
combination of:

 HTML for structure

 Java code for business logic
 JSP tags to simplify web development

It is compiled into a Servlet internally by the JSP container, making it efficient and scalable.

2. JSP Lifecycle

The lifecycle of a JSP page consists of the following phases:

1. Translation: The JSP file is converted into a servlet.

2. Compilation: The translated servlet is compiled into a Java class.
3. Initialization (jspInit()): Called only once when the JSP is loaded into memory.
4. Execution (_jspService()): Handles requests from clients (like the service() method in
servlets).
5. Destruction (jspDestroy()): Called when the JSP is removed from memory.

3. JSP Directives

Directives provide global-level settings for JSP pages.

  Page Directive (<%@ page ... %>)
Defines page attributes like content type, language, and import statements.

jsp
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<%@ page language="java" contentType="text/html" pageEncoding="UTF-8" %>

 Include Directive (<%@ include file="filename.jsp" %>)

Includes the content of another file at translation time.

jsp
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<%@ include file="header.jsp" %>

 Taglib Directive (<%@ taglib uri="..." prefix="..." %>)

Declares custom JSP tags (used for JSP Standard Tag Library - JSTL).

jsp
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<%@ taglib uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/core" prefix="c" %>

4. JSP Scriptlets, Expressions, and Declarations

A. Scriptlets (<% ... %>)

Allows embedding Java code within a JSP file.

jsp
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<%
String message = "Hello, JSP!";
out.println(message);
%>

B. Expressions (<%= ... %>)

Prints values directly to the response.

jsp
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Hello, <%= "World!" %>

C. Declarations (<%! ... %>)

Used to declare methods or variables.

jsp
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<%! int add(int a, int b) { return a + b; } %>
Sum: <%= add(5, 10) %>

5. JSP Implicit Objects

JSP provides predefined objects that can be used directly.

Object Description
request Represents the HttpServletRequest object (client request data).
response Represents the HttpServletResponse object (server response).
session Represents the HttpSession object (user session tracking).
application Represents the ServletContext (shared data for all users).
out Used to send output to the client.
config Provides servlet configuration data.
pageContext Provides access to page attributes.
page Refers to the current JSP page itself.
exception Used for exception handling in error pages.

6. JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL)

JSTL provides predefined tags to replace Java code in JSP.

A. Core Tags (c:out, c:if, c:forEach)

 Print output:
 Conditional check:
 Loop through data:

7. JSP Exception Handling

JSP pages can handle exceptions using:

1. Error Page Directive (errorPage)

Defines an error-handling JSP page.
2. Exception Object (exception)
Used in error pages to display error details.

8. JSP vs. Servlets

Feature JSP Servlets

Ease of Development Easier (HTML + Java) Harder (pure Java code)
Performance Slightly slower (converted to Servlets) Faster (direct execution)
Readability More readable (HTML-centric) Less readable (Java-centric)
Feature JSP Servlets
Best Used For View layer (UI) Controller logic (backend)

10. Deployment in Tomcat

1. Save JSP file inside webapps/your_project/ folder.

2. Start Apache Tomcat.
3. Access JSP page in a browser:

bash
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http://localhost:8080/your_project/index.jsp
HTML Basic concepts

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) – Basic Concepts

1. What is HTML?

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the standard language for creating web pages. It
defines the structure of a webpage using elements and tags.

 HyperText: Links between web pages.

 Markup Language: Uses tags (<tag>) to define page elements.

2. HTML Document Structure

An HTML page has a basic structure:

html
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<!DOCTYPE html> <!-- Declares HTML version (HTML5) -->
<html> <!-- Root element of the page -->
<head> <!-- Metadata, styles, and scripts -->
<title>Page Title</title> <!-- Title shown in browser tab -->
</head>
<body> <!-- Visible content of the page -->
<h1>Welcome</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
</body>
</html>

Main Parts:

1. <!DOCTYPE html> → Declares HTML5 version.

2. <html> → Root element of the document.
3. <head> → Contains metadata like <title>, <meta>, <link>, and <script>.
 4. <body> → Contains visible content (text, images, links, etc.).

3. HTML Tags

HTML tags are elements enclosed in angle brackets (<>).

Types of Tags:

1. Opening and Closing Tags

o Example: <p>This is a paragraph.</p>
2. Self-Closing (Void) Tags
o Example: <img src="image.jpg" alt="Description">

4. Common HTML Tags

A. Text Formatting Tags

Tag Description Example

<h1> to <h6> Headings <h1>Main Heading</h1>
<p> Paragraph <p>This is a paragraph.</p>
<b> Bold text <b>Bold</b>
<i> Italic text <i>Italic</i>
<u> Underline <u>Underline</u>
<br> Line break Hello<br>World!
<hr> Horizontal line <hr>

B. Links and Images

Tag Description Example

<a> Hyperlink <a href="https://google.com">Google</a>
<img> Image <img src="image.jpg" alt="My Image">

C. Lists

Tag Description Example

<ul> Unordered list <ul><li>Item 1</li><li>Item 2</li></ul>
<ol> Ordered list <ol><li>Item 1</li><li>Item 2</li></ol>
<li> List item <li>List Item</li>

D. Tables

Tag Description Example

<table> Defines a table <table>...</table>
<tr> Table row <tr>...</tr>
Tag Description Example
<td> Table data cell <td>Cell</td>
<th> Table header <th>Header</th>

E. Forms (User Input)

Forms collect input from users.

Tag Description Example

<form> Defines a form <form action="submit.php">...</form>
<input> Input field <input type="text">
<textarea> Multiline text <textarea></textarea>
<select> Dropdown <select><option>One</option></select>
<button> Button <button>Click</button>

5. HTML Attributes

Attributes add extra information to elements.

Common Attributes:

Attribute Purpose Example

href Links <a href="page.html">Link</a>
src Image source <img src="image.jpg">
alt Image alternative text <img alt="My Image">
title Tooltip text <p title="Hello!">Hover me</p>
style Inline CSS <p style="color:red;">Red text</p>

6. HTML Comments

<!-- This is a comment -->

7. Semantic HTML (HTML5)

Semantic tags improve readability and SEO.

Tag Purpose
<header> Defines page header
<nav> Navigation links
<section> Defines a section
<article> Standalone content
<aside> Sidebar content
<footer> Footer section
8. HTML5 Features

 Video and Audio Support:

 Canvas for Graphics:

9. HTML vs. Other Web Technologies

Technology Purpose
HTML Structure of web pages
CSS Styling (colors, fonts, layout)
JavaScript Adds interactivity
Bootstrap Prebuilt responsive design
React, Angular JavaScript frameworks for dynamic apps
XML Basic concepts

XML (Extensible Markup Language) – Basic Concepts

1. What is XML?

XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a structured, text-based format used to store and
transport data. It is self-descriptive and allows custom tags, unlike HTML.

Key Features of XML:

 Self-Descriptive: Uses meaningful tags.

 Hierarchical Structure: Nested elements.
 Platform-Independent: Works across different systems.
 Human & Machine-Readable.
 Not a Programming Language: Used for data storage, not execution.

2. XML vs. HTML

Feature XML HTML

Purpose Stores and transports data Displays web content
Custom Tags Yes, user-defined No, predefined
Syntax Rules Strict Flexible
Case-Sensitive Yes No

Example:

 HTML: <h1>Hello</h1> (predefined)

 XML: <title>Hello</title> (custom)

3. XML Structure
A basic XML document has:

1. XML Declaration
2. Root Element
3. Nested Elements
4. Attributes (optional)
5. Comments (optional)

Breakdown:

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> → XML declaration.

 <student> → Root element.
 Nested tags (<name>, <age>) → Contain data.
 Attributes (subject="Computer Science") → Additional info.

4. XML Syntax Rules

XML follows strict syntax rules:

Rules:

1. All tags must have a closing tag.

2. Tags must be properly nested.
3. XML is case-sensitive.
4. Attribute values must be in quotes.

6. XML Comments

<!-- This is a comment -->

7. XML Namespaces

Used to avoid naming conflicts when combining XML documents.

8. XML DTD (Document Type Definition)

Defines the structure and rules of an XML document.

9. XML Schema (XSD)

A more advanced alternative to DTD for defining XML structure.

10. XML in Real-World Applications

XML is widely used in:

  Data Storage & Exchange (e.g., configuration files)
 Web Services (SOAP-based APIs)
 RSS Feeds (News feeds)
 AJAX & APIs (Used with JavaScript)
 Microsoft Office Files (DOCX, XLSX use XML internally)

11. XML vs. JSON

Feature XML JSON

Syntax Complexity More complex Simpler
Readability Less readable More readable
Data Type Support Text-based Supports numbers, arrays, etc.
Used In Web services, databases APIs, JavaScript apps
CSS Basic concepts

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) – Basic Concepts

1. What is CSS?

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is used to style and format HTML elements. It controls the
layout, colors, fonts, and spacing of web pages.

2. Why Use CSS?

✔ Separates content from design

✔ Improves page load speed
✔ Easier maintenance
✔ Supports responsive design
✔ Enables animations & effects

CSS Frameworks

Framework Purpose
Bootstrap Prebuilt responsive design
Tailwind CSS Utility-first framework
Materialize Google's Material Design

PHP Basic Concepts

1. What is PHP?

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a server-side scripting language used for web development. It
is embedded in HTML and executed on the server before the page is sent to the browser.
✔ Runs on the server
✔ Generates dynamic content
✔ Works with databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc.)

2. Why Use PHP?

✔ Free & Open Source

✔ Supports databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite)
✔ Platform-independent
✔ Easy to learn & widely used
✔ Used in CMS (WordPress, Joomla)

PHP Security Best Practices

✔ Use prepared statements for database queries

✔ Validate user input (filter_var())
✔ Escape output (htmlspecialchars())
✔ Use password hashing (password_hash())

1. HTML (HyperText Markup Language)

📌 Why Use HTML?

🔹 Defines the structure of web pages

🔹 Uses elements like <h1>, <p>, <a>, <div>, etc.
🔹 Forms the foundation of all web applications
🔹 Works with CSS & JavaScript to create complete websites

2. XML (Extensible Markup Language)

📌 Why Use XML?

🔹 Stores & transports structured data

🔹 Self-descriptive (uses custom tags)
🔹 Used in configuration files, APIs, and data exchange between systems
🔹 Platform-independent

3. CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)

📌 Why Use CSS?

🔹 Styles HTML elements (colors, fonts, layout)

🔹 Supports responsive design (works on all devices)
🔹 Enables animations and effects
🔹 Reduces code duplication by separating design from structure
4. JavaScript

📌 Why Use JavaScript?

🔹 Adds interactivity & dynamic behavior to websites

🔹 Handles user input validation (without server requests)
🔹 Works with AJAX for real-time data updates
🔹 Used in front-end frameworks like React, Angular, Vue

5. Servlet

📌 Why Use Servlets?

🔹 Handles server-side logic using Java

🔹 Processes form data, database requests, and session management
🔹 More efficient than CGI (Common Gateway Interface)
🔹 Forms the backend of Java-based web applications

6. JSP (JavaServer Pages)

📌 Why Use JSP?

🔹 Combines HTML & Java in a single file

🔹 Used for dynamic web pages
🔹 Supports session management & integrates with Java EE
🔹 Uses JSP directives, expressions, and tags

Technology Purpose
HTML Defines page structure
CSS Styles & layouts the page
JavaScript Adds interactivity
XML Stores & transports data
Servlet Handles backend processing in Java
JSP Generates dynamic content using Java

🚀 Example Full-Stack Flow

1. HTML + CSS → Creates the user interface

2. JavaScript → Validates forms, adds dynamic behavior
3. JSP → Generates dynamic content (e.g., personalized greetings)
4. Servlets → Handle requests & database interactions
5. XML → Stores configuration or data exchange

🌐 Example: Login System

 1. HTML → Displays the login form
2. CSS → Styles the form
3. JavaScript → Validates user input (e.g., empty fields)
4. JSP → Checks login credentials and redirects
5. Servlet → Connects to the database and verifies the user
6. XML → Stores user roles & configuration

1. HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)

What is HTML?

HTML is the standard language used to create and structure content on the web. It defines the
structure and semantics of a webpage. HTML uses tags to organize content, such as headings,
paragraphs, links, and multimedia.

Key Features of HTML:

 Markup language for creating the basic structure of web pages.

 Elements like <h1>, <p>, <a>, <div>, etc.
 Defines the layout and content hierarchy (headings, paragraphs, images, links).
 Used with CSS and JavaScript for styling and functionality.

2. XML (Extensible Markup Language)

What is XML?

XML is a markup language designed to store and transport data. Unlike HTML, it is not used
to display content but to structure and organize data in a readable and easily accessible format.

Key Features of XML:

 Self-descriptive tags.
 Used for data interchange between systems (APIs, web services, etc.).
 Platform-independent.
 Can store complex and hierarchical data.

3. CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)

What is CSS?

CSS is a style sheet language used to describe the look and feel of a document written in
HTML or XML. It controls the layout, colors, fonts, and overall presentation of web pages.

Key Features of CSS:

  Separates content from design: HTML provides the structure, while CSS handles the
design.
 Responsive design: Makes websites look good on all devices (mobile, tablet, desktop).
 Supports animations, transitions, and visual effects.

4. Servlet

What is a Servlet?

A Servlet is a Java-based server-side technology used for handling client requests and
generating dynamic web content. It runs on the server and processes HTTP requests, typically
returning HTML, XML, or JSON responses.

Key Features of Servlets:

 Server-side programming (executed on the server, not in the browser).

 Handles HTTP requests and responses.
 Part of Java EE for building dynamic web applications.
 Often used to process form data, interact with databases, and manage sessions.

5. JSP (JavaServer Pages)

What is JSP?

JSP is a Java-based technology that allows developers to embed Java code directly into HTML
pages. It helps create dynamic web content by combining the power of Java with HTML. JSP is
often used alongside Servlets in Java-based web applications.

Key Features of JSP:

 Combines HTML and Java in the same file.

 Dynamic content generation (e.g., displaying data from a database).
 Part of the Java EE stack, typically used with Servlets.
 Uses tags, directives, and expressions to embed Java code in HTML.

6. JavaScript

What is JavaScript?

JavaScript is a client-side scripting language that enables dynamic behavior on web pages. It
allows developers to create interactive features like form validation, animations, and real-time
updates.

Key Features of JavaScript:

 Runs in the browser (client-side).

 Interactivity: Can respond to user actions (click, hover, etc.).
 Manipulates HTML & CSS: Can change page content, layout, and styles dynamically.
 Works with AJAX for updating content without reloading the page.