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Servlets are grouped under the Advanced Java tree that are used to
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Experience create dynamic web applications. Servlets are robust in nature,
well scalable and are primarily used in developing server-side
Life Cycle of a Servlet applications. If we go a little back in time, we would be able to
witness that before the introduction of servlets, CGI (Common
The HttpSession Interface in
Servlet Gateway Interface) were used. Amid several indigenous tasks that
a servlet is capable of doing, dynamically performing client
Servlet Collaboration In Java requests and responses are most common. Other tasks that a
Using RequestDispatcher and
HttpServletResponse servlet can do effectively are:

Can easily manage/control the application flow.

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Introduction to Java Servlets
Suitable to implement business logic.
Can effectively balance the load at the server-side.
Easily generate dynamic web content.
Talking about the types of servlets, there are primarily two types,
namely:
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2. HTTP Servlets
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10/12/23, 10:45 PM Servlet Architecture - GeeksforGeeks

There are three potential ways in which we can employ to create a

servlet:

1. Implementing Servlet Interface

2. Extending Generic Servlet
3. Extending HTTP Servlet

Components of Servlet Architecture

Below is the high level architecture diagram of servlet. Let’s see in
brief, how does each component add to the working of a servlet.

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10/12/23, 10:45 PM Servlet Architecture - GeeksforGeeks

Servlet Architecture

1. Client

The client shown in the architecture above is primarily working as a

medium who is sending out HTTP requests over to the web server
and again processing the response it gets back from the server. As
we can see in the diagram, our client here is the web browser.

2. Web Server

Primary job of a web server is to process the requests and

responses that a user sends over time and maintain how a web
user would be able to access the files that has been hosted over
the server. The server we are talking about here is a software
which manages access to a centralized resource or service in a
network.. There are precisely two types of webservers:

1. Static web server

2. Dynamic web server
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3. Web Container
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10/12/23, 10:45 PM Servlet Architecture - GeeksforGeeks

Web container is another typical component in servlet architecture

which is responsible for communicating with the servlets. Two
prime tasks of a web container are:

Managing the servlet lifecycle

URL mapping

Web container sits at the server-side managing and handling all

the requests that are coming in either from the servlets or from
some JSP pages or potentially any other file system.

How does a Servlet Request flow?

Every servlet should override the following 3 methods namely:

1. init()
2. service()
3. destroy()

These methods are used to process the request from the user.

Following are the steps in which a request flows through a servlet

which can be observed in the architecture diagram:

The client sends over a request.

The request is accepted by the web server and forwarded to the
web container.
In order to obtain the servlet’s address, the web container traces
web.xml file corresponding to the request URL pattern.
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10/12/23, 10:45 PM Servlet Architecture - GeeksforGeeks

instantiated and initialized, init() method is invoked to serve the

purpose.
By passing ServletRequest and Response object, public
service() method is called by the container.
In the next step, the ServletRequest and ServletResponse
objects are type-casted to HttpServletRequest and
HttpServletResponse objects by the public service() method.
Now protected service() method is called by the public service()
method.
The protected service() method dispatches the request to the
correct handler method based on the type of request.
When servlet container shuts down, it unloads all the servlets
and calls destroy() method for each initialized servlets.

Advantages
Prime functionality of a servlet is that they are independent of
server configuration and they are pretty much compatible with
any of the web servers
Servlets are also protocol-independent supporting FTP, HTTP,
SMTP, etc. protocols to the fullest.
Until destroyed manually, servlets can be retained in the
memory helping process several requests over time. Also, once
a database connection is established, it can facilitate process
several requests for a database in the very same database
session.
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compatible with nearly any web server.
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10/12/23, 10:45 PM Servlet Architecture - GeeksforGeeks

Servlets are first converted into byte codes and then executed,
which helps in increasing the processing time.

Disadvantages
Designing a servlet can be pretty laborious.
Exceptions need to be handled while designing a servlet since
they are not thread-safe.
Developers may need additional skills to program a servlet.

As we already know Servlets are portable (platform/server

independent) in nature and hence are a better option if we talk in
terms of other scripting languages. They process the requests and
responses dynamically. Whenever we are developing a web
application where we need to coordinate with different existing
protocols, servlets are preferred over other means because of its
capability to support various protocols. At last we can descend to a
conclusion that employing a servlet could potentially be most
suitable while developing a web application.

Last Updated : 02 Jan, 2021 23

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