Servlet Reading Parameters

You must have come across many situations when you need to pass some
information from your browser to web server and ultimately to your backend
program. The browser uses two methods to pass this information to web server.
These methods are GET Method and POST Method.
GET Method
The GET method sends the encoded user information appended to the page
request. The page and the encoded information are separated by the ? (question
mark) symbol as follows −
http://www.test.com/hello?key1 = value1&key2 = value2
The GET method is the default method to pass information from browser to web
server and it produces a long string that appears in your browser's Location:box.
Never use the GET method if you have password or other sensitive
information to pass to the server. The GET method has size limitation: only
1024 characters can be used in a request string.
This information is passed using QUERY_STRING header and will be accessible
through QUERY_STRING environment variable and Servlet handles this type of
requests using doGet() method.
POST Method
A generally more reliable method of passing information to a backend program is

the POST method. This packages the information in exactly the same way as GET
method, but instead of sending it as a text string after a ? (question mark) in the
URL it sends it as a separate message.
This message comes to the backend program in the form of the standard
input which you can parse and use for your processing. Servlet handles this
type of requests using doPost() method.
Reading Form Data using Servlet
Servlets handles form data parsing automatically using the following methods
depending on the situation −
 getParameter() − You call request.getParameter() method to get the value
of a form parameter.
 getParameterValues() − Call this method if the parameter appears more
than once and returns multiple values, for example checkbox.
 getParameterNames() − Call this method if you want a complete list of all
parameters in the current request.
GET Method Example using URL
Here is a simple URL which will pass two values to HelloForm program using
GET method.
http://localhost:8080/HelloForm?first_name = ZARA&last_name = ALI
Given below is the HelloForm.java servlet program to handle input given by web
browser. We are going to use getParameter() method which makes it very easy
to access passed information −
// Import required java libraries
import java.io.*;
import javax.servlet.*;
import javax.servlet.http.*;
// Extend HttpServlet class

public class HelloForm extends HttpServlet {
public void doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response)

throws ServletException, IOException {
// Set response content type

response.setContentType("text/html");
PrintWriter out = response.getWriter();

String title = "Using GET Method to Read Form Data";
String docType =
"<!doctype html public \"-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 " + "transitional//en\">\n";
out.println(docType +
"<html>\n" +
"<head><title>" + title + "</title></head>\n" +
"<body bgcolor = \"#f0f0f0\">\n" +
"<h1 align = \"center\">" + title + "</h1>\n" +
"<ul>\n" +
" <li><b>First Name</b>: "
+ request.getParameter("first_name") + "\n" +
" <li><b>Last Name</b>: "
+ request.getParameter("last_name") + "\n" +
"</ul>\n" +
"</body>" +
"</html>"
);
}
}
Assuming your environment is set up properly, compile HelloForm.java as
follows −
$ javac HelloForm.java
If everything goes fine, above compilation would produce HelloForm.class file.
Next you would have to copy this class file in <Tomcat-
installationdirectory>/webapps/ROOT/WEB-INF/classes and create following
entries in web.xml file located in <Tomcat-installation-
directory>/webapps/ROOT/WEB-INF/
<servlet>
<servlet-name>HelloForm</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>HelloForm</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>HelloForm</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/HelloForm</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
Now
type http://localhost:8080/HelloForm?first_name=ZARA&last_name=ALI in
your browser's Location:box and make sure you already started tomcat server,
before firing above command in the browser. This would generate following
result −
Using GET Method to Read Form Data
 First Name: ZARA
 Last Name: ALI
GET Method Example Using Form
Here is a simple example which passes two values using HTML FORM and
submit button. We are going to use same Servlet HelloForm to handle this input.
<html>
<body>
<form action = "HelloForm" method = "GET">
First Name: <input type = "text" name = "first_name">
<br />
Last Name: <input type = "text" name = "last_name" />
<input type = "submit" value = "Submit" />
</form>
</body>
</html>
Keep this HTML in a file Hello.htm and put it in <Tomcat-
installationdirectory>/webapps/ROOT directory. When you would
access http://localhost:8080/Hello.htm, here is the actual output of the above
form.
First Name: Last Name:
Try to enter First Name and Last Name and then click submit button to see the
result on your local machine where tomcat is running. Based on the input
provided, it will generate similar result as mentioned in the above example.
POST Method Example Using Form
Let us do little modification in the above servlet, so that it can handle GET as well
as POST methods. Below is HelloForm.java servlet program to handle input
given by web browser using GET or POST methods.
import java.io.*;

public class HelloForm extends HttpServlet {
// Method to handle GET method request.



String title = "Using GET Method to Read Form Data";
String docType =
"<!doctype html public \"-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 " +
"transitional//en\">\n";
"<html>\n" +
"<ul>\n" +
" <li><b>First Name</b>: "
+ request.getParameter("first_name") + "\n" +
" <li><b>Last Name</b>: "
+ request.getParameter("last_name") + "\n" +
"</ul>\n" +
"</body>"
"</html>"
);
}
// Method to handle POST method request.

public void doPost(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response)
doGet(request, response);
}
}
Now compile and deploy the above Servlet and test it using Hello.htm with the
POST method as follows −
<html>
<body>
<form action = "HelloForm" method = "POST">
First Name: <input type = "text" name = "first_name">
<br />
Last Name: <input type = "text" name = "last_name" />
<input type = "submit" value = "Submit" />
</form>
</body>
</html>
Here is the actual output of the above form, Try to enter First and Last Name and
then click submit button to see the result on your local machine where tomcat is
running.
First Name: Last Name:
Based on the input provided, it would generate similar result as mentioned in the
above examples.
Passing Checkbox Data to Servlet Program
Checkboxes are used when more than one option is required to be selected.
Here is example HTML code, CheckBox.htm, for a form with two checkboxes
<html>
<body>
<form action = "CheckBox" method = "POST" target = "_blank">
<input type = "checkbox" name = "maths" checked = "checked" /> Maths
<input type = "checkbox" name = "physics" /> Physics
<input type = "checkbox" name = "chemistry" checked = "checked" />
Chemistry
<input type = "submit" value = "Select Subject" />
</form>
</body>
</html>
The result of this code is the following form
Maths Physics Chemistry
Given below is the CheckBox.java servlet program to handle input given by web
browser for checkbox button.
import java.io.*;

public class CheckBox extends HttpServlet {



String title = "Reading Checkbox Data";
String docType =
"<html>\n" +
"<ul>\n" +
" <li><b>Maths Flag : </b>: "
+ request.getParameter("maths") + "\n" +
" <li><b>Physics Flag: </b>: "
+ request.getParameter("physics") + "\n" +
" <li><b>Chemistry Flag: </b>: "
+ request.getParameter("chemistry") + "\n" +
"</ul>\n" +
"</body>"
"</html>"
);
}

}
}
For the above example, it would display following result -
 Maths Flag : : on
 Physics Flag: : null
 Chemistry Flag: : on
Reading All Form Parameters
Following is the generic example which uses getParameterNames() method of

HttpServletRequest to read all the available form parameters. This method returns
an Enumeration that contains the parameter names in an unspecified order
Once we have an Enumeration, we can loop down the Enumeration in standard
way by, using hasMoreElements() method to determine when to stop and
using nextElement() method to get each parameter name.
import java.io.*;
import java.util.*;

public class ReadParams extends HttpServlet {



String title = "Reading All Form Parameters";
String docType =
"<html>\n" +
"<table width = \"100%\" border = \"1\" align = \"center\">\n" +
"<tr bgcolor = \"#949494\">\n" +
"<th>Param Name</th>"
"<th>Param Value(s)</th>\n"+
"</tr>\n"
);
Enumeration paramNames = request.getParameterNames();
while(paramNames.hasMoreElements()) {
String paramName = (String)paramNames.nextElement();
out.print("<tr><td>" + paramName + "</td>\n<td>");
String[] paramValues = request.getParameterValues(paramName);
// Read single valued data

if (paramValues.length == 1) {
String paramValue = paramValues[0];
if (paramValue.length() == 0)
out.println("<i>No Value</i>");
else
out.println(paramValue);
} else {
// Read multiple valued data
out.println("<ul>");
for(int i = 0; i < paramValues.length; i++) {

out.println("<li>" + paramValues[i]);
}
out.println("</ul>");
}
}
out.println("</tr>\n</table>\n</body></html>");
}

}
}
Now, try the above servlet with the following form −
<html>
<body>
<form action = "ReadParams" method = "POST" target = "_blank">
<input type = "checkbox" name = "maths" checked = "checked" /> Maths
<input type = "checkbox" name = "physics" /> Physics
<input type = "checkbox" name = "chemistry" checked = "checked" /> Chem
<input type = "submit" value = "Select Subject" />
</form>
</body>
</html>
Now calling servlet using the above form would generate the following result −
Reading All Form Parameters
Param Name Param Value(s)
maths on
chemistry on
You can try the above servlet to read any other form's data having other objects
like text box, radio button or drop down box etc.
Servlet Interface
Servlet interface provides common behavior to all the servlets.
Servlet interface defines methods that all servlets must implement.
Servlet interface needs to be implemented for creating any servlet (either directly or
indirectly). It provides 3 life cycle methods that are used to initialize the servlet, to
service the requests, and to destroy the servlet and 2 non-life cycle methods.
Methods of Servlet interface

There are 5 methods in Servlet interface. The init, service and destroy are the life cycle
methods of servlet. These are invoked by the web container.
Method Description
public void init(ServletConfig config) initializes the servlet. It is the life cycle
method of servlet and invoked by the web
container only once.
public void service(ServletRequest provides response for the incoming

request,ServletResponse response) request. It is invoked at each request by
the web container.
public void destroy() is invoked only once and indicates that

servlet is being destroyed.
public ServletConfig returns the object of ServletConfig.

getServletConfig()
public String getServletInfo() returns information about servlet such as

writer, copyright, version etc.
Servlet Example by implementing Servlet interface
1. import java.io.*;
2. import javax.servlet.*;
3.
4. public class First implements Servlet{
5. ServletConfig config=null;
6.
7. public void init(ServletConfig config){
8. this.config=config;
9. System.out.println("servlet is initialized");
10. }
11.
12. public void service(ServletRequest req,ServletResponse res)
13. throws IOException,ServletException{
14.
15. res.setContentType("text/html");
16.
17. PrintWriter out=res.getWriter();
18. out.print("<html><body>");
19. out.print("<b>hello simple servlet</b>");
20. out.print("</body></html>");
21.
22. }
23. public void destroy(){System.out.println("servlet is destroyed");}
24. public ServletConfig getServletConfig(){return config;}
25. public String getServletInfo(){return "copyright 2007-1010";}
26.
27. }
GenericServlet class
GenericServlet class implements Servlet, ServletConfig and Serializable interfaces.
It provides the implementation of all the methods of these interfaces except the service
method.
GenericServlet class can handle any type of request so it is protocol-independent.
You may create a generic servlet by inheriting the GenericServlet class and providing
the implementation of the service method.
Methods of GenericServlet class

There are many methods in GenericServlet class. They are as follows:
Competitive questions on Structures in Hindi
Keep Watching
1. public void init(ServletConfig config) is used to initialize the servlet.

2. public abstract void service(ServletRequest request, ServletResponse
response) provides service for the incoming request. It is invoked at each time when
user requests for a servlet.
3. public void destroy() is invoked only once throughout the life cycle and indicates that
servlet is being destroyed.
4. public ServletConfig getServletConfig() returns the object of ServletConfig.
5. public String getServletInfo() returns information about servlet such as writer,
copyright, version etc.
6. public void init() it is a convenient method for the servlet programmers, now there is no
need to call super.init(config)
7. public ServletContext getServletContext() returns the object of ServletContext.
8. public String getInitParameter(String name) returns the parameter value for the given
parameter name.
9. public Enumeration getInitParameterNames() returns all the parameters defined in
the web.xml file.
10. public String getServletName() returns the name of the servlet object.
11. public void log(String msg) writes the given message in the servlet log file.
12. public void log(String msg,Throwable t) writes the explanatory message in the servlet
log file and a stack trace.
Servlet Example by inheriting the GenericServlet class

Let's see the simple example of servlet by inheriting the GenericServlet class.
It will be better if you learn it after visiting steps to create a servlet.

File: First.java
1. import java.io.*;
2. import javax.servlet.*;
3.
4. public class First extends GenericServlet{
5. public void service(ServletRequest req,ServletResponse res)
6. throws IOException,ServletException{
7.
8. res.setContentType("text/html");
9.
10. PrintWriter out=res.getWriter();
11. out.print("<html><body>");
12. out.print("<b>hello generic servlet</b>");
13. out.print("</body></html>");
HttpServlet class
The HttpServlet class extends the GenericServlet class and implements Serializable
interface. It provides http specific methods such as doGet, doPost, doHead, doTrace etc.
Methods of HttpServlet class

There are many methods in HttpServlet class. They are as follows:
1. public void service(ServletRequest req,ServletResponse res) dispatches the

request to the protected service method by converting the request and response object
into http type.
2. protected void service(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse res) receives
the request from the service method, and dispatches the request to the doXXX() method
depending on the incoming http request type.
3. protected void doGet(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse res) handles
the GET request. It is invoked by the web container.
4. protected void doPost(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse res) handles
the POST request. It is invoked by the web container.
5. protected void doHead(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse res) handles
the HEAD request. It is invoked by the web container.
6. protected void doOptions(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse
res) handles the OPTIONS request. It is invoked by the web container.
7. protected void doPut(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse res) handles
the PUT request. It is invoked by the web container.
8. protected void doTrace(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse res) handles
the TRACE request. It is invoked by the web container.
9. protected void doDelete(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse
res) handles the DELETE request. It is invoked by the web container.
10. protected long getLastModified(HttpServletRequest req) returns the time when
HttpServletRequest was last modified since midnight January 1, 1970
11.
Exception Handling in Java

The Exception Handling in Java is one of the powerful mechanism to handle the
runtime errors so that the normal flow of the application can be maintained
What is Exception in Java?

Dictionary Meaning: Exception is an abnormal condition.
In Java, an exception is an event that disrupts the normal flow of the program. It is
an object which is thrown at runtime.
10 Sec
Features of Java - Javatpoint
What is Exception Handling?

Exception Handling is a mechanism to handle runtime errors such as
ClassNotFoundException, IOException, SQLException, RemoteException, etc.
Advantage of Exception Handling
The core advantage of exception handling is to maintain the normal flow of the
application. An exception normally disrupts the normal flow of the application;
that is why we need to handle exceptions. Let's consider a scenario:
1. statement 1;
2. statement 2;
3. statement 3;
4. statement 4;
5. statement 5;//exception occurs
6. statement 6;
7. statement 7;
8. statement 8;
9. statement 9;
10. statement 10;
Suppose there are 10 statements in a Java program and an exception occurs at

statement 5; the rest of the code will not be executed, i.e., statements 6 to 10 will
not be executed. However, when we perform exception handling, the rest of the
statements will be executed. That is why we use exception handling in Java.
Do You Know?
o What is the difference between checked and unchecked exceptions?

o What happens behind the code int data=50/0;?
o Why use multiple catch block?
o Is there any possibility when the finally block is not executed?
o What is exception propagation?
o What is the difference between the throw and throws keyword?
o What are the 4 rules for using exception handling with method overriding?
Hierarchy of Java Exception classes
The java.lang.Throwable class is the root class of Java Exception hierarchy
inherited by two subclasses: Exception and Error. The hierarchy of Java
Exception classes is given below:
Types of Java Exceptions

There are mainly two types of exceptions: checked and unchecked. An error is
considered as the unchecked exception. However, according to Oracle, there are
three types of exceptions namely:
1. Checked Exception
2. Unchecked Exception
3. Error
Difference between Checked and Unchecked

Exceptions
1) Checked Exception
The classes that directly inherit the Throwable class except RuntimeException
and Error are known as checked exceptions. For example, IOException,
SQLException, etc. Checked exceptions are checked at compile-time.
2) Unchecked Exception
The classes that inherit the RuntimeException are known as unchecked

exceptions. For example, ArithmeticException, NullPointerException,
ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException, etc. Unchecked exceptions are not checked at
compile-time, but they are checked at runtime.
3) Error
Error is irrecoverable. Some example of errors are OutOfMemoryError,

VirtualMachineError, AssertionError etc.
Java Exception Keywords

Java provides five keywords that are used to handle the exception. The following
table describes each.
Keyword Description
try The "try" keyword is used to specify a block where we should place an
exception code. It means we can't use try block alone. The try block must
be followed by either catch or finally.
catch The "catch" block is used to handle the exception. It must be preceded by
try block which means we can't use catch block alone. It can be followed
by finally block later.
finally The "finally" block is used to execute the necessary code of the program.
It is executed whether an exception is handled or not.
throw The "throw" keyword is used to throw an exception.
throws The "throws" keyword is used to declare exceptions. It specifies that

there may occur an exception in the method. It doesn't throw an
exception. It is always used with method signature.
Java Exception Handling Example
Let's see an example of Java Exception Handling in which we are using a try-
catch statement to handle the exception.
JavaExceptionExample.java
1. public class JavaExceptionExample{

2. public static void main(String args[]){
3. try{
4. //code that may raise exception
5. int data=100/0;
6. }catch(ArithmeticException e){System.out.println(e);}
7. //rest code of the program
8. System.out.println("rest of the code...");
9. }
10. }
Test it Now
Output:
Exception in thread main java.lang.ArithmeticException:/ by zero

rest of the code...
In the above example, 100/0 raises an ArithmeticException which is handled by a

try-catch block.
Common Scenarios of Java Exceptions

There are given some scenarios where unchecked exceptions may occur. They
are as follows:
1) A scenario where ArithmeticException occurs
If we divide any number by zero, there occurs an ArithmeticException.

1. int a=50/0;//ArithmeticException
2) A scenario where NullPointerException occurs
If we have a null value in any variable, performing any operation on the variable
throws a NullPointerException.
1. String s=null;
2. System.out.println(s.length());//NullPointerException
3) A scenario where NumberFormatException occurs
If the formatting of any variable or number is mismatched, it may result into

NumberFormatException. Suppose we have a string variable that has characters;
converting this variable into digit will cause NumberFormatException.
1. String s="abc";
2. int i=Integer.parseInt(s);//NumberFormatException
4) A scenario where ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException occurs
When an array exceeds to it's size, the ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException occurs.

there may be other reasons to occur ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException. Consider
the following statements.
1. int a[]=new int[5];

2. a[10]=50; //ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException
Java Exceptions Index

1. Java Try-Catch Block
2. Java Multiple Catch Block
3. Java Nested Try
4. Java Finally Block
5. Java Throw Keyword
6. Java Exception Propagation
7. Java Throws Keyword
8. Java Throw vs Throws
9. Java Final vs Finally vs Finalize
10. Java Exception Handling with Method Overriding

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Servlet Reading Parameters

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You must have come across many situations when you need to pass some

A generally more reliable method of passing information to a backend program is

GET Method Example using URL

// Extend HttpServlet class

public void doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response)

// Set response content type

PrintWriter out = response.getWriter();

 First Name: ZARA

 Last Name: ALI

GET Method Example Using Form

POST Method Example Using Form

// Extend HttpServlet class

// Method to handle GET method request.

// Set response content type

PrintWriter out = response.getWriter();

// Method to handle POST method request.

Passing Checkbox Data to Servlet Program

// Extend HttpServlet class

// Method to handle GET method request.

// Set response content type

PrintWriter out = response.getWriter();

// Method to handle POST method request.

 Physics Flag: : null

Following is the generic example which uses getParameterNames() method of

// Extend HttpServlet class

// Method to handle GET method request.

// Set response content type

PrintWriter out = response.getWriter();

Enumeration paramNames = request.getParameterNames();

// Read single valued data

for(int i = 0; i < paramValues.length; i++) {

// Method to handle POST method request.

Param Name Param Value(s)

Servlet interface defines methods that all servlets must implement.

Methods of Servlet interface

public void service(ServletRequest provides response for the incoming

public void destroy() is invoked only once and indicates that

public ServletConfig returns the object of ServletConfig.

public String getServletInfo() returns information about servlet such as

GenericServlet class can handle any type of request so it is protocol-independent.

Methods of GenericServlet class

Competitive questions on Structures in Hindi

1. public void init(ServletConfig config) is used to initialize the servlet.

Servlet Example by inheriting the GenericServlet class

It will be better if you learn it after visiting steps to create a servlet.

Methods of HttpServlet class

1. public void service(ServletRequest req,ServletResponse res) dispatches the

Exception Handling in Java

What is Exception in Java?

Features of Java - Javatpoint

What is Exception Handling?

Advantage of Exception Handling

Suppose there are 10 statements in a Java program and an exception occurs at

o What is the difference between checked and unchecked exceptions?

Types of Java Exceptions

Difference between Checked and Unchecked

The classes that inherit the RuntimeException are known as unchecked

Error is irrecoverable. Some example of errors are OutOfMemoryError,

Java Exception Keywords

throw The "throw" keyword is used to throw an exception.

throws The "throws" keyword is used to declare exceptions. It specifies that

1. public class JavaExceptionExample{

Exception in thread main java.lang.ArithmeticException:/ by zero